carbon fiber grille

17048 Views 82 Replies 26 Participants Last post by Audiophyle, Jan 10, 2011

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · Jun 22, 2009

I ordered up some orange and black weave carbon/kevlar and the resin today. Some tool that owned my truck before painted the grille and didnt prep it right or something and actually painted over some love bugs so i had to sand it down anyway and i figured i do an overlay on it. when the stuff gets here, hopefully late this week or early next week i will take pics and do up a little how to on it.. For now i just have some massive air flow thru the grille opening cause nothing is there.

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AztecRol

· #2 · Jun 23, 2009

PLEASE tell me you took pics of the bugs under the paint BEFORE you sanded
them away!!! OMG, I would LOVE to see that!!! That would make my day.
If you did, POST'EM!!!

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 23, 2009

I have sanded part of it already and had to stop to go to work so there may be some left under the paint, if so i will try to post em

05elefent

· #4 · Jun 23, 2009

Where at in FL? Panhandle is home for me and the wife...

Are you gonna vaccuum bag the grill or just try to lay it over the plastic?

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 23, 2009

I'm in the "greater Daytona" area, not that anything at all is great about it

I am not much on the mold making process so this will just be an overlay. I'm not going for light as i already added 100 pounds of weight in sound deadener to it. If you have an experience with carbon or just plain fiberglass i'd love any tips. I've done alot of overlay type stuff back when i was an instructor at the installer institute but we never really got into the molding stuff.

Prelud023

· #6 · Jun 27, 2009

I can't wait to see this. Please post a lot of pictures when you get it done, please.

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 29, 2009

Ok so here are some of the first steps. This should get people wondering WTF till i put some more up, but i get to do that since this is my thread and there will be many more to follow tomorrow and the next several days. I have to finish up before my trip to north GA.

step 1: get a piece of cardboard and place it about half way across the grille and the bottom near the bottom of the grille (see picture) flip the grille over and trace it out from the back

step 2: cut out the cardboard to the rough shape traced in step 1. cut also the area around the factory "H" if this will be replaced, skip that if you are going for a totally smooth grille

step 3:trace onto thin ABS (1/16th inch) for each side, basically trace one, turn your cardboard template over and trace a second one to make mirror images of one another

step 4: use a utility shear to cut the abs or a pair of tin snips. if you can use regular sissors the abs is too thin.

step 5: this is what you should have till next time (probably tomorrow night)

step 6: salivate on those a little till i post more

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Serj22

· #8 · Jun 29, 2009

Where'd you get that huge smooth sheet of ABS? I've been looking for that forever for pick guards on guitars and car stuff.

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 29, 2009

It is "printed" on the back with the carbonfiber look. It can be at the site below. they have many different patterns in the thinner stuff and different sizes in the regular blak stuff that is thicker.

http://www.theinstallbay.com/product_individual.php?id=1325

05elefent

· #10 · Jun 29, 2009

No I haven't tried vaccuum bagging or mold making at all... yet. I plan on it one day. that setup would be good for making a "cold front" for ppl way up north like where I'll be ( not quite soon enough if you ask me ).

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 29, 2009

So i have gotten everything but the carbon/kevlar so far, so more pics of the lead up to that will go up tonight after the next steps are completed. Stay tuned.

Serj22

· #12 · Jun 29, 2009

Yoda E SC said:
It is "printed" on the back with the carbonfiber look. It can be at the site below. they have many different patterns in the thinner stuff and different sizes in the regular blak stuff that is thicker.

http://www.theinstallbay.com/product_individual.php?id=1325

oh wow, thanks a lot, I've been looking for this stuff forever!

I don't know that you can vaccum bag ABS very well, I've got an attachment for my compressor that I use to pull a vacuum out of a piece of shrink wrap plastic that came off a big roll, and I use that to attach veneers to maple doors for cabinets.

THe attachment only cost about $20 and worked way better than a vacuum pump.

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 29, 2009

Where did you get it from? I want to mess with that and build something to make this process easier in the future if more people want it done or similar stuff. it think it would be fine as long as the vaccum wasnt too much.

08_Kiwi_E

· #14 · Jun 30, 2009

Nice, Keep us posted on the grill!!! I am 30 mins south of you in the DeBary/Deltona/Deland area!! I would like to see your grill in person when it is done!!

I agree that Daytona is nothing to brag over! lol

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 30, 2009

another day ans still no carbon/kevlar shows up. anyway next steps

step 6: test fit both pieces of abs as once you start glueing you wont be able to undo it.

step 7: get some super jet glue and activator from a hobbie shop or from www.theinstallbay.com

step 8: hard to see in the pics, but glue a few small areas and as much of the under side of the abs to the factory grille as you can

step 9: glue the entire seam of the abs

step 10: second verse, same as the first

( repeat on the other side)

step 11: take a scrap from the earlier cutouts and hold it in the cornerwhe the edge and new abs meet. trace your cutout line

step 12: glue this ins and do all seams like the main pieces and repeat on the other side as well.

next up will be sanding and filling...

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Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 30, 2009

08_Kiwi_E said:
Nice, Keep us posted on the grill!!! I am 30 mins south of you in the DeBary/Deltona/Deland area!! I would like to see your grill in person when it is done!!

I agree that Daytona is nothing to brag over! lol

I hear you. once i get it done if the final piece of my puzzle ever shows up...

Serj22

· #17 · Jun 30, 2009

Yoda E SC said:
Where did you get it from? I want to mess with that and build something to make this process easier in the future if more people want it done or similar stuff. it think it would be fine as long as the vaccum wasnt too much.

I got it from a boat catalog I believe. I think it was in West Marine or Harbor Freight's catalog. It's basically a plastic block, and a tube coming out. You could make one, you just have to have it blow past a tube, which is connected to the bag, to pull the vaccum, and you just pump your compressor up to about 80psi or something, and it works great.

Refer to my drawing, you could actually make one fairly easy:

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Island E

· #18 · Jun 30, 2009

Subscribing, because with the pics you posted so far I don't see what you're trying to do here. Will check back in later.

Yoda E SC

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 30, 2009

The goal is to do an overlay of carbonfiber so make a unique grille for my SC. A guy had jacked it all up by painting it and not knowing what he or she was doing so something had to be done anyway, and this is where we are now

more pics tonight.

snowdreams1080

· #20 · Jun 30, 2009

curious to see how this turns out. looking forward to the final product.

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