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How if fix damaged carbon wings

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cwood
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How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby cwood » Sat Nov 25, 2017 1:39 am

I posted this on another thread so thought I would post it on its own. I beat my Moses wings up quite a bit due to the variable terrain we kite in here. Dings are inevitable. Filling small scratches with glazing compound works great but plain epoxy is needed for anything larger...but plain epoxy won't stay put without some linkage of fibers. Corner chips filled will just come out. I also don't like the pale color of straight epoxy. This method is black and is very durable even in larger fills and only takes a small time of effort. I have two wings and swap them out when one needs a tune up.

Needed:

West System Six10 thickened epoxy
Small amount of carbon fiber cloth
Scissors
Popsicle sticks
Paper cups
Optional Dremel with grinding drum
Wet sand paper. 320, 400, 600, 800, 1500
Glazing compound
Duct tape
Sanding block

How:

Put duct tape on one side of wing tip as platform to put epoxy into place
Cut small bits of carbon fiber to create carbon fuzz
Mix small amount of epoxy and stir the carbon into it well
Should look black
Put carbon mix onto wing tip and tape backer to approximate shape of tip
Let harden over night
Remove tape
Grind back carbon to close to desired shape
Finish wet sand with 320 to get final shape, then with finer and finer grits
Fill any pin holes with glaze
Sand again with 1500
Done

Pics

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vH73ezmh9p2GybWx1

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby OzBungy » Sun Nov 26, 2017 1:10 am

Six10 looks like good stuff. How well does it keep in the tube? I have been using various epoxy glues and pastes. They're not as strong as Six10 but they come in smaller packages so they're cheaper to buy and they keep very well on the shelf.

I have to say that carbon foils are a joy to own and maintain. Simply snipping up some carbon cloth and adding to epoxy is very much like the old days in repairing polyester surfboards. Very quick and easy to do and the results are very neat. I use a can of inexpensive spray paint to finish off and provide a sacrificial layer for sanding.

cwood
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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby cwood » Sun Nov 26, 2017 4:33 pm

OzBungy wrote:
Sun Nov 26, 2017 1:10 am
Six10 looks like good stuff. How well does it keep in the tube? I have been using various epoxy glues and pastes. They're not as strong as Six10 but they come in smaller packages so they're cheaper to buy and they keep very well on the shelf.

I have to say that carbon foils are a joy to own and maintain. Simply snipping up some carbon cloth and adding to epoxy is very much like the old days in repairing polyester surfboards. Very quick and easy to do and the results are very neat. I use a can of inexpensive spray paint to finish off and provide a sacrificial layer for sanding.
The six10 is amazing stuff and it comes in a very good container format...I think shelf life would be many years. Its basically dispensing the right amounts of hardener and resin in any quantity you want. It is also pre-thickened so it is nice to work with on general repairs....doesn't sag.

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby fun2kite » Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:27 pm

Thank you great post.

Could you post your BOM and where you buy components from?
What is the Glazing compound for example?

cwood
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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby cwood » Tue Nov 28, 2017 3:41 pm

fun2kite wrote:
Mon Nov 27, 2017 4:27 pm
Thank you great post.

Could you post your BOM and where you buy components from?
What is the Glazing compound for example?
I'm in Canada so sources may not be best for you.

West System is kind of the gold standard for marine applications so any boat or fiberglass or composite supply shop should carry it.
I buy carbon fiber cloth on Amazon
Glazing compound is an auto body material for filling very fine flaws rapidly...easy sanding. Any auto body or auto parts store should have it. Usually red in color.

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby yomotha » Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:28 am

I have some deep scratches on my carbon wing and just sanding makes the scratched areas bigger as I'm just removing the top coat (whatever it's called) of the wing it seems. What's a good way to fix this? Would filling these areas with this six10 stuff and then sanding be a good idea? The underlying carbon fiber seems to be ok, so I'd like to just clean up the top coat.
IMG_20170619_151341.jpg

cwood
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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby cwood » Wed Nov 29, 2017 3:23 pm

yomotha wrote:
Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:28 am
I have some deep scratches on my carbon wing and just sanding makes the scratched areas bigger as I'm just removing the top coat (whatever it's called) of the wing it seems. What's a good way to fix this? Would filling these areas with this six10 stuff and then sanding be a good idea? The underlying carbon fiber seems to be ok, so I'd like to just clean up the top coat.

IMG_20170619_151341.jpg
Looks like you have a clear coat. You could sand all off and then Recoat with clear. Or try the glazing compound. It would not be good to try a fix with straight epoxy. Google Delta hydrofoil glazing compound for the step by step.

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby tswierkocki » Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:58 pm

yomotha wrote:
Wed Nov 29, 2017 2:28 am
I have some deep scratches on my carbon wing and just sanding makes the scratched areas bigger as I'm just removing the top coat (whatever it's called) of the wing it seems. What's a good way to fix this? Would filling these areas with this six10 stuff and then sanding be a good idea? The underlying carbon fiber seems to be ok, so I'd like to just clean up the top coat.

IMG_20170619_151341.jpg
If there is no fiber damage I would just fill with glazing compound. No mixing, dries in minutes, and is easy to sand. Works really well for me.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bondo-Glazin ... 3=&veh=sem

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby yomotha » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:26 pm

Ah yeah, clear coat is what it is. Total brain fart on my part. There's no fiber damage at all. I'll look into the glazing compound solution then. Thanks a lot for pointing me in that direction.

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Re: How if fix damaged carbon wings

Postby Foil » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:30 pm

Flipping heck!
And I thought my wing was scratched, that's mega scratched, but unlike mine, yours is mostly on the top wing surface, where mine are damaged on the front edge and bottom surface.


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