Filling holes in carbon fibre tube

[mbalkham]

Hi all, 

Anyone tried to fill holes in a carbon fibre tube? More cosmetic than structural (see pic). Also want to stop light for darks. Currently using black pvc tape! Looking for tips/ tricks. 

Current thinking is thickened epoxy with black pigment (or perhaps graphite?). Something like this https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.php/adding-pigments-to-west-system-epoxy/

Prob also paint over inside with black acrylic paint. 

Thanks in advance

Matt

[Matt61]

You may find info on cycling forums just a thought.

[johninderby]

You can get carbon fibre repair kits on eBay and such similar to this.

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/black-epoxy-repair-filler

Or

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/carbon-fibre-rapid-repair-kit

Edited December 8, 2020 by johninderby

[Space Hopper]

A bit of filler, and then flocking paper over it ?

[bottletopburly]

Flock the tube , that tube doesn’t look very black , then that will cover holes

[pete_l]

black coloured hot melt glue

[Starflyer]

Can I ask why you moved the spider to a 90° orientation from 45°?  It's probably a personal preference thing, but I much prefer X shaped diffraction spikes to horizontal / vertical spikes.

[CedricTheBrave]

rubber grommets

[mbalkham]

12 hours ago, Starflyer said:

Can I ask why you moved the spider to a 90° orientation from 45°?  It's probably a personal preference thing, but I much prefer X shaped diffraction spikes to horizontal / vertical spikes.

I have another post on this specific question (Spider upgrade - orientation of vanes - Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups - Stargazers Lounge).  I didn't get a definitive answer on that thread nor from the manufacturer of the new spider. General wisdom was that it wouldn't make a difference optically, but my thinking was about ease of collimation. I wanted adjustment towards/away from the focuser with one screw and then left to right with the other two. I think this means easier adjustment as you don't adjust in more than one plane when you make an adjustment. I also think it will help support the focuser and weight of the camera/reduce any flex at that point of the tube.

[Robert72]

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/vm100-black-methyl-methacrylate-adhesive

[mbalkham]

I went with thickened epoxy with black epoxy dye in the end. I placed electrical tape over the outside then pushed in the epoxy mix and used a spatula on the inside to smooth off the mix. Not perfect in terms of finish but does the job well.

If I did it again I'd prob chamfer the holes, spend more time packing the epoxy in the holes and I'd prob also go over the outside later with a clear epoxy.