My attempt here is to show the easiest and most inexpensive way to laminate/skin your favorite wooden deck with Carbon fiber cloth.
You will need:
*Wooden deck.
*A piece of CF cloth (carefully handling it)
*Black link or Epoxy pigment for the base coat.
*Epoxy resin with hardener( Bar Top Epoxy is recommended)
*Heat Gun/Hair Dryer ( removing air bubbles)
*Paint Brushes
Leave it for 5-7 hours; it depends on the room temperature until it’s quite tacky. Just keep in mind that you do not let it cured completely.
The timing is very crucial at this point that the resin doesn’t come off on your finger when you touch it, but it leaves the fingerprint.
Part 3 - Laying the fabric.
Carefully laying the fabric on top of the deck and start from in the middle, work way outward. This is very important at this point; you do not want to pull or push too hard because potentially distort your weave.
Part 4: applying the clear epoxy coat.
Give it a nice even coat all over; you can use the heat gun to avoid making air bubbles. It may not look perfect at the first coat, but that’s fine.
Would a method like this work for making an enclosure for the deck as well? As in putting a mold on top of the deck while doing this and then cutting out the area around the enclosure part and using it as your box. Or would it be stuck too the deck too much to remove? I guess doing the corners of the enclosure would also be pretty hard by hand.
MasterCho - I’ve heard the heatgun trick before, but also one i’m trying to remember and maybe you can clarify? When doing those final gel coats to get a clear bubble free finish over your CF.
Have you tried denatured alcohol in a sprayer to break some of the surface tension and help smooth the epoxy? Maybe it was something besides DA?
Wow @MasterCho . Thanks for the amazing in depth guide. I actually just ordered bamboo wood vertical grain from China for a few members of the Melbourne esk8 group. We were thinking fibreglass for flex but would carbon be better do you think?
Hello I see you have some experience in carbon fiber industry
I am wondering if it is possible to make a strong hollow longboard out of carbon fiber?
The longboard will have a frame in it so it will be a bit stronger.
Yes I am going to use vacuum bags with resin infusion.
No, I haven’t tried denatured alcohol yet. If you use Bar Top Epoxy, it should be bubble free. The imperfection you see when the first layer applied is some dirt from the fabric.
About that, its for the cover over so it will not bend, squize the battaries. But I think it will be fine without having nothing in the middle, and more place to battery.But its just for saftey etc
I am wondering if it is possible to make a strong hollow longboard out of carbon fiber?
The longboard will have a frame in it so it will be a bit stronger.
Yes I am going to use vacuum bags with resin infusion.
