The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
  

  -----

Stainless Steel gun barrel wrapped in Carbon Fiber

2005

I want to wrap a stainless steel gun barrel with carbon fiber.

I am concerned that if the carbon is touching the steel that galvanic corrosion may occur. Is this a big problem with carbon fiber, and if so what are the remedies? I have heard that I can but a single layer of fiberglass or even just a layer of epoxy before I lay up the carbon. My concern is I don't know how much heat fiberglass can take, but heavy use will get the barrel over 200 °F. Also I read this guy's page about making a bike:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/carbon_fiber.htm
And he indicated that it was possible to get away with not vacuum bagging the item the item if I wrap the part tightly in electrical tape with tiny holes poked in it. Any thoughts? Bad idea? Any other general recommendations for this project?
Thanks for your help

Ken McCrohan
Hobby - Frederick, Maryland, USA

---

2005

Ken,
I suppose what you are looking for is a heat resistant coating that can stay in place between the barrel of your gun and the carbon fiber mesh, there are dozens of ways to do this. The one thing you need to decide is how much you want to spend and how permanent you want to make this change.

Any number of commercial hi-temp paints would make for a decent barrier between the carbon fiber and the barrel. Alternately you could get it chrome or nickel plated, or maybe the electrical tape suggestion would work (I would shy away from that one as it will make for a mess when the barrel gets hot).

Good luck and Merry Christmas,

Marc Banks
Blacksmith - Shiloh, North Carolina