snoop GP said:
well i finally did it, i got my supplies on Monday and go to work. Here are the pics of the things i've done so far. As you can see it looks like i had some pockets of air.
Chris, do i need to start again or can these pieces be saved somehow (clear coat). Also do i need to sand them before i put the clear coat. let me know, Thank you
OK, good job on getting in there and starting to DIY.
Let's start with what causes those flaws. What you have there are the air bubbles that can form due to "bridging". From the pics, it looks like shot #2 is the best example. See how at the base (or peak, depending on how you're looking at it) the carbon lifted and "bridged" across the space? You need to watch those trickier areas. You can manipulate the carbon to force it to lay down in those sorts of areas or you can let the first layer of epoxy get tacky so that when you press in the first layer of carbon, it sticks and can't lift.
In terms of what you can do to fix them, from what I can see in the pics, I'd mix up a bit of epoxy and dab it into the bad spots. It may take a couple times but if you overflow these spots then come back and sand the entire part before clear coating, you should be OK. I've done this and it works - provided you take your time and be sure that you've filled the problem areas with enough epoxy so you can sand it to the same surface level as the rest of the part.
The other thing that can cause these is not fully wetting out the part. The pic that causes me to think that is shot # 4. There doesn't look like there would be any real reason for a bubble in that part of a flat section. What MAY have caused it is too much overhang. The weight of the overhang could have caused a lift. But it's hard to tell from the pics.
To combat this, paint on the first layer of epoxy in an amount that allows you to wet out the carbon more by drawing the epoxy through the carbon from underneath than by trying to force the epoxy down through the carbon. Drawing up from underneath will tend to force air out whereas wetting out from above creates a higher possibility of pushing air into the layup. Also, be sure each layer is fully wetted out before adding the next layer.
Not sure what else I can offer with out seeing the part or knowing more about how you did the layup.
But again, great first effort. Keep in mind this is a learned skill and you will get better as you develop your skills and experience.
Try the layup again, take your time and you'll see better parts each time.
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