Finishing their carbon fiber composite parts with two to three times as much clearcoat as a typical automotive body shop, SpeedKore needed faster curing, without sacrificing quality. They never had used accelerated curing and wanted to make certain any new tool worked on carbon fiber, in all different scenarios.
A visit to the Center for Excellence — the state-of-the-art training facility resembling a working body shop in Osseo, Wisconsin — convinced SpeedKore that the REVO Handheld from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) could help them maximize efficiency, for a relatively minimal investment.
“We’re not high volume, but it’s about getting the right product and the right process,” said Tom Porter, Senior Business Development Manager for SpeedKore in Grafton, Wisconsin. “That quicker turnaround time with the REVO Handheld helps us shorten our in-house lead time.”
Four to six passes of clearcoat, in an open weave pattern, gives enhanced depth to SpeedKore’s carbon fiber. With no primer underneath the clearcoat, ensuring the solvent is released into the part before performing another pass is essential to avoid trapped solvent. And such thick clearcoat means parts are sometimes not fully cured even after running through their paint booth’s bake cycle.
Using the REVO Handheld, SpeedKore can now cure filler and coatings in as quick as three minutes or less.
“As we’re touching up spots on our vehicles, whether it is with filler or primer, or touching up spots on roll cages or frames, that is where we use the REVO Handheld,” said Porter, whose company gained Hollywood acclaim when their custom-built, carbon fiber-paneled 1970 Dodge Charger “Tantrum” appeared in “Furious 7” in 2015. “The REVO Handheld is capable of doing what we need it to do, without damaging the carbon fiber.”
At the Center for Excellence, GFS worked with SpeedKore in testing their clearcoat on various parts — a fender, an engine cover and a carbon fiber rocker — using REVO Systems. SpeedKore left with the REVO Handheld, having fine-tuned the number of passes to properly cure and the ideal distance between the unit and the part being cured.
“Testing in a real-life situation was definitely valuable,” Porter said. “It’s nice to be able to see it, touch it, feel it, and not have to wait for a tradeshow to be able to see it. It’s all theoretical when you’re standing on the tradeshow floor, but when you actually see it working and see it perform, it’s value added.”
