# Carbon...Mmmmmmm **URL:** \ **Category:** Shift518 Automotive\ **Created:** [April 21, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/carbon-mmmmmmm/258027 "2011-04-21T23:45:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 27
**Author:** ![Wayne64SS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/wayne64ss/32/6365_2.png) [@Wayne64SS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Wayne64SS)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/carbon-mmmmmmm/258027/27 "2011-04-26T07:45:49Z")
> [@Miller welder guys](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/miller-welder-guys/41522/2): > > My safety equipment is worth more than most of the parts in your car son 😉 , so i’ll blame it on lack of sleep. > > Laminated MDF that’s shaped. Can’t use this cars’ OEM glass to mold off of because it’s substantially smaller than the opening with the remainder taken up by a very large rubber gasket(which you can not mold off of). This is not a glass panel replacement, it’s a complete plug that replaces the entire sunroof mechanism. > > Typically I’d CNC these molds but this one was too large for my smaller machine and my larger machine isn’t up and running yet. I use either MDF for one-off stuff like this, or for ultra detail production molds and plugs I’ll use carbon foam(expensive). Making a negative mold by hand with double contours(left to right and front to back) is near impossible to do accurately on this type of part, so you must first make a positive plug to pull a negative mold from. > > Mold is sanded to shape and sealed with polyester resin, sanded/buffed/polished to a mirror finish thereafter to pull the mold from. > > And you’re steps for making a mold off a plug are all azz-backwards. Over a plug it goes tooling gel, chopped glass, woven roving, reinforcements(ribs) THEN demold. Never vacuum bag a mold with TG surface, you’ll get massive print though which will transpose to your parts. It takes days to weeks to make a mold. Took 10-12 days to make this one(and repair the TG when the PVA failed) > > **Thanks folks. FWIW, there’s really nothing in automotive composite I can’t do, aside from crap like wheels and high tech compressed graphite engine shit. Panels, hoods, aero, full bodies, etc. Carbon pushrods and suspension arms(DSR/CSR stuff only), seats, list goes on. If you have the $$ to pay I have the capabilities 🙂** JOB SHADOW. You need one. --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/carbon-mmmmmmm/258027)._