Carbon Fiber questions
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Carbon Fiber questions
My G/F wants a Carbon Fiber hood on her '03 RSX. I am not into that whole look so I know nothing about this stuff. What are some good brands? Do all Carbon Fiber hoods fade and turn yellow? How well do they stand up to the weather?
Thank you in adavance
Thank you in adavance
Ghost
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: St Petersburg, FL
Re: Carbon Fiber questions
There are two methods for laying CF down and molding it. I don't remember the two names however...one of them is making the sheet mold, then coating the mold with epoxy sealant, the other is coating the individual fibers before molding them, which is the more expensive method that won't fade and looks sharper.
BRB with more details...
BRB with more details...
Patron
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Virginia Beach
Re: Carbon Fiber questions
Beware of carbon fiber hoods that have a cheap price: you get what you pay for, and many of the cheaper carbon fiber hoods are actually fiberglass with just a thin layer or two of cf applied over it to give it the look.
Company Man
Joined: Jan 2004
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Re: Carbon Fiber questions
There's a company called ViS that makes CF hoods for every make and model it seems. They cost 200-350 and that's without shipping.
Since it's not your car, just spray paint the hood black
Since it's not your car, just spray paint the hood black
Racetracks
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: How long is a piece of string?
Re: Carbon Fiber questions
Ok, here goes.
There are two kinds of resin usually used for wet layup of carbon hoods, epoxy and polyester. You won't find epoxy in use until you get into the high end hoods. Polyester, and most other resins, are not UV stable, and will turn amber in the sun. It happens, and the resin isn't supposed to be in the sun without protection. But they use it anyway. The best thing that you can do is to use a quality automotive clearcoat, which will provide SOME UV protection for the resin, but that will just prolong the yellowing. It will also keep it from fading, just like the paint on your car.
You will find that most of the hoods on the market are partially fiberglass, for cost savings. You probably aren't hardcore enough to pay for a totally carbon hood, because they're expensive. And there really isn't any use making pure carbon hoods anyway, because it's not a structural panel.
The second layup method is prepreg. Prepreg (dry epoxy preinpregnated, uses heat and vacuum cure) is used because the resin to fiber content ratio can be very highly controlled for weight and physical properties. It really isn't used too much unless the part is critical or needs high temp resistance. You really won't find a prepreg hood. And if you do find a prepreg hood, expect to pay a few thousand for it. And that would be stupid waste of money because the rest of your car is still heavy and metal. Prepreg is expensive, has a short shelf life, takes expensive equipment to cure, and has to be refridgerated until you use it. Regular wet lay-up carbon fabric uses cheaper resin, is barely more heavy, and works great on cars. Forget you ever heard about prepreg.
There are two kinds of resin usually used for wet layup of carbon hoods, epoxy and polyester. You won't find epoxy in use until you get into the high end hoods. Polyester, and most other resins, are not UV stable, and will turn amber in the sun. It happens, and the resin isn't supposed to be in the sun without protection. But they use it anyway. The best thing that you can do is to use a quality automotive clearcoat, which will provide SOME UV protection for the resin, but that will just prolong the yellowing. It will also keep it from fading, just like the paint on your car.
You will find that most of the hoods on the market are partially fiberglass, for cost savings. You probably aren't hardcore enough to pay for a totally carbon hood, because they're expensive. And there really isn't any use making pure carbon hoods anyway, because it's not a structural panel.
The second layup method is prepreg. Prepreg (dry epoxy preinpregnated, uses heat and vacuum cure) is used because the resin to fiber content ratio can be very highly controlled for weight and physical properties. It really isn't used too much unless the part is critical or needs high temp resistance. You really won't find a prepreg hood. And if you do find a prepreg hood, expect to pay a few thousand for it. And that would be stupid waste of money because the rest of your car is still heavy and metal. Prepreg is expensive, has a short shelf life, takes expensive equipment to cure, and has to be refridgerated until you use it. Regular wet lay-up carbon fabric uses cheaper resin, is barely more heavy, and works great on cars. Forget you ever heard about prepreg.
Last edited by Fabrik8; Feb 22, 2004 at 02:03 PM.
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Re: Carbon Fiber questions
Originally Posted by MerF
Ok, it just so happens I'm looking to buy this CF piece for my car and it explains the two methods:
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Originally Posted by LoWPRoFiLE
There's a company called ViS that makes CF hoods for every make and model it seems. They cost 200-350 and that's without shipping.
Since it's not your car, just spray paint the hood black
Since it's not your car, just spray paint the hood black
Originally Posted by Fabrik8
Ok, here goes.
There are two kinds of resin usually used for wet layup of carbon hoods, epoxy and polyester. You won't find epoxy in use until you get into the high end hoods. Polyester, and most other resins, are not UV stable, and will turn amber in the sun. It happens, and the resin isn't supposed to be in the sun without protection. But they use it anyway. The best thing that you can do is to use a quality automotive clearcoat, which will provide SOME UV protection for the resin, but that will just prolong the yellowing. It will also keep it from fading, just like the paint on your car.
You will find that most of the hoods on the market are partially fiberglass, for cost savings. You probably aren't hardcore enough to pay for a totally carbon hood, because they're expensive. And there really isn't any use making pure carbon hoods anyway, because it's not a structural panel.
The second layup method is prepreg. Prepreg (dry epoxy preinpregnated, uses heat and vacuum cure) is used because the resin to fiber content ratio can be very highly controlled for weight and physical properties. It really isn't used too much unless the part is critical or needs high temp resistance. You really won't find a prepreg hood. And if you do find a prepreg hood, expect to pay a few thousand for it. And that would be stupid waste of money because the rest of your car is still heavy and metal. Prepreg is expensive, has a short shelf life, takes expensive equipment to cure, and has to be refridgerated until you use it. Regular wet lay-up carbon fabric uses cheaper resin, is barely more heavy, and works great on cars. Forget you ever heard about prepreg.
There are two kinds of resin usually used for wet layup of carbon hoods, epoxy and polyester. You won't find epoxy in use until you get into the high end hoods. Polyester, and most other resins, are not UV stable, and will turn amber in the sun. It happens, and the resin isn't supposed to be in the sun without protection. But they use it anyway. The best thing that you can do is to use a quality automotive clearcoat, which will provide SOME UV protection for the resin, but that will just prolong the yellowing. It will also keep it from fading, just like the paint on your car.
You will find that most of the hoods on the market are partially fiberglass, for cost savings. You probably aren't hardcore enough to pay for a totally carbon hood, because they're expensive. And there really isn't any use making pure carbon hoods anyway, because it's not a structural panel.
The second layup method is prepreg. Prepreg (dry epoxy preinpregnated, uses heat and vacuum cure) is used because the resin to fiber content ratio can be very highly controlled for weight and physical properties. It really isn't used too much unless the part is critical or needs high temp resistance. You really won't find a prepreg hood. And if you do find a prepreg hood, expect to pay a few thousand for it. And that would be stupid waste of money because the rest of your car is still heavy and metal. Prepreg is expensive, has a short shelf life, takes expensive equipment to cure, and has to be refridgerated until you use it. Regular wet lay-up carbon fabric uses cheaper resin, is barely more heavy, and works great on cars. Forget you ever heard about prepreg.
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From: |3 | 8 < 5
Re: Carbon Fiber questions
Get this type of Carbon-Fiber! It's cheap but it won't fade...
http://www.bulletproofautomotive.com...ail.php?ID=142
http://www.bulletproofautomotive.com...ail.php?ID=142
