Anthony Franz

I was looking for a carbon fiber brake fluid res cover for my 91 gta. Is there anywhere I can order one from or do I have to have it custom made and if so does anyone do carbon fiber work? I have seen chrome ones but id much rather have the carbon look. Thank you

T/Aperformance

I really don't think anyone makes one, Not that I heard of. Making one would not be that hard for someone to do, just make a mold out of your stock one, then you could make as many as you want. But it would be much cheaper to use vinyl decal of carbon fiber and cover your stock one.

BlackTopKing

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, best bet. Make a fiberglass mold off the stock so you can lay the carbon fiber inside to make actual part....molding right of would make the new part too bigk remeher this is a sealed part...or easliest option, take a piece of carbon and an overlay on the stock part...you get look you want and function of stock part

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

The reservoir caps have to snap into place, I dont see the average person being able to make one out of carbon fiber. It would most likely crack.

T/Aperformance

It would only crack if you used the wrong type of resin, If you use a 3 once carbon fiber 2 layers making sure each layer is laid 90 degrees from each other and dura resin it will flex enough you would not have to worry about it cracking as it is removed,And will be the same thickness as the factory one.
With such a small piece I would suggest using the vacuum form method to get the edges and curves right.

jharrison5

Find someone that does hydro-dip type painting. You will be able to use the oem part and get the carbon look you're going for. Plus it will look better than a decal and will be a fraction of the cost of having a real carbon piece made.

T/Aperformance

If a company made this piece, How much do you think it would cost to buy verses having the hydro-dip done?
Personally I could make this for under $30. and that would be a one off piece.
that's making the mold and then vacuum forming the carbon fiber to the mold. I would not have to do the vacuum forming method,I could just lay it like fiberglass,
I also could do the vinyl decal and it would look like real carbon fiber. If you use a heat gun you can shrink and stretch the vinyl to the shape. You just need to know what you are doing.

myroc86

You would have more than 30 bucks into just the mold...


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jharrison5

I have no idea what the cost would be, but I know it would be more than $30 for me. I personally don't have access to a vacuum forming machine, oven to bake it in, tools to do the mold, or the contacts to do it for me. I would to get a shop to do it for me and I would bet the going rate wouldn't be less than $50/hr.

T/Aperformance

Well that really depends on where you get your supplies. I get all my supplies from uscomposites.com. I buy rolls of fiberglass and CF. My epoxy resin, gel coat and my pva mold release in large batches, So the cost for making a small mold like this would take, is very limited.

T/Aperformance

You don't need an oven to bake it in.
If you want to do the vacuum forming all you really need to do is buy a vacuum pump, A 2.5 cfm for AC work is all you need and you can get one for around $100. You will need some peel-ply, infusion mesh and your feed tubing, You will also need clear plastic sheeting some double sided tape.And lastly you will need the resin feed port and the vacuum port
Vacuum forming is really easy to do.
To make the mold first you want to wax the piece with a car wax then spray the part with pva mold release let that set up.
Then brush on your gel coat for molds. it is different than regular gel coat. let that set up, you will know its ready when you touch it and can leave a finger print but it doesn't stick to your finger.
Next brush on your epoxy resin in a light coat. then start laying your fiber glass. Use your brush to apply more resin, Do not just pore it on. To much resin will make your part weak.Apply one layer of FB and resin it in then the next on. for a small part like this you will only need 4 to 5 layers of FB.
Let it set up for a day before removing the mold from the plug. For the brake fluid cover you will need to make a mold of the topside of the cover and the underside.