carbon fiber
 

has anyone here ever worked with carbon fiber? Laying carbon fiber down? I'm planning on doing some of my own carbon fiber parts(interior, misc, body parts) I have experience with fiberglass, but not carbon fiber, if anyone know, let me know, also do anyone know where i can buy the carbon fib sheets, the real stuff not the fake laminate crap. thanks

I think its similar to fiberglass you put resin on the CF sheets in the mold you want but im not 100% sure.

That's correct. You will saturate the fibers with resin, just like fiberglass. Just make sure that you blot out as much resin as possible when you lay it up. High fiber content (and low resin content) means light weight and high strength. I have done both fiberglass and CF in the past. Creating a mold, etc is virtually the same. Cutting or finishing the part will be harder, though. CF loves to eat saw blades, dremel bits, etc, if I recall. And, if you want a nice surface finish, remember to put down a light gel coat. Remember to also put down a releasing agent on your mold before you pull parts off. Otherwise, your parts will become part of your mold! Polyvinyl chloride works well, but if you are no where near a shop that has that, you can use vasoline as well. Practice makes perfect.... the first few times you do it, you will probably have air pockets, too much resin in certain areas, etc. Just keep working at it, and your skills will improve.

check over on mazdamp3.com i know there was a link to a website selling carbon fiber sheets on there. i will see if i can find it again. (they are the same people that make the carbon fiber trunk for the sedan)

Buy woven CF fabric, if you want the CF look.

cool thanks