DIY Carbon Fiber decal (or paint)?

[Jonathan]

Has anyone attempted to create their own Carbon Fiber decals?  Or perhaps mastered a painting technique that would closely mimic carbon fiber?  I know there are some decal sheets out there, but I'm looking for low buck.  And, in 1/24 or 1/25 scale, how much of the carbon fiber "weave" would actually be visible?  Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Kennyboy]

I did this by pulling a piece of satin tight around the seat (which was sprayed black prior) and then sprayed with airbrush a pearl medium gray thru the satin lightly. Looks ok.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks better than OK, Ken. It even has the correct surface texture you'll see on some real (as opposed to high-gloss cosmetic) carbon-fiber parts.

I went and looked at satins at the fabric store after seeing this, and the ones I saw all seemed to have too tight a weave to work for this.

Any particular recommendations?

Edited September 26, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Jon Haigwood]

Clear with satin finish or gloss?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Clear with satin finish or gloss?

A gloss could obliterate the correct-looking texture you'll often see on real race-car parts (as opposed to cosmetic, just-for-looks carbon, which is glossy).

The technique above replicates the texture nicely.

It's just that the satins I've looked at are too tightly woven to allow paint to penetrate and give this effect.

Sorry If my question wasn't clear enough.

 

Edited September 26, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Brett Barrow]

Here's probably the simplest explainer on how to do carbon fiber with paint - http://tamiya.com/english/howto/bike1/tip4.htm

[Jonathan]

That does look good!  But, where to get mesh, or satin, or anything else with the "right" (scale-ish) pattern?

[Matt Bacon]

Craft store or dressmakers shop. It's called tulle, and is used for veils in wedding dresses and underskirts if you want that 50s look. It's basically nylon or rayon mesh, and comes in a variety of levels of fineness of mesh weave. My local department store with a big craft section carries 5 different grades, so you should be able to find the one you need.

I use black and Zero Paints "Graphite Grey", but any darkish metallic will do. You can mix things up a bit by swapping which one you use for the base colour, and which one you overspray with.

bestest,

M.

 

[Jon Haigwood]

A gloss could obliterate the correct-looking texture you'll often see on real race-car parts (as opposed to cosmetic, just-for-looks carbon, which is glossy).

The technique above replicates the texture nicely.

It's just that the satins I've looked at are too tightly woven to allow paint to penetrate and give this effect.

Sorry If my question wasn't clear enough.

 

What I meant by "satin" was a semi gloss overcoat not "satin" the material. If you were to overcoat it would want a high gloss, gloss or semi gloss.

Apparently you are saying that an overcoat of any kind would change the textures appearance. 

My fault for the confusion between the two "satin's" 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yes, the second poster above, Ken Boyer, recommended stretching a "satin" fabric over the model part and spraying paint through it, a scale carbon-look 'mask' if you will. That's what I was questioning... specifically what type of "satin" fabric the poster used to produce the slightly textured affect in his photo.

Real carbon parts come finished in essentially 3 ways:

1)  The "flat", no gloss and slightly textured finish is mainly seen on REAL race-car parts, under the vehicle or hidden. Carbon is stiff, and has to be sucked into molds under vacuum to follow curves. If the mold is NOT coated with a clear-gloss gelcoat prior to the carbon layup and vacuum-bagging, the surface texture of the carbon fiber weave remains visible. Carbon-fiber is employed for it's light weight as well as its rigidity. Glossy gelcoat is considered to be unnecessary weight in some applications.

2)  A somewhat glossier finish is achieved when a clear gelcoat is applied to the mold before the carbon is laid in and vacuumed. Clear gelcoat is used to seal the weave of the carbon to enhance ease of painting without needing to add multiple coats of heavy filler-primers. Depending on the complexity of the parts produced, a good looking glossy finish can be obtained for visible locations.

3) The very high-gloss cosmetic and showcar parts are often produced by applying multiple coats of clears AFTER the parts have been removed from the molds. This adds weight that would be considered undesirable for a pure competition vehicle, but it looks great. Carbon is so much lighter than the alternatives that the clear-coat weight-penalty may still be considered worth the additional effort.

 

Edited September 27, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[misterNNL]

Killer effect!Thanks for sharing.

[Scale-Master]

This is probably not actual C/F but a vinyl-like product similar to Di-Noc.

[10thumbs]

These examples look really good!  I like this. 

@Ken Boyer....What kind of satin is being used again?

[John H]

Try using a piece of a dryer delicates bag.  It has a nice, zig zag texture that replicates a carbon fiber weave pretty well.  I use Tamiya Rubber Black or Nato Black as a base, then spray Tamiya Gunmetal through the filter bag.  If the gunmetal is too bright, you can tone it down with Tamiya Smoke.