Fun With Carbon Fiber

[100mpg]

Originally Posted by therivermonster

Is that a joke, Jim?

The fairing is far to small to work on the bike. It's just a little model. More of a proof of concept really.

The real deal fairing project will come in the future.

I didn't realize it was not full size either! It really looks great, well done.

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

No, I didn't catch that it wasn't full size! However, it still looks fantastic!

I can see a couple uses for it right now. A sconce in the den or garage, first comes to mind.

Jim

I like the sconce idea. It would make for a great office, shop, or man cave light.

I might just give that a shot.

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by 100mpg

I didn't realize it was not full size either! It really looks great, well done.

Thanks! It was a really great project to get me started with composites.

I feel a little more comfortable now with what to expect from the fabric and the resin. You'll see on the build for the DR 650 exhaust shroud that I'll be making a mold for that part, so we'll see how that goes. It's all a learning experience.

[ebrabaek]

The CLR-HP is good for up to about 200 deg.F. with a structural load. After 200 deg. it will begin to flex. Watch for yellowing of the epoxy as a sign of heat stress, as you cycle the piece. I think you will be ok....with perhaps a little stress around the mount's ...where the metal screws connects the heat transfer to the pipe. Generally speaking, when I use any parts for muffler I use 1618, as it is good up to 250 deg.F......or in the case of header heat shields.....Max-hte.....
I have no clue how hot the dr's muffler get's.... But just be on the look out when you make parts for exhausts systems....

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by ebrabaek

The CLR-HP is good for up to about 200 deg.F. with a structural load. After 200 deg. it will begin to flex. Watch for yellowing of the epoxy as a sign of heat stress, as you cycle the piece. I think you will be ok....with perhaps a little stress around the mount's ...where the metal screws connects the heat transfer to the pipe. Generally speaking, when I use any parts for muffler I use 1618, as it is good up to 250 deg.F......or in the case of header heat shields.....Max-hte.....
I have no clue how hot the dr's muffler get's.... But just be on the look out when you make parts for exhausts systems....

I have been thinking about this quite a bit, but from the temp readings that I have taken from the shroud, it looks to stay below 110 f.

I'm making a mold of the part, so if we need to go back at make another one again with different epoxy, then that's what we'll do. No worries.

Earling, could you elaborate on your epoxy rub-in process? How do you apply the epoxy, rag, sponge, brush, finger, etc? What steps do you take to apply the epoxy.

Thanks again!

[ebrabaek]

Originally Posted by therivermonster

I have been thinking about this quite a bit, but from the temp readings that I have taken from the shroud, it looks to stay below 110 f.

I'm making a mold of the part, so if we need to go back at make another one again with different epoxy, then that's what we'll do. No worries.

Earling, could you elaborate on your epoxy rub-in process? How do you apply the epoxy, rag, sponge, brush, finger, etc? What steps do you take to apply the epoxy.

Thanks again!

If that reading was taken with a IR thermometer, then most likely it is inaccurate, as IR pickups dont work well with shiny metal.... I use a nitrile gloved hand... dip the fingertips in the epoxy.....rub the entire area like your messaging your wife's....uhhhmmmm shoulders....Then wipe the area with a sheet of paper towel...... Do all this under a IR heat lamp,as it will cause the epoxy to thin, and easier will rub in...... I will hang a picture a bit later, of a mould that I had to fix, after it was partially destroyed during a cast.

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by ebrabaek

If that reading was taken with a IR thermometer, then most likely it is inaccurate, as IR pickups dont work well with shiny metal.... I use a nitrile gloved hand... dip the fingertips in the epoxy.....rub the entire area like your messaging your wife's....uhhhmmmm shoulders....Then wipe the area with a sheet of paper towel...... Do all this under a IR heat lamp,as it will cause the epoxy to thin, and easier will rub in...... I will hang a picture a bit later, of a mould that I had to fix, after it was partially destroyed during a cast.

Thanks for the quick reply, Earling! I needed it.

The mini fairing fish eyed badly, but very small fish eyes this time. Too bad cause it looked cool.

I was hesitant to put more work into this piece, but I decided that it also doubles as a piece of carbon fiber composite that can be used like a chalk board of sorts. Just erase your previous work and continue.

That's exactly what I did. I sanded all the new resin off along with the sexy new paint stripes. Then it was back to where I started after I had finished sanding yesterday. I mixed up a 15 gram batch of epoxy resin and was very surprised at what followed...

This is exactly what I did. I dipped my gloved pointer finger and middle finger just a little bit into the resin. The resin maybe covered up to the top of my fingernails on both fingers. I started to rub this resin into the sanded part and was very surprised how well it was covering. Believe it or not, I had too much resin on my fingers.

After I had rubbed the resin all over the part, I used one of those folded blue shot towles to wipe off the excess which there was plenty of.

If you are going to try any of this composite work, remember that a little resin goes a long way...

Needless to say, the newly finished part looks much better (so far), but without the sexy red stripes. If the resin doesn't fisheye this time, I would like to paint on the stripes again and spray a few coats of UV protectant clear on and call it done.

More to come soon...

[ebrabaek]

Originally Posted by therivermonster

Thanks for the quick reply, Earling! I needed it.

The mini fairing fish eyed badly, but very small fish eyes this time. Too bad cause it looked cool.

I was hesitant to put more work into this piece, but I decided that it also doubles as a piece of carbon fiber composite that can be used like a chalk board of sorts. Just erase your previous work and continue.

That's exactly what I did. I sanded all the new resin off along with the sexy new paint stripes. Then it was back to where I started after I had finished sanding yesterday. I mixed up a 15 gram batch of epoxy resin and was very surprised at what followed...

This is exactly what I did. I dipped my gloved pointer finger and middle finger just a little bit into the resin. The resin maybe covered up to the top of my fingernails on both fingers. I started to rub this resin into the sanded part and was very surprised how well it was covering. Believe it or not, I had too much resin on my fingers.

After I had rubbed the resin all over the part, I used one of those folded blue shot towles to wipe off the excess which there was plenty of.

If you are going to try any of this composite work, remember that a little resin goes a long way...

Needless to say, the newly finished part looks much better (so far), but without the sexy red stripes. If the resin doesn't fisheye this time, I would like to paint on the stripes again and spray a few coats of UV protectant clear on and call it done.

More to come soon...

Make sure your wife does not see this post as she will now surely indulge upon your fingertips necessity to massage her shoulders.... You are now a certified rubber......

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by ebrabaek

Make sure your wife does not see this post as she will now surely indulge upon your fingertips necessity to massage her shoulders.... You are now a certified rubber......

50 Shades of Gray's got nothing on this.


Let me rub some epoxy on that and we'll do a little layin' up in your female mold...

[ebrabaek]

Originally Posted by therivermonster

50 Shades of Gray's got nothing on this.

Let me rub some epoxy on that and we'll do a little laying up...

[therivermonster]

I mentioned in a couple posts back that the mini fairing fisheyed again pretty bad when I was applying the finish layer of epoxy. This looked really bad, so I sanded back down to a fresh smooth surface to begin again.
I rubbed in a very thin layer of epoxy using the Breabaek technique. It worked well. Here is the fairing this morning. It actually looks better then in this picture.


While I was at it, I decided to try another paint scheme. Masking tape applied.


Here the design has been drawn on the masking and cut out.


After spraying the paint and a couple coats of clear, this is what we have. It's not perfect, but I learned a lot about applying a finish layer of resin, applying paint to that layer, and the effect that clear has on a resin finished carbon fiber part. These lessons are priceless.


Which scheme do you like better?


Now back to the DR exhaust shroud...

I sanded the shroud plug smooth with 220, then 400 grit sand paper.


I then sprayed a couple coats of rattle can clear coat on it. I'll spray more coats of clear, then wet sand it followed by buffing. Once I can achieve an A1 super smooth, shiney plug, only then we'll move on to laying up the mold.


More to come soon...

[aiMhi]

Nice man have fun with it. I like playing with composites as well it provides a creative outlet. Getting rid of bubbles in CF is very hard, it's all about keeping this warm. I actually warm it up a bit with my heat gun which makes it soak better into the CF. Large mfg actually stamp out their parts out of perfect flat pre made cf pieces.Just watch out for the CF dust it's lethal.

[therivermonster]

Originally Posted by aiMhi

Nice man have fun with it. I like playing with composites as well it provides a creative outlet. Getting rid of bubbles in CF is very hard, it's all about keeping this warm. I actually warm it up a bit with my heat gun which makes it soak better into the CF. Large mfg actually stamp out their parts out of perfect flat pre made cf pieces.Just watch out for the CF dust it's lethal.

It is a lot of fun. The more I learn, the more ideas I get. If only there were more time...

Yeah, the pre-preg stuff that the pros use look cool, but that seems so much like an assembly line type of work - no spirit. We are able to get intimately involved with our composite projects, bubbles and all. I'm sure I'll get better at getting rid of the bubbles, and I'll keep the heat gun trick in mind.

Ebrabaeck has reported that spraying just a bit of acetone on the first layer of epoxy helps some of the bubbles surface, as well as helping with surface tension somehow. Maybe he'll chime in a bit on how exactly he applies/sprays the acetone, and what it does.

The CF dust is nasty. I spend a lot of time with a respirator or dust mask on. Better safe then sorry.

[ebrabaek]

Home Depot..... Spray bottle...... Fill with acetone..... A few squishes..... Just like if you are misting flowers..... Done.

[100mpg]

Originally Posted by therivermonster

Which scheme do you like better?

the clear CF. Any paint design over the CF doesn't look right to me.

I sanded the shroud plug smooth with 220, then 400 grit sand paper.

400 is a good start. When I painted my little trailer I went up to 2000 (wet, with a touch of soap in it) after every coat of paint and clear. The result with a super smooth finish and that is what you need to make a good plug and mold. Let me brag...I mean show you what I mean.

From this



To this. With spray cans.




I have thought about using this trailer to make a form to create a longer version of this to tow behind my pickup when going camping. I like the wheels tucks under the body.