Carbon Fiber Custom Fabrication

[bootscooterboogie]

Hey Everyone,

So, I picked up my new-to-me Zuma this morning from one of the other members of this site. It's a first generation that looks like it was in a bar fight. It runs great, but it needs to be "purdied up".

Before I even went to see it, I was told on the phone that it needed some cosmetic work. So, I started looking at some of the threads on here, and saw the custom Keeway thread and was in awe. :drool: So, then I went and found some tutorial sites about fabricating custom carbon fiber panels and how to make the molds, vacuum bagging, etc. All of the sites made it look incredibly straight forward if I simply relax, take my time and make sure to be precise with the various steps.

My question is this... Has anyone ever worked with carbon fiber fabrication before? And, if so... is it as easy as it seems? It definitely seems pretty time consuming, but I'm ok with that. My main concern is the simplicity of each of the steps. Anybody have some good / bad experiences w/ this?

[shakerdriver]

I'm glad you and 2strokd got hooked up and you got a good ride Keith. I think you'll be happier with that then you would've one of those overpriced gy6's on c-list.

[bootscooterboogie]

Hey! Thanks for lead to finding it. I think I'll be pretty happy w/ it, too. I've already started looking at various parts and have a design in mind of what I wanna do with it. It's either gonna be incredibly beautiful or G-H-E-T-T-O! LOL But, if all else fails with the customization, I can always get stock body parts for it. I'm really interested in trying this out, though.

[2strokd]

Hey man, glad you like it! Peppy lil thing isnt it?

Ive never worked with molding or fabbing my own parts but i have always found it interesting.
If you want a replacement nose for it im sure we can find one?
If you need anything else let me know and i will try to help.

[dr1445]

google "west system" that should get you started in the right direction. epoxy is the best resin for carbon fiber as polyester doesn't bond as well to carbon. proof your mold with fiberglass cloth as carbon cloth is very expensive. in fact carbon fiber is an overkill expense for a scooter, the weight savings over fiberglass will not be noticed, and with f'glass you can use polyester resin. for small parts you can use saran wrap as a release interface with a plaster mold. making a usable mold is basic to making good parts. once you start to add up the materials involved you will find it requires some serious $ and time.

[90GTVert]

I hate fiberglass work and I suck at it. One thing I have seen is that a good product makes a big difference, at least for a noob like me. I used a cheaper glass kit and then used the stuff from West System. I found the West products a lot easier to work with and even I managed to do some repairs with it. I wish you the best of luck in this, and I hope you will share your project with us, but I won't be good for any help here.

[bootscooterboogie]

Thanks for the advice! And, I'll definitely start a thread in "Builds" when I begin work on my lil' monstah. :-D

[bootscooterboogie]

Apr 28, 2012 3:49:04 GMT -5 2strokd said:

Hey man, glad you like it! Peppy lil thing isnt it?

Ive never worked with molding or fabbing my own parts but i have always found it interesting.
If you want a replacement nose for it im sure we can find one?
If you need anything else let me know and i will try to help.

It really is! LOL It used to take me a little over an hour to get to work and now it takes just 12 minutes. :wheelie:

Mechanically, the lil' monstah seems really sound. There are those quirky things that need to be adjusted or fixed. But, overall, I'm super impressed by it! And, I'm glad it has the slightly bigger tires than the little china scooters that I was originally looking at because the roads to work are not as smooth as they could be. But, that scooter handles everything just fine.

I've been reading more and more about fabricating my own pieces and creating molds so I can design it myself and I'm starting to get obsessed with the idea. So, I think there's no turning back, now... I've already decided I'm gonna do it, but I need to get the materials. West System does have some good stuff at reasonable prices. So, thanks everyone for the lead to them!

I'll be starting up my scooter surgery wing, soon. :lol:

[jmkjr72]

you can get whole bodys for it from spmoto out of canada
being they still sell the vertical bws in europe theres lots of stuff for them on euro sites

[dr1445]

are you planing on using the original fastening points for the body panels or making new ones to match your new design?

[bootscooterboogie]

i think that i'm probably gonna use the original as a template for max size and fastening points. i think... LOL but, that's what makes the most sense to me. i'm also thinking that i wanna stretch the back out a bit and rake the front just a little so that i can make something a bit smoother looking. i don't want some lowrider or anything, just massage it out a bit.

[dr1445]

then you should be able to use your current panels to form a mold with some fiberglass, then reshape the mold to your design. you need to make some backing to support the mold, plywood and some more fiberglass are good for that purpose. you can change the shape of the mold with some foam and cover it with a thin layer of glass.

[bootscooterboogie]

mhm - that's kind of what i was thinking. sort of build it out from the original fender. since the original curves in, it shouldn't be that hard to build it out. :-) does that sound good or am i over simplifying it?

[dr1445]

no you have it about right, i think, but the ideas are yours to put into practice. you could also add to the standard part and use that as the mold pattern.