Were you using any type of spray tack to get the carbon positioned in the mold before bagging it?

 

yeah but still a pain. its usually easier to make relief cuts inside the mold and let the vacuum do the rest. but in most cases it gives the part a distorted pattern. i made all of these with minimal distortion. if i were to spray tack a few pieces in the mold it would leave the cut lines visible. not very noticible but non the less not wanted i try to make my parts with a single piece. not practicle with spray tacking.

 

Yet another reason to use prepreg. Cut lines are easy and as clean as what you cut them with. You can cut out lettering if you have a good pair of shears, prepreg handles just like vinyl but with more drape.

 

true with the prepreg comes the added investment which i do not have. one technique with wet lay up is impregnate the fabric with resin and sandwhich it in film. freeze it. then cut it. peel it and quickly put it in the mold. but it can leave bubbles and other problems. only practical for certain things. that is the easiest way to overlay simple flat parts. or laying the laminate over a plug and applying vacuum.... more work than its worth. prepreg and infusion is the only way to go imo.

 

4 or 8 harness satin (8HS) carbon is pretty nice for complex stuff too, drapes a lot better than twill but doesn't look as pretty. I like how all carbon looks though, not just twill and plain weave. You'll laugh, but spray adhesive and rice paper makes a nice edge sometimes too, you don't have to remove the rice paper as long as it's not directly seen. Cut through the rice paper and carbon as one piece, etc. Rice paper is the traditional medium for printing and painting surfboard graphics, and it almost disappears if it's over a white background, which is great for white bead foam blanks (obviously). It wets out well enough that you can leave it in place without worrying about delamination though, unless you're doing something structural.

 

ive use many different types of materials.... denim for one. looked awesome and had composite knowledgable people stumped. rice paper is great for decals. i have use a few different papers for decaling parts. in the laminate. i used it for pattern making...


one cool thing to try if you are making something for yourself or for a one off peice is wet sanding an infused part with plain weave. then gel coating. it will bling like no other and if you tint the resin will give a pearescent effect.

 

any programs over there at your school composite related??? my uncle was sent to a school in reno nv for advanced composites training. id love to get a degree in this stuff but unfortunately dont have the money to take on engineering..... id like a certification though. it would be nice to hang on my wall and to add on a resume. the class uncle sam sent me to was in the double digets but was for all around aircraft structural repair. doing composites is a cool hobby but does have lucrative career if you can get some kind of paper saying your a professional. ive had many companies want to hire me recently because of my background but id like some leverage if im gonna whore myself again.

 

We have composite engineering courses, but no degrees or certifications in that field. They're just related courses for our Motorsport Engineering Masters Degree program.

 

it would be neat to have a certificate for composites.... although it is a very broad and very general cert.

 

integra dash pad inserts and full s13 240 dashes on the way.