Carbon Fiber Batman Cowl

[mxer911]

Carbon Fiber Batman Cowl

Well thanks in part to some pretty awesome clients that have some pretty great ideas, I've had the opportunity to do some stuff in carbon fiber that I wouldn't have initially tried or even thought of.

That being said here is one of my current projects which is a carbon fiber Batman Cowl. It's not quite finished yet, but figured I'd post up my progress thus far. And while I'd love to say that I built the cowl from scratch, sadly I did not, as the bust was provided to me and I'm simply doing the carbon fiber work.

 

[Assassin9]

Looks fantastic so far! I can't wait to see the finished result!!!

 

[CSMacLaren]

Intense!

 

[ecl]

Batman, the sport version! Very cool.

 

[Mean Joe]

Very nice!!!!

 

[TurboTrey03]

That is simply beautiful!!

 

[jme3]

Unusual but pretty cool...

The stuff is hideously expensive, no?

 

[Malphas]

Not really. You can get a roll of it off amazon for $20 and it would be enough to do a project like this.

 

[Squirrel]

That's pretty cool.

 

[mxer911]

Thanks everyone. Pretty happy with the way its gone so far, now just to trim certain sections and build up the resin.

Not really. You can get a roll of it off amazon for $20 and it would be enough to do a project like this.

Malphas is right, its not horribly expensive anymore. For quality carbon fiber you're looking around $30 - $40 a yard then the cost of resin on top of that. It's probably worth mentioning that this is real carbon fiber and not a vinyl imitation.

 

[bookface]

That's awesome. My understanding of carbon fibre is that it starts getting expensive when you start baking it in autoclaves for super strong parts, is that right?

 

[mxer911]

That's awesome. My understanding of carbon fibre is that it starts getting expensive when you start baking it in autoclaves for super strong parts, is that right?

Correct, because that equipment (autoclave) is insanely expensive. For parts like this the higher cost comes from the amount of time spent working on it and finishing it, not so much the material itself.

 

[jme3]

That's awesome. My understanding of carbon fibre is that it starts getting expensive when you start baking it in autoclaves for super strong parts, is that right?

^Maybe that's where I'm getting my reference on cost. I saw an interview with some of the people behind the '14 Corvette who stated carbon fiber was very costly; perhaps it's the autoclave component in their application that makes it expensive.

 

[JiminSTLouis]

Actually, automakers couldn't use autoclave cure systems, the cycle times are much too long. They're using high flow, quick curing resin systems and infrared heat. Parts cure in minutes vs. hours. The cost is in the materials, tooling (molds) and labor.

Oh and by the way,,, awesome work on the cowl.

 

[jme3]

Actually, automakers couldn't use autoclave cure systems, the cycle times are much too long. They're using high flow, quick curing resin systems and infrared heat. Parts cure in minutes vs. hours. The cost is in the materials, tooling (molds) and labor.

^Ah, good to know!

 

[bcalloway]

Dude that is EPIC great job

 

[Serialjoker]

Great job. Keep up the good work!

 

[Big_Weld]

Look forward to seeing this finished!! Are you going to clear finish or go the black finish??
It would be a shame to go to all that effort and not show the CF off!!

 

[thirdethree]

This is such an awesome idea. I'd love to own one if you ever take on another!

 

[hydin]

Very cool look to it! Has a real armored feel.

Love the texture, so I hope you go clear when you finish it.

Chris