Carbon Front Lip Project Diy From Scratch

[Pezhead]

Your 12 hr guess is way off. Just always look faster when you see it in blog form.

This build took about 70-80 hours. Each step is about a 6-8 hr day. The work was done over about 7 weekends taking nearly a full day. Now, I realise that others could have done the work faster but I think the best you would be able to do is maybe 30-40 hours if you were a really fast worker with good tools.

So do the math even if you were paying someone minimum wage 70-80 hours adds up to a lot.

Materials are about right per your estimate. I bought supplies enough to do other jobs so will outline here:

2 part Epoxy Resin 5lt - $129 (only used a fraction of this stuff about .75 lt for this job) so about $19

Fibre glass cloth is about $14 a yard. 3 layers took about 3 yards of material. So $42

Carbon cloth was ordered from the US $30 per yard + $50 shipping. The material had to be 3 yards long, but only about 10" wide so you could do 3 of these with that. Fixed cost for three yards $155 but only using 1/3 the material lets say about $50.

Wood - particle board was like $25 each x 2 - about $50

Consumables - latex gloves $10, sand paper $20, bog/filler $20, acetone cleaner $20, etc - about 70

So total in materials would be around $231 but the initial outlay is much more depending on how much materials you buy at the same time for other jobs.

Kind of makes you realise what a bargain some of the body kits are. I mean I couldn't buy the materials to make a front bar for what they sell for, let alone the time it would take to do the mold work.

I still like doing projects like these because it makes something 100% custom for my car that no-one else has. And its done the way I want it to look. And of course the pride in knowing it is my creation and labor of love.

I wish it weren't so cold, I'm really getting the urge to do some more work. I think I'll do some sideskirt extensions before I tackle the lip extension. But have to wait for spring as the shop is just too cold.

[evl38u]

a quality mould takes the longest,

however your ight it is a one off and no one else will have this item.

[thrtytwo]

wow man, amazing job! great design too I'd be happy to buy one of those from any top shelp jap workshop

[Rhysy]

well done mate. looks great.

ive been threatening to do some custom carbon parts for the 32 and the bike.

i think you've inspired me.

[simonthomasgoodwin]

hey this might seem like a stupid question but could you just buy the cf etc and cover it on the parts alredy on the car ie bonnet front bar etc.. or everything? haha if its possible what would be involved and materials would be needed?

PS! that looks awesome mate really good job and you also have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it all too! super impressed!!!

-Simon

[Pezhead]

Hey guy,

Carbon covering isn't overly tricky for nice flat parts (like a hood) or parts that have simple bends. The more complex the shape, such as a front bar, the harder it is to get the cloth to lay flat and not wrinkle.

Also, if you don't have a vacuum bag set up, you're going to need to accept a certain amount of wave in the final product. It's pretty much impossible to get it completely flat without vacuum bagging (google's your friend - lots of info on that topic available).

So, you'll need the carbon cloth, high quality epoxy (something like a 1:1 or 2:1 type mix). Practice on smaller parts first as carbon has to be laid as one solid piece of cloth so better to learn on some less expensive parts before you lay out $100 worth of cloth on one part.

I've also referenced Fibreglass Forums - tons of good info there, but need to register so you can read the forums.

[Raysboostin]

not really sure on whether it would work or not, but i'll say it anyway. couldn't you just make a mould of it now and then just make plugs of it out of fibreglass (possibly adding a tint to the gel coat to make it black) and once you pull it out of the mold simply put the carbon cloth over the top. if you were planning on make more of them then that's how i'd do it. that way you don't have to be very fussy about how the fibrglass is laid down, etc as it is hidden by the gel coat, and you also would have a smooth layer to put the carbon cloth over.

i was also interested to see that you put the fibreglass on in big sheets at a time. my father in law used to work making fibreglass mudguards, etc for ford F trucks and they used to cut the fibrglass up into smaller pieces, dip them in the resin and then lay them on the gel coat.

i agree with this. i congratulate u on a fantastic job! but if i could offer a suggestion as ive made fibreglass wing blades and lips before. now that u have a finished product use it as a plug to make a mould. but when u make the mould make it in 2 pieces so u can get it out easily. it will leave u with a near perfect part straght up saving lots of hours in prep work. i would also suggest u use 450 chopped strand mat rather than the woven kind. ull find it alot easier to lay down and will have alot less waste. just be careful to lay it on evenly so u dont get thin spots.