Carbon Fiber - My wife is right

She's right, as usual. She comes downstairs to my mancave and says "you should be doing this for money"...So here I am.

I have 3M di-noc Carbon fiber vinyl and it can be used to cover just about anything. Let me know what you want covered and I'll get you a price. (size/dimensions help here)

For those of who are unfamiliar, di-noc is a new material that 3M developed. it has a self adhering backing and is slightly porous to let out any air bubbles that may show up. It also has excellent thermal properties. Meaning it can be heated and reformed many times to get the perfect fit.

I can send pictures at your request, or you can view my personal build thread which has pictures of items I have covered: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=22969.html

Sadly, the full effect doesn't really show up in pictures. I wish there was a way to show exactly how good it looks. Unlike printed vinyls, this has a pattern and an actual 'weave' to it. It is hands down the closest thing you'll get to real carbon fiber.

 

OK- - how much per square foot ??
How durable in a heat environment??
You say it has excellent thermal properties, what is the limit??
At what temp does it turn to burnt chewing gum?? (inportant)

Then there's the Q about solvent or gas resistance.
And sun or UV stability.
But other than that, yes, show us what you got !!

 

I sell this at $12 a square foot installed. This is a steal considering all the time it takes cutting and pulling this over corners and curves.

3M rates this at 3 years in a desert setting in direct sunlight 4 years for normal environments. They also say that it'll last 12 years indoors. I imagine since most people can't ride motorcycles year round(not as much as a car anyways), it'll last 5/6 years.

The material softens up with a heatgun set to 500 degrees. I wouldn't use it on anything that gets hot directly, but it will perform well in close proximity to hot objects. I have no reservations installing this on parts of my bike right next to the engine. It's really like nothing you've encountered I'm sure(it took me about 6 months to even bother ordering a sample because I thought it was BS).

As far as gas/solvents, I've never exposed it directly, but I suppose I can if you'd like. Though 3M doesn't specifically have information on it's resistance to solvents and gasoline, I imagine it would perform rather well. After all, it's vinyl. Keep in mind as well, this isn't a printed carbon fiber pattern, it's a textured vinyl sheet. One color, no dyes, nothing to bleed off or discolor.

If I've missed anything, let me know and I'll get you as much info as you need.

 

Does it come in other colors? I could use a Torch Red color.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure. I think it does, I've just never checked. I'll make some calls tomorrow and see what I can dig up.

 

boston, if you go to a crotch rocket forum, you'll get an INSANE amount of business, I really tried to think of something to get carbon fibered, but it doesnt really go well with anything, unless I were making a custom bike

 

Haha you're probably right. I don't believe in signing up on forums just to hock stuff. I hate when people do that.

As a side note, you can basically cover anything, not limited to motorcycles. I have the lid of my laptop covered because it was all scratched up and I get nothing but compliments.

 

too bad you're not closer, theres some bits n' pieces on my car I would like done...... hmm im gonna find something to get done..

 

For those curious, here's a picture of the lid of my laptop done with this material.