Carbon Fiber Bodywork

Thanks herrdeacon, I'm glad I can help a bit. Hopefully, by sharing my mistakes, it'll be that much easier for you to get it right the first time. What are you going to make a mold of, if I may ask?

I'm on the list. I've been paying attention, but didn't have much to add, other than I'm very impressed!

I've been watching this too. I used to do this same process for McDonnell Douglas, building parts for the AV8B Harrier. I didn't like doing it though. More of a wrench turner.

loudhvx wrote:

I'm on the list. I've been paying attention, but didn't have much to add, other than I'm very impressed!

Thanks! I know exactly how you feel, because I think the same thing whenever I read one of your electrical posts :laugh:

porchev914 wrote:

I was wrong. The primer did everything BUT fill in the pinholes

So, I will continue as planned with the sanding, but in the pin hole areas, I'll take it down to the gelcoat with 600, then mix up some more gelcoat and squeege it into the pinholes with a bondo spreader, then refinish it. On the next side, I'll try spraying the gelcoat through one of my cheap primer guns. I may even buy a cheap higher volume gravity gun with a 2+mm tip, which it should go through... :dry:

try some spot putty

porchev914 wrote:

loudhvx wrote:

I'm on the list. I've been paying attention, but didn't have much to add, other than I'm very impressed!

Thanks! I know exactly how you feel, because I think the same thing whenever I read one of your electrical posts :laugh:

everytime i read one of his electrical diagragms i break out in a sweat and my head starts to hurt,way out of my league and ive been wiring for 30 years! :woohoo:

porchev914 wrote:

loudhvx wrote:

I'm on the list. I've been paying attention, but didn't have much to add, other than I'm very impressed!

Thanks! I know exactly how you feel, because I think the same thing whenever I read one of your electrical posts :laugh:

I'm here too, just watching quietly.

porchev914 wrote:

Thanks herrdeacon, I'm glad I can help a bit. Hopefully, by sharing my mistakes, it'll be that much easier for you to get it right the first time. What are you going to make a mold of, if I may ask?

I plan on making a few pieces for my CB350, like a seat, fenders, points cover and hopefully a gas tank. I've worked with fiberglass before and love it, but just one-off type pieces with no mold. I'll be looking at your work for ideas.

PLUMMEN wrote:
try some spot putty

3 days ago I would have agreed with you 100%, but I used some spot putty to repair some minor scratches in the sidecover prior to laying up the mold. When I stripped the mold, the small amount of spot putty that was exposed to the gelcoat stuck to it. I forgot to include that little tidbit in an earlier post. The spot putty covered by primer stayed intact, but the primer transfered from the plug to the mold as well. I'm going to do what I can to make sure that as much of the mold surface as possible is strictly gelcoat for durability and part consistency. The primer I sprayed in is basically just a guide coat, to show me when I'm done sanding and ready for polishing.
Does that make sense?

Alright guys, I may have been a little sarcastic with the 5 people watching comment, but I'm glad that I'm not talking to myself :laugh:
Keep the comments comming. If you guys see or think of something, let me know. As hard as I try to be prepared and think all my steps through, I'm not smart enough to think of everything :whistle:

Adam

I sanded the primer with 600 grit wet/dry paper until the gelcoat started to show through. You can see all the imperfections and low/high spots in the gelcoat.

This is the time consuming part, sanding and polishing :whistle:
And I still need to make a flange.....

Adam, count me in as a follower. I have just been out of internet range for a few days. More on that later. I'll post a travelogue in chit chat. Excellent thread, and as I predicted, we are all learning. Makes me wonder what all these guys who build CF boat hulls and vacuum bag 'em must go through. Keep up the good work.

Ahhhhh Josh. I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you :whistle: :laugh: