Rivets in carbon

Are rivets really the only way to attach what you want to attach?

You can buy carbon specific rivets. I'm not sure where from as i've always carboned any fittings onto carbon spars or got the rivets out of stock at work. (at my last job not alverbanks). They do compress in a slightly different way to normal rivets

Ideally you'd use something high quality, but I reckon even West will do the job well enough. Pick a good day for doing it though, and ideally don't use it for a week.

The key here is surface prep. Sand down both surfaces well, using something like 400 grit paper. Clean them both well with acetone (use white paper towel/kitchen roll- it's clean when this stays clean).

I'd reckon you want to thicken up the resin a little. This will do two things- for one, it'll help shim the gap (the two surfaces won't be the same shape!) and secondly, a slightly thicker bondline (up to a point) helps the strength of the bond (in peel loading).

file the holes then re drill and also stick it back on using a sealent called sticaflex great stuff i use it on my fishing boat stick like glue to anything it comes in either black or white