dpalXRC

Well I decided to try something on a new body that I was painting up. Using my STIKA vinyl cutter I cut out a sort of zig-zag pattern and used a combination of colors to get what looks like a twill weave carbon fiber look. I think it came out pretty good. I used a scrap piece of real carbon fiber to get the pattern and colors as close as I could. I think it's actually pretty close. When I get into the office Monday, I'll have our photographer take some better photos. Next I plan on trying this method to get a plain weave look. The foam padding used in tool drawers just doesn't look right to me. It's too big of a pattern. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions.

Here is a sample of what type of carbon fiber look I was going for.
http://www.lighter.net/images/twill_2.jpg

tnbigdawg

iTrader: (5)

In my opinion, it's simply perfect. It beats "those other bodies" by a mile.

Tres

iTrader: (14)

WOW, very close and very nice!!

Weeding the small checks out would take some time.

Good job!

nomobux

iTrader: (2)

Go over to RCU and ck out thermalrd's thread in the paint and bod threads. Crowd Pleaser 1/8 thread. Very nice carbon fibre look. See what ya think. Yours is very nice also.

TC4 Rider

Looks great! How long did all that take?

dpalXRC

Actually it didn't take that long. The carbon fiber patten isn't a checker board pattern. More like a zig zag pattern. So basically I just need to weed out every other line. Here's what the pattern looks like.

dpalXRC

Yeah, I saw that. It looks nice. I've used that method before. But I thought I'd try something else. I just don't like the fuzzy edges the other method leaves. It works and looks good though. I just thought I'd try something different.

Here are the colors I use and the process of applying them in case your wondering. (Also, these are all lacquer based spray cans.)

1. With the mask applied and every other line weeded I sprayed Tamiya Smoke (PS-31) Two to three light coats. Enough to cover but not too dark.

2. I then sprayed Tamiya Gun Metal (PS-23) One very light coat just enough to get the metallic look through the PS-31 coat.

3. Lastly I peeled off the remaining mask and sprayed black.

It took me a few scrap pieces of Lexan to get the right amount of paint to apply and feel for how to spray that right amount. But in the end it looks great. I don't think the photos do it justice. But like I said when I get in the office on Monday, I'll have our photographer take some better photos to see if that helps.

I'd like to try this effect with Faskolor paints to see if I can get the same look.

TC4 Rider

This is probably a dumb question, but how do you weed the lines out? I am just starting to get into airbrushing and would really like to try this out. I have no idea how you guys make everything look that perfect.

dpalXRC

Weeding is the process of removing the unwanted parts of the vinyl mask. In this case it was every other line (the gray lines) of the carbon fiber pattern.

BTW here is a better photo of the carbon fiber look. I'll still try and get better ones on Monday.

TC4 Rider

Very nice pic. So how do you weed the lines out? What's the easiest way to do it?

dpalXRC

I just use a pair of tweezers and peel. Sometimes for the smaller stuff I use an Xacto knife.

dpalXRC

Here are some better photos shot in the studio.

Birky

iTrader: (1)

That CF looks awesome mate.

aus jd 2703

iTrader: (5)

hey what u guys think of mixing carbon fibre with purple?
im an ameture painter with a $20 air brush so i want to keep it down say 3 colors plus backing. so is carbon a easy effect? what colors would go good with purple and carbon i race at night so im not sure what to use.
thanks all

FREELANCE_RCer

iTrader: (27)

Hey huys, there's an easy way to get that carbon fiber look.
From R/C CAR MAGAZINE (june 2006) under paint shop by Josh Langness, he used a shelf-liner material that you can get from local hardware store as a template. And he indicate the colors he used (pearl copper, pearl white and back with black) in his project. Instead of peeling off the mask piece-by-piece.