My Carbon Fiber Project

[christianmotox]

I prefer wet sanding, I hate dust LOL

[Aubrey64]

Originally Posted by christianmotox

I prefer wet sanding, I hate dust LOL

Haha very true! I think I may try wet sanding, since that has been recommended most from what I've heard

[Aubrey64]

Ok, so I got the dash trim piece all cleaned up! It really wasn't too bad, it took about an hour, and I just went slow. Here is a picture


Then, I sanded it down, and I am gonna clear coat it tonight/tomorrow! Here is it sanded down:


I haven't gotten a chance to do the A/C vent bezel yet, but I'll post some more pictures once the dash piece is finished up

[camaro2lt]

any updates?

[LIM3]

let us know how fitment is !

[rberns]

Anymore updates?

[Aubrey64]

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates! Work got unexpectantly busy. But, I ended up redoing both of these pieces the problem with the A/C vent was that the carbon fiber came loose from the bezel, and it didn't look right. Then, then the dash pieces came out okay, but it was cracked on one of the corners of the part I was tempted to just keep it as is, but decided against it. I'll post some pics of the mess ups when I get home from work later today. I do have some new carbon fiber coming in the mail and so I'm gonna try again as soon as the new CF comes in. So I'll keep y'all updated

[christianmotox]

I was wondering about you're progress. Don't feel bad I had to redo several parts even 3 times...

[Aubrey64]

Originally Posted by christianmotox

I was wondering about you're progress. Don't feel bad I had to redo several parts even 3 times...

Yeah, I've heard from tons of people that it's normal to mess up multiple times, so I'm not to worried about it. I tried a few different times on these parts, but the main problem I am having is keeping the weave straight, and keeping it from seperating, but each time I do it, it gets better and better. I don't have any updates as of now though, because the fabric is still in the mail but when it comes in, I'm gonna get started again. As soon as I get past the stage I last updated ya'll on, I'll include more steps/pictures. I just don't want to confuse anyone with a bunch of posts about mess ups and screwed up attempts.

[Aubrey64]

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I have been busy with other things, and I also wanted to do a bit more research before I wasted another 4 yards of fabric.

Anyways, I think I learned what I was doing wrong.
- When applying the fabric, you first want to apply the resin/hardener, and when I did that I applied the fabric immediately after applying the resin/hardener, and that is NOT CORRECT.
- What you want to do is, you apply the first layer of resin/hardner, and then you want to wait until that gets tacky. You want it to be very sticky, that way the fabric has something to bind to. It may take an hour to get tacky, or it may take 3 hours, but it is VERY IMPORTANT to wait until it gets tacky. After applying the fabric apply another layer of resin, and let it cure over night.

That is what I was doing wrong, I was applying the fabric too soon, and the fabric had nothing to stick to. If anybody finds my explanation of this confusing, please let me know!

Now for an update! This week I worked on this quite a bit, and today I worked on it for about 3 hours. I am almost done with the A/C vent bezel and the drivers side dash trim piece. All I need to do is clean them up a bit, and then clear coat them. So hopefully they will be done tomorrow


I also started on the trunk drain lids! I applied the fabric and the first layer of resin/hardener. So I am gonna let that cure over night, and I’ll continue working on it tomorrow.


So far I'm really happy with how it is turning out with this batch of parts

[harrycamaro]

This is an awesome project man. I go to school in arlington and find myself in Plano everyone and then and would love to see this when it's done!

[Est.July.4.1776]

I'm excited to see how this turns out... just curious, why not just go for the vinyl wrap? Authenticity? Just want to tackle something new?

[Aubrey64]

Originally Posted by harrycamaro

This is an awesome project man. I go to school in arlington and find myself in Plano everyone and then and would love to see this when it's done!

Thanks! Hopefully it turns out like I hope it will. But yeah for sure! PM when you are in the area!

Originally Posted by Est.July.4.1776

I'm excited to see how this turns out... just curious, why not just go for the vinyl wrap? Authenticity? Just want to tackle something new?

Yeah, so am I! Well, I have always liked the way true carbon fiber looks better than vinyl, and since its summer and I am not in school right now, I just thought it would be a good project to do that could take up my time.