garrett1021

I've been looking at getting into making carbon fiber, however its expensive and hard to do, so im looking if there's even any interest.

I always think its insane how much carbon fiber costs, and so I've been looking at making and selling parts as a side hobby, seeing as I'm fairly young I really have nothing to lose, its not like it's my sole income provider, so I'd sell parts for only a $100-$200 profit.

This means instead of $2500 for a carbon fiber hood (first thing I see online)

I could sell it for like $200 more than I made it for.. so maybe around $700?

And this would apply to things all around the car... carbon dashboards, carbon side mirrors and so on.

Is there any interest?

I mean at this stage its purely just in my mind, I was just wondering.

And for additional info it would be made through vacuum infusion to produce the purest fiber possible

MrNvgtr

Yes.

Jordan Pryce

It's not quite that easy. You need an autoclave, vacuum table and a host of other tools not to mention a dedicated space with ventilation, and another space for sanding, polishing and painting.

You might consider getting a job apprenticing for an experienced layup guy first. I have an obsession with custom surfboards which is somewhat similar. Best of luck!

tcsracing1

Race car grade with good panel gap fitment. Yes.

garrett1021

Oh yes I've been watching tons of videos lately, there are lots of informational videos on YouTube showing the exact processes..

It seems like the main challenge is getting a perfect mould, and then from there you just have to get the technique down.

But yes im thinking of apprenticing at a local fiber glass shop

crg53

Good idea, but your example of a hood for $2500 is a bit off, Getty Design make them for $999.00.
Just saying.

garrett1021

Okay thank you for the information, the first link I saw was that much and that's what I was going off of

bhmkv

No. Best of luck, but I get questions like this at least once a week. I do auto body and everyone thinks they can do home repairs and keep the profits. Someone today couldnt even read an appraisal or know what half the parts were and said him and his friend planned to fix the car. Just the fact that you asked about making the parts means you have no idea what your talking about. If you could make a part for a 40% profit you would be doing it already. If you could afford the startup.

tcsracing1

There is a reason why real carbon bits have such a high markup….. manufacturing equipment and development takes money.

I wouldnt go near it personally. Quality control would be a pain in the ***.
The difference between race car carbon and street car carbon is also something to consider….

garrett1021

Everything you said is most likely true

Justin N

I've done a bit of composite work including a sub 1kg road bike frame that I built myself. There are startup costs but you don't "have" to have an autoclave, but you do need a vacuum system. The expensive part are the molds, aka tooling. It is everything to get a good smooth mold, plus have it rigid enough to resist the pressure from the vacuum. The second part is finish cutting. Cutting the composite once cured is only done well with grinding tools. This leaves a lot of fine epoxy/ carbon dust everywhere, including your lungs. I'm not trying to scare you but those fibers make asbestos look like cotton candy. I would never cut it inside a residence unless you had a serious vacuum system. Maybe out in a field with a mask and full throwaway clean suit.

garrett1021

yikes!

freedman

Take a look at the last couple of pages on this thread

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...refurb-21.html

Bonnets/Hoods are obviously big money, but the smaller bits like fuel pump and fuse box covers, undertrays etc have good possibilities withpout the difficulty of size and postal issues if selling

I think concentrating on those type of items at a more reasonable cost than some on the market would be succesful

orp73

bonnet and deck lid could be good +

robt964

Exactly what he said. I do the cutting and shaping outdoors whilst wearing a proper resporator/goggles etc and alot of water to keep everything wet to keep any dust down. I do most of the trimming by hand and only using a jigsaw for the rough cutting.