Carbon Fiber

[Krzdimond]

I want to get my son a carbon fiber hood for his Eclipse, but I know NOTHING about this new-fangled stuff. It will be used so I expect some correction will be necessary. Is carbon fiber just like paint, or do I need to do something different?

 

 

Robert

[chris308]

Basically care for it just like painted parts. It has a hard clear resin that can be buffed and polished. Always keep a good couple coats of wax on it, cuz it will fade over time.

 

Make sure you get a good manufacturer hood, not all CF hoods are made equally. You definitely will get what you pay for.

 

When i was in the import scene, VISracing and Seibon were the top dogs for CF hoods.

Edited November 30, 2008 by chris308

[Krzdimond]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Question.....

 

so, is it "WILL fade", or "CAN fade" over time?

[wcmclellan]

I thought I read in either Car and Driver or Motor Trend that with the new Corvette ZR1, they developed new clear coat for the exposed carbon fiber parts. It read that it costs over $10K a gallon for this paint, and they noted the yellowing qualities of the carbon fiber clear coats. Not sure about it either, but I too am looking into a few composite pieces for my ride as well. Either way though, which what ever hood you get, I would say limited exposure to the sun and always having a good coat of wax on it is the key. I know the guy who does the bodywork for a race team and I'll ask him what his thoughts are and report back.

[chris308]

if not protected, just like a clear on paint it can fade over time. looks like poo-poo!!

[CRQuarto]

Most carbon fiber is gel coated, not cleared with automotive clear. If you can find auto cleared carbon fiber then the yellowing isn't much of an issue if you keep a coat of super machine wax for sealing and buttery wax for UV protection.

[Krzdimond]

so how do I care for gel coat? Buttery wax? Swirl/haze remover?

[CRQuarto]

The same way you would clear coat, just know that Gel coat doesn't respond to wax the way clear does, you won't get the same depth and gloss, and it will yellow.

[Bluezey]

Edited December 30, 2008 by Bluezey

[Team Adam's]

My friend's with CF hoods use our Machine SuperWax since it has sealing properties. Works great and so far no fade!

[jjwvette]

From my experience, the gel coat over the cf is just like caring for painted surfaces, at least that's the way I do it:)

Here's what mine looks like;

 

 

But on my hood the underneath was raw cf and gray in color, I had it cleared, and it looks like the section on the top of the hood with the gel, and it hasn't yellowed yet and this is what it looks like, but not a real good shot;

 

 

but it's subject to pinholes in the clear and I do have some of them, and it is tough to get on evenly.

Some guy on another forum has some stuff that he applies to the raw cf and it looks black, I kindof think that is the way to go, but live and learn:(

 

Shine On

Bluezey:pc:

Looks awesome

[Bluezey]

Edited December 30, 2008 by Bluezey