Carbon Fibre, Carbon Kevlar, or Fibre Glass?
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Carbon Fibre, Carbon Kevlar, or Fibre Glass?
I want to make panels for the exterior of my car and I need to know what material is going to be the best.
Carbon Fibre
Carbon Kevlar
Fibre Glass
The whole exterior of the car will be done in the material I end up using including a custom skirt kit that I will be making.
The car will mainly be driven on the street but will be autoXed as well as dragged.
Im looking for the strongest one basically and if its lighter than the stock panels, sweet!:p
Thanks for you help
Carbon Fibre
Carbon Kevlar
Fibre Glass
The whole exterior of the car will be done in the material I end up using including a custom skirt kit that I will be making.
The car will mainly be driven on the street but will be autoXed as well as dragged.
Im looking for the strongest one basically and if its lighter than the stock panels, sweet!:p
Thanks for you help
#2
You are going to fab doors panels and quarter panels? That's a big job...
Fiberglass and carbon fibre don't differ that much in terms of effort, except CF is a more expensive. If you want something that looks nice and strong, CF is the only way to go. Get prepared to take panels down and make a lot of molds.
I don't know much about Kevlar.
Fiberglass and carbon fibre don't differ that much in terms of effort, except CF is a more expensive. If you want something that looks nice and strong, CF is the only way to go. Get prepared to take panels down and make a lot of molds.
I don't know much about Kevlar.
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Yeah Im fabbin everything, doors, rocker, quarter, hood, etc.
I know its a big job, but I need something to do!
Ive already looked into the steps needed to fabricate fibre glass and carbon fibre (im assumin that carbon kevlar is the same as CF).
Ive also looked into how much they each cost, so...
I just dont know which one would be good for the exterior of the car in terms of strength and wieght.
I know its a big job, but I need something to do!
Ive already looked into the steps needed to fabricate fibre glass and carbon fibre (im assumin that carbon kevlar is the same as CF).
Ive also looked into how much they each cost, so...
I just dont know which one would be good for the exterior of the car in terms of strength and wieght.
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There are several types.
Carbon fiber has two types.
Dry carbon and wet carbon.
There is big difference.
Dry carbon is the best in quality and weight.
But, it is very costly.
FRP, Wet carbon, Kevlar and Polycarbonate make little difference.
Carbon fiber has two types.
Dry carbon and wet carbon.
There is big difference.
Dry carbon is the best in quality and weight.
But, it is very costly.
FRP, Wet carbon, Kevlar and Polycarbonate make little difference.
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Any of those materials will weigh less than stock if they are made right. Go to the bookstore and read up. I think there is one at my Barnes&Noble called Composite Fabrication that is really good. The best/stiffest/most expensive is pre-preg carbon fibre. Most of them require an autoclave though. Wet lay-up is easy, but if you want that cool carbon fibre weave to show through, you must be careful and patient. Wet lay-up fibreglass is EASY. I made my wing in fibreglass weave over foam. (Just the cheap house insulating 4x8 foam.)
Unidirectional CF is strongest but you must use perpindicular or otherwise crossing layers. You must be patient enough to do many layers and bond them in the "green cure" stage for the best adhesion between layers. That goes for all layered FRP's.
Anyway, good luck!
Unidirectional CF is strongest but you must use perpindicular or otherwise crossing layers. You must be patient enough to do many layers and bond them in the "green cure" stage for the best adhesion between layers. That goes for all layered FRP's.
Anyway, good luck!
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impossible
I have done fiberglass before at a auto manufactoring plant. I would say it would be pretty much impossible for someone to just pick up the art of laying carbon. To get the the lightness and strength that the production houses use, they have lots of machines that help them along the way. IE vacuums, bags, presses. You would be better off purchasing someone elses work than trying to do it on your own. I would recommend "Aircraft Spruce Company" if you are going to try to do it yourself, they have alot of the materials and instructional books and videos you'll need.
LUKE
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Last edited by dieselmodel26; 01-22-02 at 05:50 AM.
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Re: impossible
Originally posted by dieselmodel26
I have done fiberglass before at a auto manufactoring plant. I would say it would be pretty much impossible for someone to just pick up the art of laying carbon. To get the the lightness and strength that the production houses use, they have lots of machines that help them along the way. IE vacuums, bags, presses. You would be better off purchasing someone elses work than trying to do it on your own. I would recommend "Aircraft Spruce Company" if you are going to try to do it yourself, they have alot of the materials and instructional books and videos you'll need.
LUKE
I have done fiberglass before at a auto manufactoring plant. I would say it would be pretty much impossible for someone to just pick up the art of laying carbon. To get the the lightness and strength that the production houses use, they have lots of machines that help them along the way. IE vacuums, bags, presses. You would be better off purchasing someone elses work than trying to do it on your own. I would recommend "Aircraft Spruce Company" if you are going to try to do it yourself, they have alot of the materials and instructional books and videos you'll need.
LUKE
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Yeah, I would not recomend a beginner doing structural stuff in FRP. I think this guy wanted more cosmetic/outer body stuff. That's not too difficult to do in wet-layup. Besides, I think we would all encourage PRACTICE! Start small and with 'glass because it's cheap and work into CF.