Sudhir Desai wrote:

>why not spray it afterwards with a coat or two of white paint?
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>Sudhir
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I think that ok , the orginal request was for the cosmetic benefit of
the carbon fiber in its natural  texture & color

If you were to paint this, then just use e glass cloth surface and the
rest.  8 or 10 oz e glass cloth is $14 a yard .

>On 9/9/07, Mark Keller <kelphoto@telus.net> wrote:
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>>Well I priced 50 in cloth at 37.50 a yard.  weight was 5.7 oz per ft
>>sq.  Basic Van  is 15 x 6 feet, or 90 ft sq so this give us 10 yards
>>approx or $375 for the cloth.  The wet out could be done at .75 oz per
>>ft sq or 90 oz so a gallon of resin. at $100 or $150 for epoxy resin
>>
>>The basic questions on  how to approach this is : Cosmetic or
>>Replacement.  If your after a cosmetic carbon fiber look the above
>>approach would be in my opinion the best.  Use surfboard polyester
>>resin, it's clear.  If you go the west system type epoxy, then you'll
>>need to clear coat with a uv protection.  At this level I'm not going
>>into "how to" just a slightly more than armchair Quarterback approach.
>>BTW, since stress loads are carried by the skin and not the interior of
>>the panel, the cosmetic approach get you a good deal more strength in
>>the tension on the top, not sure how you'd benefit from this.
>>
>>To make a top, you don't need to make a mold from scratch, as long as
>>it's just for you, you could do this.  Take an existing top, and brace
>>it  so that it is stiff, and then do the wax and release prep, omitting
>>details, then do a 4 layer unit of :1oz mat, followed with 18 0z woven
>>roven.  This is your mold, factory setup would allow this to cure in
>>place for 2-3 woks, then remove and stiffen it  all squared up. Now your
>>ready to do your layup prep, wax etc.  Then the carbon fiber ,  foam
>>core it and glass the inside .
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>>In my opinion  the top would be significantly lighter, and thus a more
>>stable van.  Too, if you can do this or pay for this, the options to
>>modify to suit are there.  As to a very general rule of thumb 4x the
>>cost of the cosmetic would get you the glass, and the foam core by ACT
>>is $150 sheet, best price I can think of, which is 1/2" x 48" x 96" so
>>probably 4 sheets or  $600.  So no labor cost, I'm seeing $1800 as a
>>minimum. Oh one other benefit is the the insulating value of a cored piece.
>>
>>The downside to me is that carbon fiber being black would be a hotter
>>piece; and a possibility of  some post curing deformation, What exactly
>>I don't know, but possibly some visible buckle or perhaps a warp where a
>>gasket surface meet. Somebody would be the guinea pig.
>>
>>Hope that puts more stew in the pot.  Any questions p-mail  too, since
>>I'm on digest.
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>>Mark Keller
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