Simple Kickplate Solution

[floyd650]

My cardboard kickplates were more than a little tired, but I couldn't see forking over a bunch of cash to replace them. So I decided that I would laminate some carbon fiber onto them. If you've never worked with carbon fiber it sounds difficult, but it is a real piece of cake. Here is the step by step and the items you'll need are list below. The whole operation took about an hour of my time.

1: Remove Kickplates.
2. Cut an appropriate size of carbon fiber to cover each plate with about a 2 inch overlap.
3. Mix the resin and the hardener. (Latex gloves are a good idea at this step)
4. Using a cheap paint brush, slather the outside surface of the kickplate with the mixture.
5. Lie the sheet of carbon fiber onto the wet surface of the kickplate.
6. Slather some more resin/hardner on top of the kickplate.
7. Allow to cure overnight.
8. Use a dremel tool to cut off the excess carbon fiber around the edges of the kick plate.
9. Re-install.

What you'll need:
1. Carbon fiber fabric http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/category.php?bid=45&
2. Resin and Hardener (I use the medium speed hardener) http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=27&
3. Gloves
4. Paint brush

[revtor]

cool, nice job!! and if anyones thinking of doing this, you could also use plain ol fiberglass cloth too.. its cheaper, but not as stiff or cool!!

~Steve

[Buckon37s]

Why not just remove them. Do they hide something on the NAS trucks?

[Brendon]

That's really cool Alex!! Great solution to a common problem!!