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how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 2:49:46 PM   
BBW Walt



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Joined: 1/13/2002
From: NWest, IN, USA
Status: offline 		I bought some Hybrid Carbon/ Kevlar cloth. I want to make some carbon panels. The cloth is 7oz per Sq yd. I may laminate some of this to balsa with finishing resin for some, but is there an easy way to do this with just the carbon cloth. My intentions are to not get too involved with this as I plan to make small panels mainly for lite appearance plates for mounting accessories on. Looking for a quick method with finishing resin or maybe polyester to get started with. Thanks for any suggestions, Walt
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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 4:47:30 PM   
soarrich



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From: Middletown, NJ, USA
Status: offline 		First if you using CF forget polyester resin, use only epoxy.

The easist way to may a flat panel is to take glass, put mold release on it, roll on some epoxy, lay your CF down, roll the epoxy through it, then lay your balsa onto that if you want it in the lay-up.

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Rich Border

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 7:28:41 PM   
blueline


 

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Joined: 10/19/2004
From: Martinez, CA, USA
Status: offline 		NoGlo, I hope you don't mind me asking a question as well? Soarrick, if I wanted to just have a plain carbon panel without balsa do I just leave the balsa off or does the exposed side of the CF need to be treated?

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 8:17:30 PM   
BBW Walt



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quote:

ORIGINAL: soarrich

First if you using CF forget polyester resin, use only epoxy.

The easist way to may a flat panel is to take glass, put mold release on it, roll on some epoxy, lay your CF down, roll the epoxy through it, then lay your balsa onto that if you want it in the lay-up.


Thanks soarrich: I was thinking on that line for this. Do you think wax paper instead of mold release would work?? Walt

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 10:41:54 PM   
soarrich



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Status: offline 		blueline

Yes you can just not put the balsa on.

The way I would do it is after I rolled the CF down into the epoxy I would roll a paper towels on it removing the excess, this will give you one surface that is glass smooth and one with a smooth textured surface. If you want a rougher surface, use peel ply on it, whwn you peel off the peel ply you have a rough surface that is good for epoxying to.

No Glo

I'm pretty sure it will, I've glassed over waxpaper and was able to pop it off, it won't be as smooth though.


One thing about using CF, mix extra epoxy, then take the extra off the CF. Glass is easy to tell when it's fully wetted out, it goes from white to clear, CF is black when it's dry, black when it's wet. :^(

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/5/2006 11:44:02 PM   
BBW Walt



Posts: 928
Joined: 1/13/2002
From: NWest, IN, USA
Status: offline 		Rich: I was thinking about laying wax paper on glass, I was thinking of spraying a very light mist of 77 spray adhesive to hold the wax paper smooth and flat, wrinkle free. Then rolling on the epoxy and laying the fabric in the epoxy. Then Rolling the fabric full of epoxy and laying another sheet of wax paper on the fabric and then placing a piece of 3/4 ply on it with a brick to flatten out the panel...this way I'm hoping to get a nice finish on both sides. Thats the game plan. I was thinking of using Zap finishing resin for the epoxy because I already have it here. Would appreciate your thought on this, its a learning curve for me. Thanks again, Walt
btw, this panel is 7x22inches finished size

< Message edited by No Glo -- 11/5/2006 11:47:00 PM >

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/6/2006 12:26:30 AM   
soarrich



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From: Middletown, NJ, USA
Status: offline 		If you have the glass, why use the wax paper? A good car wax or floor wax is all you need for a mold release, the wax paper will be a lot less smooth than glass. If for some reason you just don't want to lay it up on the glass, I'd use Monokotespread out on the glass, wet it, then squeegy it smooth, epoxy doesn't stick to Monokote.


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Rich Border

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/6/2006 1:33:43 PM   
r3tic


 

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From: Belleville, IL, USA
Status: offline 		I wouldn't use the wax paper, you end up with a very oddly textured surface. In addition, the wax comes off the paper and it's a pain to get it off of your layup.

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/6/2006 2:21:45 PM   
BBW Walt



Posts: 928
Joined: 1/13/2002
From: NWest, IN, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the info guys, thats why I'm here asking. I have glass for the top and bottom for pressing the panel. I guess I'm paranoid that I'll end up gluing the whole mess together is why I have this wax paper thing in my head. I'll do the car wax thing and lay it up and see how it goes. Thanks for responding to this I appreciate your time and help, Walt

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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/9/2006 4:37:43 PM   
Troy-RCU



Posts: 489
Joined: 1/18/2002
From: Oceanside, CA, USA
Status: offline 		If you want a pin-hole free surface, you can also spray some clear Krylon down on the glass surface prior to laying up your carbon. What tends to happen when making these panels without a vacuum bag is you get many small bubbles trapped on the glass surface. It is impossible to squeeze all of the air out of the lay up by hand. When you pull it up from the glass after cure, you have a shiny surface with thousands of annoying little pin holes. Spraying a layer of clear paint makes for a mirror surface and the bubbles/pin holes aren't as noticeable.

Procedure is: Mask off a square area you want, wax a couple times with carnuba, spray a couple medium coats of clear Krylon, let cure for 1-2 hours, do your lay up. Voila! Mirror surface.....

It's how I've made my Bling Carbon panels for years, except I use Clear PPG Auto Paint and vacuum bag for projects like this:


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< Message edited by Troy-RCU -- 11/9/2006 9:47:37 PM >


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RE: how to make carbon /kevlar panels - 11/9/2006 7:22:01 PM   
garytenpas


 

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From: oostburg, WI, USA
Status: offline 		check out this video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8801536764731290932&sourceid=docidfeed&hl=en

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