Carbon Fibre Help Needed

[barmar]

Hi Guys and Gals,

Looking for a little help regarding my new carbon fibre body kit. Any help with any of the following questions will be gratefully received.

1. When drilling carbon fibre what sort of bit should I use?
2. Also when drilling should I drill from the reverse side through to the weave side?
3. There is a small tear and some cracking on the edge of my back bumper, does anyone know of any companies that can fix these (photo below - not the easiest to see sorry) preferably someone in Scotland? I\'ve been told it is fixable

Also any advice on fitting bodykits (I have front and rear bumpers, front wings and side skirts) would be helpful.

Cheers
Barry

[Fish]

Answer for all would be get a body shop to fit it, and let them worry about getting it right.

Fish

[barmar]

Yeah that was the initial plan but engine rebuild has scuppered those plans for a while. The parts all look like a good fit although I\'ve not removed any of the standard parts to check properly yet, so I figured that I could probably do it myself. Last thing I want to do though is make a mess of it.

Cheers
Barry

[jetpilot]

I have worked a lot with fiberglass which is pretty much the same principal, but as mentioned, if in doubt, get a professional to do the work.
The best way to drill, is to drill from the finished side, use a standard drill bit as you would for metal, but the key is, run the drill in reverse first, this will stop splintering and create a nice clean hole on the front anyway, just use reverse to break the surface, once you have done that, use in normal forwards, if you are drilling a large hole, start with smaller bits gradually getting bigger. If you can do a test hole or two somewhere first, do that.
Hope that helps.

[g11ary]

it also helps to drill on top of a block of wood, stops tearing as drill goes through.

[goose]

I\'ve heard from the maintainers in the RAF who have to work with this sort of stuff that it can be carcinogenic. So best to use some sort of mask at the very least when drilling, cutting and sanding.

[barmar]

Excellent thanks for your help guys. Got a weeks holiday in a few weeks so I\'m going to have a go then.

Cheers again
Barry

[dandan]

aside from the hints and tips can i also speak for probably all of us when i say \'carbon fibre bodykit? Lucky B*$%&rd!\'
good luck with the fitting, please tell me you aren\'t going to paint the kit?

[barmar]

No no i\'m keeping the carbon weave, just need to find some cash for a vented bonnet, some wing mirrors and I fancy a set of the c west front lights. I\'ve got a 99 spec rear wing to put on too but I\'m not sure how it\'ll look with the cf. Its all ££££\'s though and it would\'ve all been done if the engine hadn\'t needed rebuilt. Can\'t complain though still have a sweet car which is a joy to drive even without all the parts.

Cheers again
Barry