Do u think that just a carbon no paint would look cool?

[mini magic]

Originally Posted by tvrfreak

3 is not really an option, as McLaren is not about to build any more F1s.

hehe, good one

[XOTech]

In order to get the same look as the Pagani in the "raw" carbon look, just as TVRFreak pointed out, the McLaren must be simply stripped and painted with a very good clear coat. The stripping process is a bit delicate, but not impossible. There should be very little "body filler" under the paint if any at all. The method McLaren used to make the individual components of the F1 were all made using the same tools and the overall tolerances were very tight(meaning very little error). I would be surprised if there is any filler at all.

The carbon cannot be simply stripped and then driven. The exposed carbon is susceptible to correction and damage. It must be coated with a protective layer of paint at a minimum even if it is clear. Although the carbon panels can be stripped and clearcoated, the components that are not carbon will have to be painted a dark metallic gray or something close to match.

The seams and joints that Mini mentioned are actually very well crafted. McLaren was very precise in their carbon fiber fabrication. Their quality is impeccible. The picture that Mini included is an excellent example of this. You will indeed see these seams. The overall effect is not as ugly as one might think.

If there were poor practices involved, the carbon splices would indeed look terrible. This is usually a problem with what is called "wet" layups. The McLaren was not constructed using a "wet" layup process. The McLaren chassis and panels were constructed using what is called a "prepreg" process. The 'wet' layup is the easy way to construct "carbon fiber" parts. There are reasons to use this fabrication technique. The process does not lend to the most efficient results in terms of the finished part, but it is far quicker and cheaper to do. The "wet" layup uses carbon fiber fabric that is loose like normal fabric. It does not contain any epoxy. The fabric is draped over the desired tool or shape and trimmed to length and fit. Then the fabricator brushes on the epoxy until the layers of carbon fiber are fully saturated. The part is then allowed to cure. Once fully cured or hard, the excess epoxy and fabric must be trimmed for the final part. The process is not nearly as exacting as the "prepreg" process. The resulting part has a very clear epoxy that shows the carbon fiber weave quite clearly.

The "prepreg" process (as alluded to by TVRFreak) uses a carbon ply (layer)that is pre-impregnated with an epoxy designed for the application based on temperature environment, load, exterior durability, etc. It is a board-like material. Not loose like raw carbon fiber fabric. A particular part is made up of many plys (layers) of specifically oriented fibers in order to meet the load and use requirements of each part. A typical part is made up of as few as 4 plys and as many as 15 plys perhaps even more if the part and load so demand. Nearly all plys are of unidirectional (a single direction) fiber. Depending on the load requirements of the part, there may be cause to include a specific weave layer. The weave layer is what most people recognize as a "carbon fiber" part. It is specifically used for load dispersement of the part at the surface of the part. This is to provide an isotropic (multi-directional) capability. This multi-layer part is assembled on steel tools that retain the desired finish quality called for the finished part. In other words, if the part were laid up on a rough surface, the finished product will show that same texture. Therefore the tool must be very smooth and without blemish if the finish of the part is a cosmetic surface. Once all the layers are on the tool and in place, the entire part and tool are placed in what can be considered a huge zip-loc bag (a bit more technically advanced than that). There is a tube that is connected to a vacuum pump that sucks most of the air out of the bag. The entire tool and part are then placed in a huge oven called an autoclave where it is brought to a specific temperature and allowed to "cook" for a certain amount of time. When completed the excess epoxy that was originally impregnated in the "prepreg" is sucked out and the part is left with only the epoxy that it needs to be strong and light. The resulting part has a slightly gold tint to it as a result of the color of the pre-impregnated epoxy in the carbon layers.

To mimic the much higher quality of "prepreg", people will drape the carbon fiber weave over a part as a final layer and finish it off to look like prepreg. The result is a far heavier part, not as strong, and not nearly as precisely designed. It is purely a product of "beauty" and not function.

It looks like I have once again broken records of long posts. Sorry about that..

[XOTech]

To add to my previously huge post, I have reread my post and those previous and noticed something I should have mentioned.

Regarding the colored "carbon fiber". Because of the fact that carbon fiber is by nature a black fiber, it does not accept color dyes very well. The result when dyed is only a slightly tinted hue of black. A red dyed carbon fiber would only barely show a red tint. From a distance, you would not be able to detect it.

The colored parts come from a few sources. Since carbon fiber is black and doesn't accept the dyes well, a different material must be selected. There are two possibilities: either Kevlar (which has naturally yellow fibers) or Polyester (which has naturally white fibers). These accept dyes much better. When Kevlar is dyed, it will always show the dyed color with a slightly yellow base. For example, when dyed red, it has a slightly orange look. When dyed blue, it has a slight green look. Since Polyester is white, it accepts dye very well with more color accuracy. It really looks like what dye is used. Interestingly, both can be colored black to look like carbon fiber but really are not.

The use of Kevlar or Polyester for the use of colored composite is not an advantage for lightness or strength, it is strictly for cosmetic appearance.

There are other techniques of including alternative cosmetic effects by use of tinted epoxies in a wet layup. You can also include glitters and other particles to change the finished look. There are even layers of metallic weaves or designs that can be used. The list is very long of possibilities. What must be pointed out, however, is that the cosmetic layers are not meant to enhance the strength of the part, that must be done as though that layer were not there. Again, it is purely cosmetic.

To clarify what TVRFreak mentioned about colored composites... - A colored fiber part cannot be carbon fiber. It is either Kevlar or Polyester. That is still a composite (something composed of more than one type of material ie: fiber and epoxy), but not carbon fiber for reasons I explained above.