3M cast vinyl sheet, good protection for carbon, or no?
 

I've mucked around with this as an idea for a while, but never got around to actually doing it(sold the old race car)



Had a look recently at what people were doing with the 3M vinyl products, especially where they're being marketed as "designed for automotive applications." Don't know if true, or not true. What I am thinking of is using them as a sacrificial layer on composite parts, so I won't need to make the skins as thick as they are now. This has two effects; less resin = less weight, but the big factor is cost. Less fibre and resin = overall cost saving. Parts will as per normal be a honeycomb sandwich in a directional layup, so they are self-supporting(or as structural as money will allow...)



My biggest goal here is cost.



SO. How tough is the 3M product? All I need it to do is deflect small debris, prevent as much as possible small point penetrations.

That's a really good idea man. All I can come up with off the top of my head, is that the glue in the vinyl might disagree with the resin in the CF.

Many people get the 3m clear vinyl for their cars to protect it against pebbles and debris. Not just ordinary road cars but you see expensive Lambos, Ferrari's, etc as well. If its good enough to protect a $100k+ exotic, then it should be good to protect carbon fiber parts. Theres a few different types of the 3m vinyl that last between 3, 5, and 7 years. The 7 year will be the best and highest quality.