Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Minor Carbon Installs

Just covered my dome light.

very easy if you've got a dremel tool!!

Glad to help anyone if they want instructions.

pic

Is it a real or fake Carbon Fiber? .Looks nice!

looks good - more info on how you completed the project

Real deal, 5.8 oz.

Single coat of resin and a double of Clearcoat.

Where can we get the all materials for the project?
Links,Prices,Pictures,Tips please.

looks decent bro

Okay here's the steps.

You need about an 8" square piece of carbon. I used the 5.8oz. It's a nice weight because you can get away with only using one layer and it's still fairly easy to work with. Check www.noahsmarine.com [noahsmarine.com] for material.
Resin can be expensive, but I just used standard stuff from an automotive store (Canadian Tire all the way..lol)

1) Position the carbon where you want it. Some like to use 3M spray glue to fix it in place, I just use good old packing tape. Wrap the carbon completely around, being careful on the corners. You have to cut properly to avoid corners and tearing the carbon weave.

Note: If you wish to leave your original light undamaged, you should wrap in in box/packing tape completely. Resin will not stick to this, thus leaving it unharmed.

2) Next you want to snip a rough hole where the actual light sits. You can trim it properly after resin has cured. Cut a small hole in the carbon where the switch goes as well.

3)Mix up your Fiberglass resin and put a fairly thick layer down. The better quality the resin, the clearer it will be and the less imperfections there will be for you to fix, so be warned.

4) If resin set nicely without too may airbubbles, you can move on to next step. If there is excessive divots or imperfections, you may wish to lay down another layer of resin.

5)Finishing time. You will no doubt end up with some airbubbles, but not to worry. Wet sanding time! Start off with 320 grit sandpaper, move to 600, and finally to 1500. This will scuff the resin, but don't worry, you'll notice if you wet it, it clears.

6)Triming. Now you have to cut out the holes for the plastic light cover and the switch, as well as trim any excess from behind and around to ensure a good fit. Your best bet for triming is a dremel tool. If you don't have one, go get a hobby knife set. Now you'll want to cut the holes out as accurate as possible. This will take some fiddling to get that light cover to fit properly. Once you've trimed, sand all edges as before.

7)Clearcoat. Use some tack cloth and rid the surface of dust etc. Now lay down a thick layer of automotive clearcoat (or several light coats...). This will bring back that wet look! If your resin was perfect or of very high quality to begin with, you probably won't need to go through much of the finishing process.

Note: As a finishing touch, you may want to paint the hole that the switch fits in black.

okay sorry for the length, but that should cover it!

looks good

Looks great!

ill buy one if you make it.
that would go awesome with my dash kit.

I would take one, no question... you should think about making these for us (the Carbon Fiber mods are crazy hot right now)

looks nice

Let me second that motion..

Sweet