Carbon Fiber Hood - How to work on?

[Mayur]

Carbon Fiber Hood - How to work on?

Alright here is the story. My friend has a carbon fiber hood and it is in pretty bad condition. Seems to me that it has yellowed and there are many scratches and etchings. I had asked him to find out if it was clear coat or gel coat and he told me clear coat. So just now we bust out the buffer with some #9 Swirl Remover. I used this because I know its mild and I didnt want to do damage. The finish did seem to get smoother but it started leaving white streaks, some powdery stuff seemed to come off the hood. He now tells me that he did not find out with the manufacturer if its gel or clear. So is this clear or gel. Im assuming gel and also is there anyway to fix this? I can post pics but digi cam is with my parents. I can get pics off a cell phone but they wont be the greatest quality.

Thanks in advance
Mayur

[Whelan]

Typically a true CF hood is gel coated. Mostly because the CF is a fabric woven and laid out like Fiberglass. So you probably have these milky white streaks that are patchy on it. You could try wet sanding with 2000 or 1500 to 2000. Then try a small area to buff with something different.

[Mayur]

Originally Posted by Whelan

Typically a true CF hood is gel coated. Mostly because the CF is a fabric woven and laid out like Fiberglass. So you probably have these milky white streaks that are patchy on it. You could try wet sanding with 2000 or 1500 to 2000. Then try a small area to buff with something different.

Last thing we want to do is wetsand the hood because we arent expierence in that. I searched the forums and found this. Whats different about this one? He used a more abrasive product than me.
http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...&threadid=7113

[Mike Phillips]

Originally Posted by Mayur

Last thing we want to do is wetsand the hood because we arent expierence in that. I searched the forums and found this. Whats different about this one? He used a more abrasive product than me.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...&threadid=7113

Treat a carbon fiber hood like you would a neglected clear coat and you should get great results. #9 is a little too gentle for what you want to do, a better choice will be M80 Speed Glaze and carve out small sections at a time using a dual action polisher, (a PC), using a polishing pad on the 5.0 setting.

Check out the before and after photos here,

Carbon Fiber Hood Before and After using M80 Speed Glaze

Carbon Fiber Hood Before and After using M80 Speed Glaze

Carbon Fiber Hood Before and After using M80 Speed Glaze

[Mike Phillips]

Horrific swirls in this Carbon Fiber Hood provides Meguiar's with the opportunity to show people how to remove swirls the right way the first time...

[Mike Phillips]

This was done by hand using ScratchX








The detailing clinics at Meguiar's are truly hands-on clinics. We do our best to teach the skills you need to get great results the first time.

Below, the owner of this BMW with the brand new custom paint job is going to learn how to fix the problem using his hands with a few quality Meguiar's products.

First up, ScratchX by hand.





After he applies the ScratchX and works each application in, he then removes it with a Meguiar's Ultimate Wipe microfiber polishing cloth.





Next, the owner applies an application of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, works it in well, and then removes it. Meguiar's polishes do not need to dry before removing.





After the polish has been removed, an application of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax is applied, worked in well and allowed to dry for 10-15 minutes.



After it has cured, it is gently removed using a microfiber polishing cloth.






Remember, this was all done by hand and it was to my knowledge the first time this person had ever used any of these products.






After learning the techniques for getting good results by hand, we then taught him how to use the G-100 Dual Action Polisher to go over the entire front clip and put a show car shine worthy of his new paint job...

Here are those results...

[Mike Phillips]

The power of Meguiar's Diminishing Abrasbrasives







Mason's hood showing before and after due to Meguiar's diminishing abrasive technology together with Meguiar's ESP Technology

[Mike Phillips]

How's that? Are you ready to get to work?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally Posted by Mayur

Alright here is the story. My friend has a carbon fiber hood and it is in pretty bad condition. Seems to me that it has yellowed and there are many scratches and etchings.

The yellow part makes it sound like straight resin, no clear coat paint, thus no UV inhibitors to protect itself. Hoods that are clear coated get the benefit of UV protection in the clear paint and usually cost more money.

Originally Posted by Mayur

So just now we bust out the buffer with some #9 Swirl Remover. I used this because I know its mild and I didnt want to do damage.

The finish did seem to get smoother but it started leaving white streaks, some powdery stuff seemed to come off the hood. He now tells me that he did not find out with the manufacturer if its gel or clear.

#9 is just to gentle for what you're trying to do, you can try again using a polishing pad on the 5.0 speed setting if you're using a G100/PC, if you're not using this tool, what are you using?

Remember, no matter what tool or product you're using, test first in a small section to see if you can fix a small section first. You could even try ScratchX by hand with some passion behind the pad to be very safe.

It can either be fixed or it can't be fixed, so at this point you really don't have anything to lose. If you can fix it, then take some before and after pictures to share on the forum and after you fix it, be sure to maintain it or it will reverse and get bad again and you'll start running out of film-build to work with in the future.

[Mayur]

Thanks Mike for the good write up as always! We used #9 because thats all I had on me along with the DC system. We are currently placing our order for the products we need to come in. Tomorrow we are going to try out scratch x by hand. Ill keep you guys posted. Again Mike you rock