So I’ve been willing to build a battery enclosure for my board and would prefer carbon fiber over fiberglass if possible. Most people seem to use a vacum bag, but Id like to know if it’s possible to go the wet-lay route? I think the guy in this video does it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1weFm6wS4 Any ideas? Thanks for you help
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i’ll be doing the same today too. it’s easy. fiberglass or carbon works the same. I glued my cells to the board with pu rubber and will simply add carbon on top and done. just wet it out (get the carbon wet with resin) so it’s fully wet. that’s all there is to it. too much resin is a mess and won’t help strength. Id use epoxy or pu resin.
for very smooth forms it works, for any edges it does not. there will be tons of air among the layups and the forms definition will suck. 
So you would do it with a vacum?
yes, always! at least when you are doing more than one layer. for one layer, glue one side, epoxy other would probably work halfway well. multiple layers with edges will drive you insane without a vacuum!
you can make a nice part without a vacuum. you likely won’t need to do layers if you use some thick carbon. one ply biaxial heavy stuff. I’ll do it today and show you a pic
That would be great, thanks. Also a few pics of your setup (mould etc.) would help greatly. Thank you!
no mould. i just stick lipo to deck and then epoxy and carbon on top. or fiberglass would be good enough
ok, looking forward to seeing that then
Here’s some carbon boards I made and if anyone is interested I’ll sell u one. But here’s the cells after being stuck to the bottom of the board. Need better wires and hardware store sucks. And about to add a pic of the carbon I’ll use. Actually can’t find some good biaxial that’s not scrap. This fabric on top I’ll use but it’s not as strong or easy to work w as the biaxial on the side u see
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I would just like to add something here. I have used both polyester and epoxy resin repairing fiberglass surfboards. What I have found is that POLY RESIN offers some flexibility in the mixing process but can be difficult to work with because it tends to gel quickly, so you have to work quickly. it also is somewhat brittle once cured and is more prone to cracking. EPOXY RESIN requires exact mixing ratio, 2:1 if my memory serves me. 2 parts resin to 1 part hardener. If you miss the ratio, it will not cure. If you mix in extra hardener, it will not cure. The advantages of Epoxy resin is that it gels slowly allowing much more working time. Also, it is much more flexible than poly resin when cured making it much more durable and less prone to cracking. I hope this info is helpful.
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I meant polyurethane resin not polyester which it sounds like ur talking about. Pu I found works too but actually I haven’t tested the strength much or read about it but with the pu theres a lot of versatility in cure time and hardness. The best thing about the pu and the epoxy compared to the polyester resin is the smell!! I hate that stuff. It’s cheap but I just found hawk epoxy, some new biz, and super cheap with good reviews.
This is tap plastics 1:1 epoxy because it’s easy. A rip off. It’s still curing and I’m pressing it into shape a bit. Boneheadedly thought my mold release spray was tack adhesive spray so definately not going to be the best but it’ll work. Found my heavy bi-axial stuff. I’ve covered packs in carbon before and then velcroed them to the deck but the Velcro released and they dragged. That’s their death. These will hold. Used 80duro pu rubber
Your right, sorry, guess my memory is not so good after all. It’s been a while since I’ve done any repairs myself. I just take my boards to the local ding shop anymore. I just don’t get dings very often. But just a few weeks ago I was surfing PB point in San Diego sitting way outside but got caught inside on a big overhead set that broke my lease and took my board all the way to the rocky shore. Took me a while to swim in with waves crashing on me. Some guys pulled my board in off the rocks before it got destroyed but it still needed a lot of work.
curious what batteries those are?
that sounds very scary. I got ahold of a super duper wet suit and was out there, floating, not moving at all, totally warm, and riding the waves sounds fantastic, but when I can’t touch the bottom, and there aren’t at least 20 other people nearby for a possible shark to chose from, I won’t go. I want the most over populated medium waves.
they’re 2s 8ah flightmax.
@whitepony Did you make your vacuum system yourself ?
If yes, could you detail your build ? 
you can do it without vacuum but it will never be as good.
I find it easier to vacuum anyway…
that’s a huge enclosure. how bout make it longer instead of so big.
what I made isn’t beautiful mostly because the irregular shaping that the carbon follows as it was just laid on the batteries but it works for protecting and is surely as simple as it gets for making an enclosure. this here is just glued down batteries and carbon and epoxy laid on top and done.