AC Schnitzer Interior Carbon Fibre

BMW M3 E92

• The vast majority of carbon fibre we make tends to be black 2×2 twill. A good customer to Carbonwurks with an avid AC Schnitzer collection of BMW came to us wanting a replica of the M3 E92 ACS interior package that hasn’t been available to buy for some 10+ years. This was quite a challenge to replicate in the same way but, we like a challenge.
• Often customers supply us with their original interior panels. In this particular case, the customer customer supplied some 2nd hand, genuine BMW parts to keep his original interior panels which were already a rare leather option.
• With all panels present we stripped down the parts with old leather and sanded the wooden variant which we were going to overlay genuine carbon onto.
• The process as touched on above involved sanding down the part and applying a sticky basecoat that the carbon would then adhere to. We had to test pigments to obtain a silver basecoat to ensure no bleed through of the normal black basecoat used which would give a poor finish to the weave. We managed to obtain the very same silver weave with the same tow size for this job which was applied to all surfaces and allowed to cure.
• Once the parts were ready, we applied near 8 layers of resin in different applications to give an incredibly smooth finish.
• Among the resin applications involved trimming and sanding to keep the factory fitment and tolerances.
• We had some AC Schnitzer logos made up in the same style and size as the original which were placed on the steering wheel trim and the dashboard. Measuring and placing in the exact perfect position was one of the more complicated parts to this job.
• Once complete in the fabrication section, we cured these parts to bake the carbon and resin for the best surface smoothness and longevity. Without curing the parts will be compromised and would be prone to failure on hot days. This is by far the most critical part of producing skinned parts and an area we have spent over 5 years developing with proprietary methods we keep as a closely guarded secret.
• After a post cure sand down, these parts went off to lacquer for an extremely high gloss clearcoat.
• Complete from lacquer, all parts received a final flat and polish along with being hand waxed for enhanced levels of gloss.
• We stand by these are some of the highest quality carbon parts made with the highest clarity resin and lacquer available. Taking old styled parts and enhancing them with modern technologies and methods.

Interior Centre Console

Mercedes C63 W205

• Mercedes have been offering carbon fibre on and in their cars for many decades now. Generally, they use a 2×2 twill which, they have used different coloured versions for different applications (mainly interior). The centre console is a part that can be specified from factory at quite a pricing uplift. Carbonwurks since the W205 chassis C class has been going have been producing a more cost effective replacement.
• In a similar fashion to the parts mentioned already on this page, there is a huge amount of prep that goes into the initial phases. Arguably the most import steps in the whole production of a carbon part is in the prep. We strip down the console to their bare panels (removing any clips and fixings behind) to ensure we can work with the part as best as possible and avoid any potential mess.
• This console has quite a few tight tolerances to content with. Having a lot of cut-outs for the various buttons and controls, it’s critical to the end result to keep these tolerances tight but not to the point where you would struggle to refit the original equipment.
• We only use genuine Mercedes parts as a base for these consoles. Although patent parts are available, it doesn’t pay in the long run to use sub-standard components.
• As with all our carbon fibre parts, once the main bulk of the manufacturing processes have been undertaken, the console is baked & cured then moved over to our lacquering facility to give the part it’s high lustre clearcoat. Once back from lacquer, we rebuild these consoles to their factory state ready for installation in the new owners vehicle or to be shipped to various corners of the globe.

Interior Gear Surround

Audi S3 (8Y)

• This A3 panel is another unusual skinned part. From factory Audi offer an open pore carbon for the dashboard panel but do not offer a centre console option. We had to find a specific weave to copy the type of carbon Audi used for this open pore carbon part.
• We used an Audi original part as a base for the carbon to be laid onto. Once the prep process had been undertaken, the carbon was applied.
• To give the open pore effect requires a very careful and limited resin infusion process. Without giving the game away, if not done correctly will leave the part patchy, under or over saturated. A very fine balance to set the carbon in place.
• With the resin process and trimming complete, we oven cured to ensure the part was correctly ready for use in the real world elements (heat and UV).
• With careful prep, this part was ready for a satin lacquer to give further protection to the carbon.
• With the part being satin, we can’t flat or polish the finish. Any imperfections are there for good which can’t be rectified. To keep the open pore finish means a limited level of lacquer can be applied to not clog the pores. What this all equates to is a part that can only be attempted to be made once, if it’s not right we have to start from scratch again!
• This part complete it was ready to ship off only to produce further examples for other customers.