Real carbon fiber fenders

[axellmusic19]

I decided that instead of paying 200 for cheap plastics that could crack easily in winter and be scratched easily as well as be hard to paint, I called my neighbor up (who builds airplanes i.e. ionaircraft.com) and asked if it was possible. Right now we are still in the prep stage of acitone and sanding but we've tested vacuum baging it and will have it layed up and finished in the coming weeks. It will range from 3-5 ply in thickness and cost about 300. Not including labor. I will be posting finished pictures along with the actual documentary of the process. Hope yaul enjoy!

[250Renvy]

If it's anything like the hoods that are out there, I'm not sure it would stand up - except maybe dune riding.

However I am eager to see how this turns out.

Good luck with the project. You'll definitely have one of a kind.

[axellmusic19]

What about the hoods caused them to not hold up? I will be making the fender with coats of paint and alluminum braces so hopefully that will help. I'm already shaving pounds so it will be nice to have supports and not gain weight.

[jonboy]

They'll be too rigid and crack, the plastic flexes

[Pipeless416]

sounds like a cool idea until you roll over

[TNT]

Originally posted by jonboy
They'll be too rigid and crack, the plastic flexes

Thats right since carbon graphite composites don't do that well in compression, impact resistance, cracks, deflection, depending on your material, but if you put an outer ply of Kevlar in the lay-up it is 5+ times harder than steel in compression.

Don't know how much your buddy knows about aircraft composites but it's one thing to build them and much more difficult to design composites that dont fail. Look into thermoplastic resin systems.

Look into uni-tape and cloth rosette directions/hybrids for mechanical and flex properties, the kevlar and sometime an outer layer of glass has better compression and bending/flex properties than carbon......Your buddy needs to look at hybrid design to get the properties you need, not just lay up anything on a tool and bag it. It won't be that easy for this application or it would have been done already, however not impossible just costly.

Good luck, need some help ask! :D

[axellmusic19]

Thank you very much! Yes we are aware of the many possibilities however there is a limiting budget and calendar. This saturday I will be going to the hanger again and will measure for materails and look into the kevlar layering idea. I also thought of laying it up in thin layers and then using 12k bracings so flex and support could exist but for right now the kevlar will hopefully be possible. I will try out the design this winter and keep the mold and use it for redesigning latter on next spring incase it fails. I haven't done too much research but is there any sort of sealent besides clear coat? Thanks again

[TNT]

Originally posted by axellmusic19
I haven't done too much research but is there any sort of sealent besides clear coat? Thanks again

Composite environmental sealing and protection is completely different than metals, you want to “Edge Seal” to keep moisture from getting between plies causing delaminations, “Fay seal” to keep metal contact from corroding, wet install fasteners, bolts, nuts, etc. Consult the company listed below for your application or if you can’t afford aircraft grades any non-chromate primer or sealant will do.

http: //corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/Aerospace/Sealants/Sealants_Products/

Some may wonder how carbon composites corrode; well they don’t really until placed in contact or in the proximity of metal. Different metals to different degrees depending on a cathode-anode reaction factor, distance apart, and several other factors.

You two may want to consider fastening pre-formed sections and designing to them, maybe combine with multiple hand lay-up skin sections fastened to the substructures below vs a one-piece design. They give you the ability to R&R, their cost and availability has come down drastically in the past years since there NC controlled to reduce labor cost. Many are already edge sealed from the OEM, they are fiber wound infused with a thermoplastic resin.

Here are some examples,

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/Terrylport/SquareTube2_sm.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/Terrylport/RectangleTube_sm.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/Terrylport/Large-Round-Tubes-cat.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/Terrylport/Joint.jpg

http://dragonplate.com/

Also available are reinforced fillers for dents, scuffs, etc, as well as strong adhesives to room temp cure sections back together.

[axellmusic19]

Right now I have almost finished prep and will begin ordering materials. There are available hybrid weaves of different types but I am remaining with the 3 and 5 ply top out of carbon and a bottom side later of 2 ply kevlar. It will be clear-coated, and have vinyls in between clear coats and then painted black on the underside to cover the natural yellow of the kevlar. I will use about 5-6 yards. The one last thing I need to know if anybody can find it, but I am not sure of the Tg on the original plastic. The rear edge is warped and could use straightening but I do not want to melt it. Does anybody know the chemical temps on this type of plastic? Thanks you and I will hopefully be posting the build up of pictures.

[TNT]

What are you asking? Are you using your original plastic as a lay-up tool and are going to put in an autoclave? If so who makes can you call them and ask or look on line for theromoplastics to get an idea. Call some of the after market companies that make atv plastics.

Sounds like a better lay-up I see you found some kevlar.....you know you can drop plies off or build them up in areas you need...also weave is strong in two directions, lots of times uni(one direction) tape gives your more strength in the direction of fibers.....better to build areas where bending is likely say from a flip.

Good luck!

[BMW Dr.]

I think they'll stand up fine as long as they aren't a 'full fender' design.....but instead after a cut design. Althought I feel for any tree or animal you might come into contact with.....they aren't going to stand a chance. :D

[axellmusic19]

Well today is the day... I have my kevlar and carbon and will be doing the laying up at the hanger. I hope everything turns out well and I will have pictures to go along with the whole process. The reason I am not concerned about them breaking is because I still will use the old ones when I run hard and keep the new ones safe. Can't wait to see how they look! :)

[axellmusic19]

Sorry this has taken so long just for these results but life has gotten quite busy. I now have the carbon done, however there is trimming and sanding before I am ready to apply the the kevlar layup on the bottom. Overall, I am ecstatic about the results and it is LIGHT! Strong too obviously. I have the process and photos of vacuum bagging and laying it all up with peel ply etc if anybody is interested!