I still pretty new to this club but I was thinking it would be cool to make some carbon front license delete covers. So I dug out all my carbon stuff and bagged some sheets over some Vivac (PETG) to kind of get a sense what it could look like. Excuse the lack of trimming/finishing. This is just a test sample. I threw some stickers in there as a way to put in a cool logo or something. Despite a couple voids and some other flaws I know how to fix, I think it turned out pretty well. I was thinking about making a real mold and forming up a couple. I was thinking about using a wrxatlanta.com decal or something club related as the graphic inside the carbon. If I do that, it will need to be a decal that sticks to the inside of a window. Does the club have that style of decal? If not, any other ideas of what would look cool embedded in carbon to cover up the otherwise useless and hideous front license boss on the bumper? Also, any good ideas on how to hold the cover on? Are there special clips necessary? Screws? I'll try to pull a mold off the car in the next week or so. Probably won't be ready to make any definitive covers for a couple more weeks.
jealous, carbon fiber is on my list of things to do. I've read many upon many articles and papers but haven't invested yet Worked with it a little and learned about it when I was in Aerospace Engineering for 2 years, but went to computers and never really finished learning
I did a fair amount of carbon work with some student engineering projects in undergrad, more when I was drag racing, and now I work in prosthetics. Its not hard, just time consuming, messy, and uses lots of chemicals.
You didnt happen to roll through Sopo a few weeks ago with a homemade carbon fiber road bike did you? I just cant imagine there are too many people in this town that build DIY carbon stuff.
No that wasn't me, but I have a pretty good idea who it is because, as you said, there aren't too many people building their own carbon bikes. Although as a side story, my introduction to composites was to build an aerodynamic fairing to enclose a recumbent bicycle for the ASME human powered vehicle competition.
Finally got around to finishing the carbon front license plate delete cover. A lot more trial and error involved than I thought. Started out with PETG but ended up using lexan, the bumper is actually curved and had a tough time getting that just right. Getting the lamination to stick to the plastic took some trial and error with different epoxies/technique. Ended up laminating 3 layers of carbon behind 1/4" UV treated lexan with the GT decal in between. I cut down some license plate retainers to fit in the holes in the bumper and then used some countersunk screws. That way the piece fits flush against the bumper. There are still some minor flaws in it but I think it came out pretty well. Looks really killer when the sun hits it. I have some more stuff on the way that will allow me to redo the wind deflector of my roof rack in carbon.
Looks good. I think I might have opted to use the factory size license plate bolts in black. Although they would stick out more than the screws you used.