Carbon Fiber Info
- Thread starter sl8rxlr8r
- Start date
When it first came out it was $250,000+ a linear yard and high grade woven glass was $60 a linear yard. Now it's $60 to $80 and nano carbon is $250K+ a kilo :
if you can convince someone to sell it to you, that is You can use any resin with it, as it is only a fiber just like glass or kevlar. Epoxies are considered to be "structural adhesives" and have gone hand in hand with these advanced fibers due to where they were being used (aviation etc).
If you want that "bling" factor just use colored woven glass ;D. you can even get it in black sooo it looks like carbon\graphite.
Be aware that some polyester resins are prone to attack from methanol/ethanol, they will soften and dissolve.
So if you using an old "bates" tank on that Cafe project or you brought the $100 special on evilBay, don't be using that modern cheep fuel/gas that is watered down with ethanol, cos it's most likely made using elcheapo polyester and the older polyesters were never that good.
Having read the article try substituting the word fibre-glass for carbon and it's just like all the glass work you've ever done. oh and his statement that
"Carbon fiber moldings look great on a bike, are light, strong, generally unaffected by fuels and oils"
is very misleading the end products resistance to fuel, oil or little children is primarily dependent on the resin used.
Don't be sucked into this "it's better than glass" crap, it is just a different fiber used for a different task, it's the resins that can make all the difference to it resistance.
Don't get me wrong i love carbon, but in the right place and for the right reason, if you want bling use black glass.
Sorry for the rant, there is a whole mishmash of information out there on this stuff. my advice is, talk to the experts that use this stuff everyday, rant over :-[
May the glass be with you!!
Rod from OZ 8) an expert for 27 years
if you can convince someone to sell it to you, that is You can use any resin with it, as it is only a fiber just like glass or kevlar. Epoxies are considered to be "structural adhesives" and have gone hand in hand with these advanced fibers due to where they were being used (aviation etc). If you want that "bling" factor just use colored woven glass ;D. you can even get it in black sooo it looks like carbon\graphite
. Be aware that some polyester resins are prone to attack from methanol/ethanol, they will soften and dissolve.
So if you using an old "bates" tank on that Cafe project or you brought the $100 special on evilBay, don't be using that modern cheep fuel/gas that is watered down with ethanol, cos it's most likely made using elcheapo polyester and the older polyesters were never that good.
Having read the article try substituting the word fibre-glass for carbon and it's just like all the glass work you've ever done. oh and his statement that
"Carbon fiber moldings look great on a bike, are light, strong, generally unaffected by fuels and oils"
is very misleading the end products resistance to fuel, oil or little children is primarily dependent on the resin used.
Don't be sucked into this "it's better than glass" crap, it is just a different fiber used for a different task, it's the resins that can make all the difference to it resistance.
Don't get me wrong i love carbon, but in the right place and for the right reason, if you want bling use black glass.
Sorry for the rant, there is a whole mishmash of information out there on this stuff. my advice is, talk to the experts that use this stuff everyday, rant over :-[
May the glass be with you!!
Rod from OZ 8) an expert for 27 years
