Reply With Quoteyou cant save it, i'll give you £100 to take the problem away
Got myself a carbon bonnet and was wondering whats the best way of bringing it back to life.. Its been sitting in a shed for a bit by the looks of it.. will get some pictures up of it when it has stopped raining and dryed up..
you cant save it, i'll give you £100 to take the problem away
Cf will still have a layer of lacquer, so unless it's oxidised, which is common with abs carbon. Any defects or scratches could possibly just be flat & polished out.
But still get some pics up.
Also, you can re-lacquer carbon fibre.
Carbon fiber composites get brittle and faded from oxidation caused by the sun's UV rays. The UV discoloration is a combination of both the carbon and the resin color changes, so in order for carbon fiber to retain its appearance, it has to be clear-coated by either the manufacturer, or you, prior to installation. If it's shiny direct from the manufacturer, it's probably been clear coated. But check first before buying.
Since exhaust cans operate at elevated temperatures, this will accelerate this oxidation and also quickly drive off any wax, oil or silicone coatings you apply to try to keep them shiny. Automotive paint clear coats are very resistant to UV discoloration and oxidation, so the best solution, even for carbon exhaust cans, is to spray them before installation.
To restore carbon fiber that has started to fade, wash it with soap and water, rinse it with paint thinner, and let dry. Apply three or four coats of clear acrylic enamel or lacquer, the first coat just misted on. Lightly sand with 600 wet between coats. The black won't be as deep in any faded areas, but pretty-close.
Clear-coating carbon fiber can be time consuming because of the pinholes in the material. To keep it lightweight, it shouldn't contain any more resin than necessary. Nevertheless, some manufacturers focus more on the cosmetic aspect, so their products are dense with resin and very shiny.
Unless your carbon fiber has been clear-coated, keep Windex or harsh oxygenated cleaners like 409 or S-100 or Oxyclean away from it. They turn raw carbon fiber mottled white and milky-looking. In some instances this milky stain can be removed with denatured alcohol before clear-coating.
Stop bloody copy and pasting lol
Someone been groomed by Tim?
Neil/Arda, I had one of those ABS carbon bonnets years ago, and they are quite milky.. I think it's under the lacquer tbh, some sort of reaction between the resin and the actual CF I think
Anyways, as far as cleaning it goes, you'd just tackle it in the same manner as bodywork, because it is clearcoated. You could polish it too if you wished, to bring back some life to it, but I don't think you'll be able to remove the milky patches.
Throw some pics up. Ben (sicskate) has already pretty much summed the situation up, some good advice there
Here are some pictures as promisedd.. Washed the car but didnt get a chance to polish it yet.
Looks like the lacquer is a bit thin in some areas.
I'd avoid polishing it with a machine.
A good silicon wax should help build the depth up.
Although this is all guess work as I've never worked on carbon.
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