Carbon Fibre Laminating Starter Kit

Whether you're an experienced composites engineer in need of a small amount of material for an emergency job or a total novice keen to try your hand at making your own carbon fibre products, the Easy Composites Carbon Fibre Starter Kit provides you with all the necessary materials and information you need to start making your own carbon fibre parts.

This kit uses the same fabric, resins and ancillaries that we use every day in the workshop of our sister company, Carbon Mods. This kit includes top quality 2/2 twill 3k carbon fibre fabric, epoxy resin (formulated specifically to our exact requirements) and includes the same high quality laminating brushes and gloves we use daily in our workshop. The epoxy has been specially formulated for use in carbon fibre lamination having excellent characteristics such as the right viscosity, pot-life, strength and clarity.

All materials are supplied in high quality, re-sealable containers and shipped in protective packaging.

• 0.3sqm 2/2 Twill 3k Carbon Fibre Cloth
• 333g Laminating Epoxy Resin
• 166g Epoxy Hardener
• 35ml PVA Mould Release Agent
• 2 pairs Nitrile Gloves, 2 Mixing Pots, 2 Mixing Sticks

When unrolled the carbon fibre fabric is 300mm(11.8") wide and 1000mm(39.4") long.

Typically you will use a GRP (fibreglass) mould, either polished and waxed or coated with a PVA release agent (included in the kit) to stop the carbon fibre part from sticking to the mould.

You will then coat the inside of the mould with epoxy resin (mixed with hardener) onto the inside of the mould and allow it to cure (typically 8 hours at room temperature). This forms a thin surface layer that can be polished without breaking through to the carbon fabric and spoiling the surface finish.

Once the surface coat has cured you lay your carbon fibre fabric in to the mould dry. This will allow you to adjust its positioning and alignment and make any cuts necessary. Bear in mind that once the fabric is 'wetted out' with resin it will be much easier to shape around the contours of your mould.

With the fabric roughly in place you mix up your next batch of resin and hardener and start to wet the fabric out using the supplied laminating brush. Normally, you would put down the first layer of carbon fibre and then allow it to cure before adding additional layers for reinforcement. This means that subsequent layers will not disturb the weave pattern of the first layer (which is the one that will be seen once the part is removed from the mould).

Once you have added as many additional layers of carbon fibre your project requires you need to wait for the part to fully cure (another 8 hours). Once this has happened you can remove the part from the mould and begin the process of fettling, trimming and polishing the part up to its final finish.

Because this kit uses only top quality materials it is as equally suited for novice experimentation as it is for small scale professional use. Because we buy carbon fibre, resin and consumables in large quantities we can provide the handy kit at a very competitive price allowing everyone instant access to the top quality materials we use everyday.

Use this kit to:

• Experiment with making carbon fibre products.
• Reinforce an existing product.
• Repair a carbon fibre product such as a fishing rod, yacht mast/boom, vehicle bonnet etc (this will require some degree of skill and composites knowledge).
• Satisfy an urgent or small requirement for some carbon fibre and resin in a professional composites workshop.

The standard of the end result you can expect will vary greatly depending upon your level of practical skill, effort and perseverance but the materials contained within this kit in combination with the practical advice contained within the printed and video guides are quite capable of producing excellent results.