Before I move on to a big project I though I could do with some practice so I decided to cover the fuse box cover; nobody will see it if all goes wrong.
Learning from my previous errors ( that’s what errors are for) I roughed up the surface with 120 grit and cleaned it to remove any dust. I covered the surface with a black epoxy base coat and left it to set to a tacky surface. Once it had set to the tack I covered it in the carbon fibre. I’m using a material called pro-finish 'cos it’s suposed to be non-fray. It’s not! I’m laying it up to form a V patern. After laying the CF I covered it in clear epoxy resin and it looked very good. After covering it I bagged it up with the peel ply, separation ply, breather ply and vacuum bag, switched on the vacuum pump. I released the vacuum after about an hour and a half and left it to finally cure overnight.
Next morning, with great excitement I un bagged it. What a disappointment. It was dull and the weave of the peel ply was pressed into the surface. :-(
Oh well, I thought, I’ll give it a coat of resin anyway. WOW as soon as the resin hit the surface it burst into life, what a change. It looked amazing. Took it into the sunlight and the two thread directions flashed as the sun hit them. Fantastic. Left it to cure.
It’s not to flash now it’s dried, but this is just the first coat.
Watch this space.