Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank

So If it does turn out would you make an ELR set??? :ohmy:

Im shure I am not the only one interested

ready2ryde1985 wrote:

So If it does turn out would you make an ELR set??? :ohmy:

Im shure I am not the only one interested

i could probably find a home for a dozen sets lol.

Just becasue I know more than a couple people are reading this with interest, I lead off with my best foot first here. There is good, and there is bad. The great news is that there is enough good to keep me motivated to move forward. That bad is that this particular tank top will not be usable. Is everyone ready for some pics? Of course you are Oh, and just for kicks I threw an emblem on :woohoo:

The bad is that I had more than too many air pockets. The wierdest thing was that the right half of the tank turned out pretty good, but the left side turned out like crap :S My conclusion: technique, or in this case, lack thereof.

Another thing I didn't like about this resin, besides how thick it was, is the signifigant yellow tint the activator gives the epoxy. I will need to change to a different resin. This stuff will work great for making molds though, so it won't go to waste

The left side, with a few defects and no emblem

The other good news is that is slipped right on the tank bottom, and even without any prefitting it fit pretty good. I was pleasantly suprised :woohoo:

porchev914 wrote:

The bad is that I had more than too many air pockets. The wierdest thing was that the right half of the tank turned out pretty good, but the left side turned out like crap :S My conclusion: technique, or in this case, lack thereof.

Another thing I didn't like about this resin, besides how thick it was, is the signifigant yellow tint the activator gives the epoxy. I will need to change to a different resin. This stuff will work great for making molds though, so it won't go to waste

I have a question, are you using a hair drier on each layer to remove extra air bubbles and resin?

Top and bottom from the rear. In this pic you can see where I had skewed the 1st cloth layer and had it short on the right rear corner. This is another reason why this tank top is unacceptable. Again that is just poor technique :whistle: When I said this pushed the envelope of my abilties, I was NOT kidding!!! :laugh:

kzz1p wrote:

I have a question, are you using a hair drier on each layer to remove extra air bubbles and resin?

The direct answer is no. But I can't think of any reason why it would either. Have you ever used such a technique? The problem with heat is that it makes small bubbles big bubbles, and no matter how fluid the resin is, heat will not make bubbles dissapear. In fact, heat accelerates the cure of the resin, locking any entrapped air in. The only way to remove air I know of is mechanical force or vacuum. But if you know a secret, please share. I'm still learning here

ready2ryde1985 wrote:

So If it does turn out would you make an ELR set??? :ohmy:

Im shure I am not the only one interested

Is the ELR tank exclusive to that model, or is it a standard Z1R/MK2 tank? Please excuse my ignorance :laugh:

porchev914 wrote:

kzz1p wrote:

I have a question, are you using a hair drier on each layer to remove extra air bubbles and resin?

The direct answer is no. But I can't think of any reason why it would either. Have you ever used such a technique? The problem with heat is that it makes small bubbles big bubbles, and no matter how fluid the resin is, heat will not make bubbles dissapear. In fact, heat accelerates the cure of the resin, locking any entrapped air in. The only way to remove air I know of is mechanical force or vacuum. But if you know a secret, please share. I'm still learning here

I am just a youtube guy. I have seen three or four older guys use a hair driers in between layers to force out extra air bubbles & resin, then they roll it out. I see that most people don't do it. Maybe the older guys have the trick?

Did you put down resin first then the matt or the matt first then the resin? I was watching a video last night it was a body/frame combo. They put down the matt first then resin over it. They said it was so they didn't get any air pockets on the mold layer. The bag will force resin completely through the matt.

I don't know just asking.

OK, gotcha. A coat of resin goes down first, then the cloth which is then wetted out with mroe resin. If you put the cloth down on a dry mold, you will get bubbles. Granted, I got some pretty big bubbles in mine, but like I said, that was my poor technique. But if you do it right, brushing on a coat of resin first will yield a smoother, more void free finish than laying dry cloth in a dry mold. The kicker is I was more concerned about the bottom edge of the tank, and it turned out fairly decent :blink: I have done many experiments leading up to this, what bit me here was poor technique and a change to resin I was not used to. I have only myself to blame here though.