I have a carbon fiber hood that is starting to oxidize pretty badly so I want to have it recleared. There is one problem, on the edge of the hood the clear is down to the weave, or so I think. I can run my finger over the hood and feel part of the weave. Can this still be sanded and recleared? It's not bad at all, I just hope it can be fixed.

 

Posting pics of this usally helps but taking it to a bodyshop that is experienced with gel coat applications will answer your question without the 'internet what-ifs'.

 

Yeah I know, I just noticed it at dusk or else I would snap a picture.

I plan to take it to a shop soon.

 

i am apainter if its not bad u should bable to sand it wit 800 grit and reclear an it will b fine no need 2 re gelcoat

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dvs407 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i am apainter if its not bad u should bable to sand it wit 800 grit and reclear an it will b fine no need 2 re gelcoat </TD></TR></TABLE>

No need to re gelcoat? That's what kind of clear that c/f has!!!

 

It's just oxidizing..? Why don't you just wetsand and buff it back up to new again?

 

If the gelcoat is worn down to the weave on the edge of the hood, buffing won't fix that. It will only get worse with time. If its in a repairable condition now, it might not be in a few months if you just buff it and let it get worse...

 

Wow no offense, but some of you don't read. It is down to the weave in one spot and I want to know if it will be fine when I have the gel coat stripped and have the hood sprayed with automotive clearcoat.

I have used marine wax and restorer and I buffed it. It simply hides the oxidation which just returns later on. I am not concerned with that, the hood is to be stripped of the gel coat anyway, I do not care to restore it, I have tried and it cannot be restored. My concern is whether or not the hood will be okay since in one spot it is down to the weave; two people have verified that it will be okay and I thank you two for that.

I plan to visit the body shop this Thursday, school is very hectic this week.

If anyone else has any input on whether or not it can be fixed please let me know. I guess if it cannot be cleared properly and imperfections will be visible, I will just have it color matched to the car, or have it lightly colored so it will match the paint and have the weave visible. I do not want to do this though because my paint color has a different tint from the Honda factory NBP and it is difficult to match. Also, I would rather leave the hood with the shop and have my truck at home so I can do other things to it while the hood is being refinished.

Any other input let me know, thanks.

 

just pay attention while sanding the weave you dont want to go too far

 

My carbon fiber trunk was in pretty rough shape. I had skratches all over and there was no clear look at all. So I started sanding it down with 1000 grit sand paper then after that used 1500. So after I did all the sanding I buffed it with buffing compound to get out any skratches or swirls from the sanding. Then washed the trunk off and waxed it by hand to give it some more shine. The trunk looks shiny from straight on. Here is a pic of it straight on.


Here is the side view.

It has shine but it is just cloudy from the side. Should I sand it down more with like 800? Then do all the steps over again. If anyone has any ideas that would be great! Thanks

 

I did infact read your post. If you want to go the expensive route, get it completely recleared. If you just want to fix the clearcoat, buff it. Using a wax to buff the hood is going to do nothing other than hide the oxidation like you said. A compound is what you need. As for the parts down to the weave, is it possible just to get that recleared? I don't know..

SaraSmiles - When you run your hand across it, does it feel rough on those cloudy spots?

 

No everything is smooth. I think I mihgt have to just sand down even more and it that doesnt work im gonna try and clear it. It just looks like if you clear it will still be there. I'm gonna try sanding with 800 and see what happens. If you think I should do something els let me know! Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SaraSmiles &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My carbon fiber trunk was in pretty rough shape. I had skratches all over and there was no clear look at all. So I started sanding it down with 1000 grit sand paper then after that used 1500. So after I did all the sanding I buffed it with buffing compound to get out any skratches or swirls from the sanding. Then washed the trunk off and waxed it by hand to give it some more shine. The trunk looks shiny from straight on. Here is a pic of it straight on.


Here is the side view.

It has shine but it is just cloudy from the side. Should I sand it down more with like 800? Then do all the steps over again. If anyone has any ideas that would be great! Thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

you need to use a more aggressive compound.

 

Ok thanks a lot. I am gonna sand it down again and look for a new compound and do everything over again. If everything turns out right I will post pics again. Thanks for the help!

 

Since you've sanded it down once, I really wouldn't worry about sanding it again. It looks like you've got to get the hazy crap out of it. Sanding it again would mean taking even more of the protective clear off and I'm not sure that's a good idea.

Use a marine/gel coat application compound. The consistentcy is a lot dryer than normal compounds and it is more like a paste instead of a liquid compound. Just buff it around 1400 rpm and take your time. I've been trying like crazy to get ahold of the vendor I bought some from last year. I can't remember the name of that stuff... I had a big c/f project I had to fix for someone and it looked worse than yours. I ended up buffing it twice; once to get the dull/yellow/hazy oxidation out of it and a second time to spot-check a couple places that started hazing over again. I never sanded it once. I used a LOT of compound and went through three pads the first time I buffed it, though. It came out great. Good luck.

 

Ok so I wont sand it down any more. I will go to the paint store and see what they say. Someone told me to use this 3M stuff but I wasnt sure. Didnt really sound liek what I need here was the link http://www.autobarn.net/3m-060..._base But I will go and see what they say is the best stuff and I will get to work. I have a show in Jersey to go to next weekend. Thanks so much!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RoadRage212 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Since you've sanded it down once, I really wouldn't worry about sanding it again. It looks like you've got to get the hazy crap out of it. Sanding it again would mean taking even more of the protective clear off and I'm not sure that's a good idea.

Use a marine/gel coat application compound. The consistentcy is a lot dryer than normal compounds and it is more like a paste instead of a liquid compound. Just buff it around 1400 rpm and take your time. I've been trying like crazy to get ahold of the vendor I bought some from last year. I can't remember the name of that stuff... I had a big c/f project I had to fix for someone and it looked worse than yours. I ended up buffing it twice; once to get the dull/yellow/hazy oxidation out of it and a second time to spot-check a couple places that started hazing over again. I never sanded it once. I used a LOT of compound and went through three pads the first time I buffed it, though. It came out great. Good luck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

The 3M Marine compound you guys are speaking of I have tried. It took some of the oxidation off from the top view just like SaraSmile's trunk lid. From the side you can see it though. Plus mine is down to the weave like I said, so it's getting recleared some time this upcoming week. That is why I told GuNnErGoD that I have used it and it didn't completely work for mine. My hood is too far gone, I mean I guess I could get a more aggressive compound, but who knows if that will do anything and I'm down to the weave in one spot, no compound will fix that.

SaraSmiles, if the compound doesn't work for you, just have the Gelcoat stripped and have a nice automotive clear with UV protection laid down. It should't cost more than $200 I would say, it probably won't even cost that. It will then look better than new and you won't have to buff and rebuff every so often to try and save a finish that is just going to need to be redone later on. After reading up on these carbon fiber products, I found it is very common for them to oxidize this way and sooner or later they will have to be stripped and cleared with automotive clearcoat.

I guess anything is worth a try though. Some of those threads I read about the 3M compound and/or restorer on carbon fiber have some great before and after pictures. Most people said the fading did come back and they had to buff their hoods every so often.

 

Yeah lemme know how yours comes out and send some pics! I am going to get new compound and see what happens then if its not good just gonna get it cleared. I am getting it cleared for free anyways so doesnt matter if it doesnt work. I will post pics when I get a good result. Good luck also bsixteensofast!!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BSIXTEENSOFAST &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The 3M Marine compound you guys are speaking of I have tried. It took some of the oxidation off from the top view just like SaraSmile's trunk lid. From the side you can see it though. Plus mine is down to the weave like I said, so it's getting recleared some time this upcoming week. That is why I told GuNnErGoD that I have used it and it didn't completely work for mine. My hood is too far gone, I mean I guess I could get a more aggressive compound, but who knows if that will do anything and I'm down to the weave in one spot, no compound will fix that.

SaraSmiles, if the compound doesn't work for you, just have the Gelcoat stripped and have a nice automotive clear with UV protection laid down. It should't cost more than $200 I would say, it probably won't even cost that. It will then look better than new and you won't have to buff and rebuff every so often to try and save a finish that is just going to need to be redone later on. After reading up on these carbon fiber products, I found it is very common for them to oxidize this way and sooner or later they will have to be stripped and cleared with automotive clearcoat.

I guess anything is worth a try though. Some of those threads I read about the 3M compound and/or restorer on carbon fiber have some great before and after pictures. Most people said the fading did come back and they had to buff their hoods every so often.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Thanks SaraSmiles. Yeah I'm supposed to bring it in Monday. Your getting yours done for free? That's awesome, I wouldn't even waste my time or money on compound and buffing lol!

I'll try to take pictures of it now and then after the clear. I have to find my digital.

Good luck with yours too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SaraSmiles &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok so I wont sand it down any more. I will go to the paint store and see what they say. Someone told me to use this 3M stuff but I wasnt sure. Didnt really sound liek what I need here was the link http://www.autobarn.net/3m-060..._base But I will go and see what they say is the best stuff and I will get to work. I have a show in Jersey to go to next weekend. Thanks so much!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

No this wasn't it. I haven't seen anything like it on paint supply shelves. This seems like it was a once in a lifetime buy and I should have bought more. I know I paid $50 for a gallon of it and he had even used a little bit of it. I just haven't seen him again to get more...if I remember the name of it I'll let you guys know.

 

Well, I just got mine back today. The weave wasn't a problem, all the fibers look great and the gloss is excellent. One problem, there are little fish eyes and I'm not happy. I'm going to take it back tomorrow to have it taken care of. I guess it has to be wet sanded, buffed and cleared again.

 

Cool man post pics when she's done!

 

I will. I have to wait for the clear to cure before it goes back and I need a car so I might wait. When it was cleared the fibers sucked in some of the clear and make little bubbles, so it's going to be wetsanded, recleared then cut and buffed. What a pain in the *** this is, I need to have a hood on my car for these next couple weeks since I'm busy, unless there's someone here from Jersey who can do the work on a weekend.

 

Does this sound familiar to anyone else in here? I found a link in another forum of someone that has the same problem as mine. Sorry I'm just pissed after paying money and not having it come out the way I wanted. At least the hood could be saved though which is reassuring.

http://www.my350z.com/forum/sh...33482

 

That sucks man. Hope they do it right this time and you get it back. They better not make you pay again either. Def post pics when its done. I gave up on my trunk I would have it re-cleared but I have a show to go to in Jersey this weekend. Keep us posted!