Carbon Fiber Car Parts Step-by-Step Mold Making (Mistakes Were Made!)

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[@JonMorley1]

Try dabbing the resin on instead of brushing, this will ensure the resin penetrates all of the glass and not just the surface

[@CARS-N-CAD]

@JonMorley1 yeah I learned dabbing with the flat side of the brush worked best for me, my biggest problem was my glass mat was way too thick and heavy for what I was trying to do... shredding the glass mat into tow fibers helped a ton

[@JonMorley1]

@@CARS-N-CAD 100gsm for first layer would definitely have have helped. Final piece looked good though

[@drrock5356]

Pretty good for your first attempts! Question: How would you have made the molds, if the 3D scan data turned out good? 3D Print? CNC Router/Machine?

[@CARS-N-CAD]

@drrock5356 I would've 3d printed the mold with petg, from the research I did it's pretty chemical resistant and the resin won't bond to it. And when you do your final coat of resin on the finished carbon fiber part it gets rid of layer lines

[@drrock5356]

@@CARS-N-CAD I 3D printed a PETG mold for compression molding chopped carbon fiber tow, and the release agent I used acted instead as an adhesion promoter. I had to chisel the PETG away from the part.

[@CARS-N-CAD]

Good to know maybe I'll have to experiment

[@drrock5356]

@@CARS-N-CAD I won't mention the brand, but stay away from release agents meant for metal molds/surfaces, which can be found in the "fine print" on the rear label.