Achieving Class A appearance over fiber-reinforced substrates can be challenging. Learn about solutions and the evolving measurements used to characterize topcoated surface appearance.

By D.H. Campbell, G. Singh, Prasanna Kondapalli, Cindy Peters, Jacob Dumbleton

Achieving Class A appearance over fiber-reinforced substrates can be challenging. We discuss the evolving measurements used to characterize topcoated surface appearance. The influence of carbon fiber on the surface appearance of a thermoplastic resin-transfer-molding (RTM) substrate is related to differences in thermal expansion within the substrate.

The mechanism identified here is then extended to several chopped-fiber-filled thermoplastic substrates where the fiber-mapping effect is manifested in a different manner. We then investigate the influence of thick-film applications to the Class A surface on appearance. Our analysis finds that both the depth and the width or wavelength of the substrate affect the ability of the thick films to cover fiber mapping.