318ti.org forum - Carbon fiber Fenders...

It always looks real purty when the fresh weave is laid upon the surface, but the true test is where you go from here.

the biggest problem with wet layup is the heavy resin deposit left on the surface -- the thicker resin layer yellows quickly under the sun. polishing is a tentative process, as sanding the resin exposes bubbles and ruins the surface.

this is one of the reasons that real carbon fiber pieces are difficult to produce, and expensive. The time and effort involved in building molds and vacuum bags in order to produce a piece that has low resin content, and a highly desireable finish, is simply astounding.

the bottom line in 2010 is that CF material is more expensive than ever due to it's prevalence in aerospace and military applications, not to mention production vehicles and pretty much anything involved in racing. Just look at the olympics. all those bobsleds are CF and kevlar.

for anyone who is considering home fabrication of CF materials -- take it from someone who has tried it before. save your money and invest it in a quality paint job. if you're really serious about CF fabrication, take the time to purchase a vacuum bagging starter kit, and fabricate some small pieces first. get an idea of how much it costs per square inch. get the fascination out of your system which keeping your budget under $300. then, if you're still serious, consider investing in materials to mold a piece of this scale.

a large body panel will cost you $500 to make just the mold. will you recoup that cost in any way? only if you sell 10 pieces you make out of it. and how long will that take you? how much time is involved in not just molding the pieces, but cutting, sanding, polishing, cleaning up, etc? And realistically will 100% of your end product be desireable?

I did a wet-layup 2x2 twill 8oz cloth on the engine bay of my corvette. it looked awesome for the first couple weeks it was in there. then UV damage started to set in, dirt and debris got on the surface, and today, a few years later, I'm considering just painting black over the top. It probably cost me $700 to do the engine bay, and countless hours devoted to the task. If I could go back and do it again? I wouldn't.

just my $.02 on the whole process. take it for what it's worth.
best of luck with your projec; there are a lot more resources out there today then there were when I started my project. In the end, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, as long as you are happy with your efforts.

tbw