Carbon fiber

[Mooseaudiophile 10+ year member]

My uncle would like me to help create some carbon fiber kicker panels, apparently you spray a foam on and do some shaving and whatnot and end up laying the fiber on over a resin and glue or something like that (I dont know any details) then cover the cloth with a tabe or something to give it that protective covering we all feel whenever we get the chance to run our hands over some of this fine material. My main question is, since carbon is so stiff are ther detrimental effects to the sound quality? as well, is this easily done? (I would like to run some diamond components in my 1996 GTI but am starting to think about accenting the interior with carbon and use it as a mounting location for my componants, any response is appreciated.

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[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

why not just fiberglass them and cover them with some carbon fiber bs...

imo its gonna look out of place, why not the same color as the molding or carpet..?

 

[Mooseaudiophile 10+ year member]

id like to keep weight down as much as possible, which may seem bogus since fiber isnt that heavy compared to steel, but as well I think it can be done just keeping it with carbon fiber and mdf rings to mount the speakers, plus I have a black int with the classic GTI stiching so in right moderation it may look perfect, as for my uncle, who knows I havnt seen that z in a few months, primarily i just wanna know if someone has done something like this before

 

[Insomniac119 10+ year member]

apparently you spray a foam on and do some shaving and whatnot and end up laying the fiber on over a resin and glue or something like that (I dont know any details) then cover the cloth with a tabe or something to give it that protective covering we all feel whenever we get the chance to run our hands over some of this fine material.

would you use fleece like you would with fiberglass? You could do the first couple layers in fiberglass and then the last one with the carbon fiber.

I don't think it would have any sound quality side effects, it'd be stiffer so as far as I know thats better.

Good luck!

 

[CONSOLIDATED 10+ year member]

I would like to run some diamond components in my 1996 GTI but am starting to think about accenting the interior with carbon and use it as a mounting location for my componants, any response is appreciated.

I'm not sure about the difference in years between your GTI and my friends, but his already have components, and if that is the case with yours, it would be a lot easier to cut and paste the stock and Diamonds in their original places.

Even if your GTI doesn't have comps already, I still think it would be smarter to mount the components in the door. I understand a lot of people have their aversions to cutting up their door panel, but you could easily, EASILY, score some '96 GTI door panels at a local junk yard that match your interior. So many chicks wreck those, Jettas, Civics, and Sunfires I'm surprised the dealerships get any business in repairs at all. If you got those door panels you could drill, cut, paint, sand, fiberglass, and CF your desires/money away.

If your GTI is silver or black, the carbon fiber accents in the interior would look good, IMO.

I've never used kickpanels, but it seems like the closer the speaker is to your ear, or atleast pointed in the right direction, the better the overall sound quality will be. You might get a few extra years out of your ears with kickpanels though, but I'm not a doctor. I push shopping carts.

 

[Mooseaudiophile 10+ year member]

thx guys, yeah it already has stock comps, but i disconnected the tweets up front (they were a disgrace) so i could get a little more power to my kenwoods, so im lookin fer a cheap 50wattx4 amp while i save up money to do the diamonds, and its a blue ext with a black int, so id have so see how the carbon would look, but i think insomniac had a point in maybe just doing a few layers of fiber and then toping it off with carbon

 

[Diehonda 10+ year member]

Sounds like a nice project, post pics when you are finished. MKIII GTI with some CF interior mods //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif All it needs is to be 2.0T or VR6T and it would be hawt //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/bowdown.gif.b85b23b82970bd22fb6b549c3392f016.gif

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

go to your local hobbyshop- get some GREEN FLORAL FOAM.

*make a mould of the corner of EACH kick panel with fiberglass like everyone does.

*mount your MDF ring (1\2" wood will work fine) with wooden dowels or chopsticks.

*now get some pantyhose or somthing stretchy. T-shirt material will work too... and stretch it over and hot-glue it in place

*mix up your epoxy resin with the hardener, and soak up your stretched fabric with it. dont forget to pour a little inside around the seam where it was stretched around (after it dries and you cut the speakerhole out of course)

*get your piece of carbon fiber ready, paint a really thin layer of resin, (make sure the surface is smooth as possible) and do your best to stretch it over the surface of your kick - getting a uniform pattern. (that is the hard part)

*try to get some CLEAR epoxy\urathane resin and hardener from somewhere, and put a generous coat on the surface of the carbon fiber. do as many layers of CF as you need.

http://www.ebay.com is great for carbonfiber sheets and clear epoxy resin (expensive, but thats what you get when you look at carbon fiber)

the ONLY beifit (weight ratio; ect) you will get from CF versus fiberglass in THIS particular applicaion - is looks. PERIOD.

a fiberglass kick panel, or a carbonfiber kick panel, they will both weigh like 3lbs (at most). and its - honestly - retarded to do it in CF unless you know what you are doing, its the only thing that matches your interio, its a showcar, or all three combined.

just do it in fiberglass and carpet it liek normal. because from this thread - i can tell you do not fall into those catagories.

here is a tutorial.

http://www.caraudio.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38665

once you ge to this part

"Now lightly sand the hardened fleece and fiberglass a layer of mat all the way around, following the aforementioned steps. Let this cure for at least an hour or two, then give it a light sand."

skip anything that involves putting fiberglass matt over the fleece\fabric. its seriously un-nessicary. i did mine wit hjust fleece, and i bashed it with a 5lb sledge hammer, and it did NOT want to break. thats just from resin on the fleece. and if you are going to carpet it, just sand it down smooth - and skip the bodyfiller.

 

[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

Uhh, kinda off topic, and I don't mean to jack your thread...But Req, for my kickpanels I am making, I don't need to fiberglass them, just resin?

Thanks

-Ryan

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

basically, yes.

kickpanels are really - in all honesty and contrary to popular belief, do not have high pressure inside them, nor are they structure\load bearing boxes.

my kicks were comprised of 3 layers of fiberglass for the mould, and one layer of fleece for the 'stretch'. so yes- you WILL need fiberglass, but not nearly as much as you think //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

it took me two or 3 hours combined to actually build and carpet my kicks. (took me physically longer becuase i dicked around)

but i did it in one day (with drying)

like i said, follow the tutorial, but DO NOT put fiberglass matte\weave on the FRONT of the kickpanel. its a waste of time and materials. the structure should be quite strong (enough to bash with a hammer and not break from my expierences) with the wooden frame coupled with the resin-hard fleece.