GEN 2 New Project- Carbon Fiber Skinning

[WoahItsRob]

For those that don't know what this process is- Its basically getting real carbon fiber weave, resin/epoxy and hardener and attaching the carbon fiber to an existing panel or piece in the truck.
My plan is to do all of the OEM locations for carbon fiber and make my non carbon fiber pieces match.


Going to be undertaking this new project in the next week. It will be my first attempt at this so hopefully it can be done. I've seen some good videos, and some terrible ones, on YouTube on how to do this project and feel pretty good at getting it done right.

It all seems to come down to proper preparation, timing, and being able to get exact measurements on the ingredients. Oh, and lots of sanding lol.

I'll be cataloging the process on here win or fail, so anyone that has looked into this but doubted themselves can get a good understanding of the process and potential outcome.

I ordered a kit through GorillaCarbonworks
SK-01 - $80
I also added in an extra 50"×10" 2x2 twill weave pattern RCF-01 - $35

$115 in materials so far. Will have to go pick up sandpaper and some other materials as well. I will catalogue prices and what I pick up as well

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnyPython]

What are you planning to cover in CF?

I've done it before on a front lip.

Spray glue works well to hold the CF in place. After soaking the cloth in epoxy resin, peel ply and vacuum seal the part for best results.

I'll see if I can pull some pics up but I think they're lost in Photobucket hell.

 

[WoahItsRob]

What are you planning to cover in CF?

I've done it before on a front lip.

Spray glue works well to hold the CF in place. After soaking the cloth in epoxy resin, peel ply and vacuum seal the part for best results.

I'll see if I can pull some pics up but I think they're lost in Photobucket hell.

I'm gonna be doing the 4 door pieces above the handles, the part above the glove box and the sliding door. I might try and take apart the shift know to see if I can wrap any of it individually. That's all for now.
I thought about vacuum sealing but didn't feel it warranted the extra cost being my first time trying this, ill just sand away lol.
And I've seen the spray glue way, but the kit I bought comes with black tinter for the epoxy so ill just mix it all with the hardener and lay that down as the base coat. It'll keep me from having to spray paint the silver bits black and work the same way.

Any pics you can find, I'd love to see.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnyPython]

I'm gonna be doing the 4 door pieces above the handles, the part above the glove box and the sliding door. I might try and take apart the shift know to see if I can wrap any of it individually. That's all for now.
I thought about vacuum sealing but didn't feel it warranted the extra cost being my first time trying this, ill just sand away lol.
And I've seen the spray glue way, but the kit I bought comes with black tinter for the epoxy so ill just mix it all with the hardener and lay that down as the base coat. It'll keep me from having to spray paint the silver bits black and work the same way.

Any pics you can find, I'd love to see.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

Without vacuum sealing, the cloth won't adhere to the part. The shifter will be a female dog otherwise.

You don't really want to sand thru the cloth since these are interior pieces.

Having done CF skinning before, I understand the cost that Ford is charging as an option.

 

[WoahItsRob]

Without vacuum sealing, the cloth won't adhere to the part. The shifter will be a female dog otherwise.

You don't really want to sand thru the cloth since these are interior pieces.

Having done CF skinning before, I understand the cost that Ford is charging as an option.

I shouldn't have an issue with any of the flat pieces I don't think. I'll sand and get a nice cut into the pieces I'm working on. The resin/epoxy ill be using for the base coat will sit for 2 hours before laying the weave on it so it should have a good tack to it. I will also be able to fold the carbon around and tape it to the back to keep it snug for adhesion

I'm just going off the videos so I'm not speaking from experience but it seems that all the pieces I've seen done adhered nicely to the surface. Time will tell I guess.
The shifter would be hard to do but if I do I would probably not do the leather part, just the 2 silver pieces on it if they come off. Haven't looked at it yet so unsure if I'll even try that piece.
Same with the vents, I wouldn't want to overdo the carbon in the interior, but I know those pieces would be such a pain for a novice to do

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnyPython]

This was a repair to a front lip that cracked in half. I had to lay 3 sections of cloth because of the shape of the lip. The cloth lifted at the edges a bit because I didn't vacuum seal the lip. It came out ok but in retrospect I would vacuum seal the part.

These are the best pics I could find and I don't have the lip anymore.

 

[WoahItsRob]

Hopefully i don't have any issues with the way I do it. But if I do, ill still post up here that it was a fail lol

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[JohnyPython]

Hopefully i don't have any issues with the way I do it. But if I do, ill still post up here that it was a fail lol

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

Try it. It’s a learning experience.

 

[smurfslayer]

good luck Woah!

 

[RaptorSRQ]

Look up b is for build on YouTube. He did some of this on a Lamborghini. Lots of trial and error but the outcome can be amazing