Carbon Fiber Skinning A B C Pillars

[COOS2]

Hi all, so I decided to try my hand in carbon fiber skinning (basically wrapping parts in real carbon fiber, covering in epoxy resin, sanding, clear coating etc). The parts I wanted to start with we're my A, B and C pillars which were all in rough shape and needed to be replaced. This is a very lengthy and time consuming process but I absolutely love the look of carbon fiber so for me it's definitely worth the effort. I found a kit that came with the cf and two part epoxy for about $50 on ebay. My first attempt came out pretty much as expected (not great and I ended up aborting the piece because there were too many imperfections). I just did a rough sanding then added clear coat (half satin, half glossy) and it really came out great (except for the imperfections). Here's a few pics of the process and the final product:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/22/e7e6azyd.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/22/be6ubame.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/22/yje3ehaz.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/22/bypa8a7u.jpg

So I jumped on ebay to find another set of A Pillars so I could get them before I finish the second piece and I realized that not all A pillars are created equal. My first observation was that some e46's don't have the airbags in the a pillar so I started to wonder if there's any other differences ie. coupe vs sedan vs vert. vs M3 etc. Does anyone know what (if any) differences there are between them besides airbags? Also, if anyone has any sets of old pillars laying around that you want to get rid of please let me know. Now that I kind of know what I'm doing with this stuff I'm going to take a bunch more pics on the next piece and do my first DIY write-up here which I'll post as soon as I'm done with the next pillar.
NOTICE: I realize there's other ways (mostly much easier ways) to get the CF look on these parts ie cf vinyl, cf fabric etc but I really like the look of the real deal and I enjoy doing these kind of projects :-)
Thanks in advance for any info you guys might be able to help me out with.
DC


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[Hermes]

I like it, good job!

[Avetiso]

That's really awesome.

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[COOS2]

Thanks... It's definitely a time consuming process ...just waiting for the epoxy to cure take a long time...but I think it's worth it. I learned a lot from my first try so I'm hoping the next piece will come out better.


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[cakM3]

:drool :drool :drool :drool

[ryankokesh]

I may have to try my hand at that... Looks great!


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[Avetiso]

:drool :drool :drool :drool

Found your next mod, yes?

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[ELCID86]

:drool :drool :drool :drool
+1:drool

[Hermes]

I actually thought about doing this a while back for the 02 since the dash is cracked in a million places... I might have to try this out, just need to find a vacuum bag big enough first

[Johnmadd]

Cool.

[johnrando]

Interested in seeing a pic on the car.

[COOS2]

I'll pop the piece in and take a pic a little later today. Like I said it's not the final product and I'm not going to use it because it has too many imperfections. I'm looking for another set of A pillars to start from scratch on. In the mean time I think I'm going to do my rear diffuser (while I have my work bench cleared off and set up for the CF project). The biggest problem I'm having with the A pillars is the indented area where the screws and the plastic cover go. It's going to be really hard to keep the epoxy out of there so there's room for the plastic cover to fit. I'm debating on whether to get solid covers from cars without airbags or just resorting to one of the other methods of getting the CF look. I'm 100% sure that I have no idea what I'm going to end up doing :-)
I'm definitely going to do my diffuser next and I'll take plenty of pics and do a write up on it.


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[danewilson77]

How do you plan to combat the center strip in getting it to fit flush after it's wrapped?

[COOS2]

That's the biggest issue I'm having Dane. When I started the piece I tried to keep the epoxy out of there but it seeped in. Then I figured I'd cut it out with a Dremel and it proved more difficult than I thought. I think for the next one I'm going to cover straight over the area and just push it in a little so I can see the outline of the area. Then after I'm done with the epoxy I'll use a straight edge and the dremel to cut a perfect line around the edges...then I'll clear coat the whole thing. I'm waiting to find a deal on another set before I work on the A pillars again. In the mean time I started the rear diffuser tonight. It's all wrapped so tomorrow morning I'm going to do the first coat of epoxy. After that I think I'm going to make some splitters to go under my Arqray style front lip :-)
I'm going to do a write-up for the diffuser...should I add it here or should I start a new thread?


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[sillieidiot]

the sedan and coupes have different pillars. coupes/m3 are all the same. not sure about verts, i'm pretty sure they are the same as coupes.

[danewilson77]

Start a new thread for the splitters.

The friendliest forum on the planet.

[Mr Paul]

That's the biggest issue I'm having Dane. When I started the piece I tried to keep the epoxy out of there but it seeped in. Then I figured I'd cut it out with a Dremel and it proved more difficult than I thought. I think for the next one I'm going to cover straight over the area and just push it in a little so I can see the outline of the area. Then after I'm done with the epoxy I'll use a straight edge and the dremel to cut a perfect line around the edges...then I'll clear coat the whole thing. I'm waiting to find a deal on another set before I work on the A pillars again. In the mean time I started the rear diffuser tonight. It's all wrapped so tomorrow morning I'm going to do the first coat of epoxy. After that I think I'm going to make some splitters to go under my Arqray style front lip :-)
I'm going to do a write-up for the diffuser...should I add it here or should I start a new thread?


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Have you considered using pre-preg carbon fiber? This could alleviate the issue of epoxy seeping into places that you don't want it. We used this type of carbon fiber to make a monocoque for our FSAE race car in college. It's fairly easy to work, but you need an oven to cure it.

[COOS2]

Thanks for the info sillieidiot... Dane, will do...
Mr. Paul, I'll look in to it... I doubt the wife would be happy with me using our kitchen oven for baking car parts :-)


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[328ioc]

Thanks for the info sillieidiot... Dane, will do...
Mr. Paul, I'll look in to it... I doubt the wife would be happy with me using our kitchen oven for baking car parts :-)


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Dude get an oven off craigslist and stick it in a garage.

Also the prepreg is a great idea. That's what Koenigzzigg (yes I know its spelled wrong) uses to make entire cars.

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[gmurphy]

Dude get an oven off craigslist and stick it in a garage.

Also the prepreg is a great idea. That's what Koenigzzigg (yes I know its spelled wrong) uses to make entire cars.

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I believe it's spelt Koeninzegenegggg :)


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[sillieidiot]

pre-preg is expensive though. you'll also need to vacuum bag it