9 replies to this topic

[Minidarren83]

Hi I want to start making a few parts for my mini when it's done like arches and dashboard plus other interior and exterior parts and was thinking carbon but so many people use it and want my car to be a little different what do you all think about Kevlar for the pattern and colour or a mix of them both as I've seen carbon Kevlar cloth.
Any input would be great cheers Darren

[Skortchio]

Kevlar is real tough, the weave is distinctive if you're into yellow

Depends on what you're after really, if it's purely cosmetic then how about dying carbon farbric? It's really unusal and subtle while exclusive.
I've seen it done and was tempted to have the carbon on my Striple remade dyed but then it's all black now so saved the hassle

[donjarr]

Hi m8

If you haven't already seen this website they have various carbon with coloured strands mixed in.

http://www.easycompo...oth-Fabric.aspx

And pending what your making, things like dash panel or door cards or really anything that a faces you so to speak when laying up, the top layer obviously wants to be the fabric of your choice, and if it doesn't contain Kevlar, then second layer should either be just Kevlar or a carbon Kevlar mix, because in the event of a crash if just carbon bends to the point of shattering, or just gets broken, you can get nasty shards flying around, . However hopefully that will never happen, but it's just a safety tip.

[Minidarren83]

It's mainly for the look most parts will be constructed in fibreglass with the top layer being of something that I can't decide in I was going for the car being white roof black then carbon arches head light rings tail light clusters and maybe grill if I can make the mould but if I went for Kevlar what colour roof would compliment that? My wheels would be matched to roof too

[donjarr]

That site do a sample pack so might be worth checking with them it has all the coloured stuff in then buy and just apply some resin over the top to see what the finished colour comes out like, (tends to come out slightly darker once resin is applied. As for the roof pending what colour cloth you went for you could have some paint mixed of the cloth colour to do the roof and wheels in. However colour is a very personnel thing as eveyone has different ideas so some people will like your choice others will just pull a funny face, but as I said its personnel to you. All said and done I quite like that blue cloth :)

:)

[Rogue Se7ens]

I really like colored carbon kevlar but most of my work is in straight black 2x2 twill carbon. If you want to stick with black carbon you can think about different weaves. Plain weave and 2x2 twill are the most common but there is also 4x4 twill which I like, broad tow plain weave, very cool, 4 harness satin, 8 harness satin, v pattern twill, and more. I've done various parts in most of those options along with many colors and I'm thinking of some broad tow parts for my car, or maybe red carbon kevlar, hard to choose.

[ludiluka]

Hi there don't use kevlar !! pain in the ass :) (you can't send kevlar ) kevlar always stays soft and flexible.. Use colourd glass or carbon fiber

[donjarr]

I've been doing some bits for my mini recently, and been looking for 4 or 8 harness cloth in the Uk but can't find it anywhere. I just thought as I done the roof in 2x2 twill, the aero wing end plates in plain weave, and the mounting brackets in chopped strand, (odd shape, I couldn’t get the cloth to lay in and look nice) I thought the actual wing would look nice in 4 or 8 harness, but searched high and low and couldn't find it anywhere in the UK. I'm still looking as the mould is not finished yet, but we seem limited over here to the more common weave patterns.

As for Kevlar, it needs cutting with a diamond saw blade in a dremel, then sanding flat using a very fine sanding drum, or stone. If its on show then clear coat it, sand again, then clear coat and it comes up fine. :)

[Minidarren83]

I think I might go with the carbon/Kevlar mix weave in a 2/2 twill pattern I like the look of it and it is a little different that the normal carbon that everyone uses and I never though about how hard it will be to sand but I guess that's it job lol

[Rogue Se7ens]

I don't know about shipping to the UK but you might look at http://www.solarcomposites.com for some materials.
I do a lot of carbon kevlars and have very little problems trimming the part, it's just cutting the dry fabric that I hate. I have some electric shears that work good but usually use cheap dollar store scissors, they just don't last very long. I have a few carbon kevlar parts on my site gallery at roguese7ens.com/photos.