Alloy pannels free to anyone. Carbon fibre pannels
Discussion
I've been replacing my alloy pannels with carbon ones.
God they look good
Anyhow does anyone want my old alloy pannels, they have only been fitted, then removed so they all still shin. May save someone a bit time and money cutting them all out.
Either that or I can keep them as a template and make some more carbon ones if anyone is intresed?
I've not made the inside pannels in carbon yet, as need to get a mold made up, but if anyone is intresed I could do and run a batch.
God they look good
Anyhow does anyone want my old alloy pannels, they have only been fitted, then removed so they all still shin. May save someone a bit time and money cutting them all out.
Either that or I can keep them as a template and make some more carbon ones if anyone is intresed?
I've not made the inside pannels in carbon yet, as need to get a mold made up, but if anyone is intresed I could do and run a batch.
crazy of cookham said:
Hi how easy was it to retrofit carbon. Had been thinking of doing this to Canam at some stage as getting bored with polishing alloy. Did you have to drill out each rivit. Also slightly concerned about having tubes full of rattling rivet ends!
Cheers
Cheers
Don't worry, when your chassis explodes, they all come shooting out!
, sorry couldn't resist...I did not really retro fit them, as I have not finished my build.
Yes you would have to drill each rivet out, then cut the Sikaflex free, remove panels, fit the new ones.
OK the old rivets will add a few grams weight (there alloy), but trust me you’re not here them rattling around.
I’ll post some photos when I can find somewhere to host them.
I love carbon its not my job, far from it in fact, but I like to think I know something, but that normal means you know nothing.
Do you still need an air scoop made?
Yes you would have to drill each rivet out, then cut the Sikaflex free, remove panels, fit the new ones.
OK the old rivets will add a few grams weight (there alloy), but trust me you’re not here them rattling around.
I’ll post some photos when I can find somewhere to host them.
I love carbon its not my job, far from it in fact, but I like to think I know something, but that normal means you know nothing.
Do you still need an air scoop made?
Well 1st up your need a mould, but no great surprise here as you can't just lay it on the kitchen table.
Carbon Fibre is harsh stuff and needs to be cooked with heat and pressure, you can use many materials to lay it on, but it’s all about the amount of times you want to reuse the mould, people with big bucks use carbons fibre moulds, this is the best as the material and mould expand and contract at the same time and it very strong so it can be used for ages, its also the most expensive, cheaper options are fibreglass but it can only take about 3-4 time though the auto clave or Pulls as its called. You can even use MDF as long as it’s well waxed so you can release it.
As the panels are basically flat with 1 angle and rounded top, you can lay them up on something flat like a bit of alloy.
When you lay up you use a releasing agent, which is what give it that nice shiny finish. The smoother the surface of your mould the nicer the finish.
If I was just going to make the panels for myself I would use a 2 bits of alloy sheet an polish it. It would have the angle and rolled on the alloy mould.
But if a few people were interested I could look into getting some polished stainless steel made up, a better finish, but I can't cut and bend this my self. So it’s more cost, unless someone else has the ability to be able to do this.
Carbon Fibre is harsh stuff and needs to be cooked with heat and pressure, you can use many materials to lay it on, but it’s all about the amount of times you want to reuse the mould, people with big bucks use carbons fibre moulds, this is the best as the material and mould expand and contract at the same time and it very strong so it can be used for ages, its also the most expensive, cheaper options are fibreglass but it can only take about 3-4 time though the auto clave or Pulls as its called. You can even use MDF as long as it’s well waxed so you can release it.
As the panels are basically flat with 1 angle and rounded top, you can lay them up on something flat like a bit of alloy.
When you lay up you use a releasing agent, which is what give it that nice shiny finish. The smoother the surface of your mould the nicer the finish.
If I was just going to make the panels for myself I would use a 2 bits of alloy sheet an polish it. It would have the angle and rolled on the alloy mould.
But if a few people were interested I could look into getting some polished stainless steel made up, a better finish, but I can't cut and bend this my self. So it’s more cost, unless someone else has the ability to be able to do this.
Couple of things to bear in mind, you need to make sure that the carbon fibre panels are at least as strong as the ally panelling as they are essential to the torsional rigidity of the chassis. Laying up 1mm of C/F may not be strong anough to do the job (I'm not expert in CF despite already having a panelled interior full of it ). Also, as CF is a lot stiffer than the ally panelling, getting the panels in will probably require more 'notching' than the ally. Finally, you'll need to be 100% sure of the fit before committing to CF, especially for the napping of the panels over the upper chassis rail. With ally, you can just whack it with a rubber mallet to finish it off - not possible with CF.
). Also, as CF is a lot stiffer than the ally panelling, getting the panels in will probably require more 'notching' than the ally. Finally, you'll need to be 100% sure of the fit before committing to CF, especially for the napping of the panels over the upper chassis rail. With ally, you can just whack it with a rubber mallet to finish it off - not possible with CF.Gassing Station | Ultima | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff