redbones

I wanted to know if sealing the edges of a CF chassis is still necessary.
Back in the days, the production technology was not as good as today's, so de-lamination was an issue. Some people argue that this is not the case anymore, and that letting CA soak into the edges actually change the intended flex characteristics of the chassis. Is this true, and if so, how much stiffer will the chassis get? Does team drivers run sealed chassis? Would like to see a myth buster episode on this

xrayracer1

iTrader: (1)

I still do it out of habit, but I mainly did it with my nitro chassis (both on and off road) to prevent moisture and oil, etc from getting in.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

I still seal all my cf parts. It can't hurt, and I don't buy the theory that it's going to soak into the chassis and change the flex.

valk

iTrader: (13)

Cf edges still very sharp. An impact can compress the laminations and cause them to peel.
I only seal the outside, impact bearing edges or any edges that ill be in contact with while working on the car.
For my.own safety.

I don't bother with the big production though as cf is almost disposable as it developes tweaks. Wet sand 400 and one coat of ca is plenty.

Rick Hohwart

I don't seal with CA. I do add a thin coat of blue loctite to darken the cut edge but it is a wipe on and off procedure.

CristianTabush

iTrader: (13)

Sealing still prevents de lamination of the material, especially at the front end of the chassis, where the bumper is and at the rear, when bad tumbles can sometimes lead to impacts on the chassis.

Rick's trick works well, it does not necessarily prevent the de lamination form impact, but it does help with some of the chipping of the material, especially if you sand after the loctite a bit.

I doubt that you would be able to tell the difference between a sealed and unsealed chassis performance wise. The changes to flex are so minimal, if any at all. After a couple of track days all chassis break in and de laminate becoming softer anyways, much more so than what the CA edge would strenthen.

The decision as to if you are sealing or not should have a lot to do with your track and yourself. Are you an unexperienced driver? Does your track have hard, tough barriers? Do you crash hard? If your answer to the above is yes, then You should probably seal it.

Personally I seal mine 99% of the time, given that I have the time. To me it looks nicer and gives me a little more durability. I don't crash often, but running mod sometimes accidents are inevitable.

When i am in a rush to build, I do the loctite trick at least.

redbones

Thanks for the input guys. Guess sealing the chassis is still the main practice in this day and age.

tc3team

I do it more as a preventative measure than anything else.

Knowing my luck, the one chassis I don't CA it will split on a heavy impact