Carbon Fiber Care. What do you use?

[Nity9cavSedanCRJ]

I have my entire front facia of my car outfitted in Carbon fiber and it is all made by Aerogear. I have had it on my car since last spring and towards the end of the show season, i noticed that its lost alot of its shine and reflectiveness. They are all off my car right now to work on this problem. Here are some pics..







I am not sure, but i thought i heard through the grape vine that you shouldn't use car was on UV coated applications and the some say go ahead. So i am at a loss on what to do and i figured i would try asking some experts. Thanks in advance!

[79T/A]

Maybe this can help

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7113

If the link doesn't work. try searching carbon fiber hood.

[Murr1525]

Your hood is carbon fiber, but it is clear coat over the top like any other car surface. So you can take care of it like any other clear coated surface.

You can use any of Meguiars car washes and paint care products.

Will you be working by hand, or PC?

[Nity9cavSedanCRJ]

From what i have been told its a UV coat over it not clear coat. There are some hazey spots which is what i would like to try anc take care of. I will be doing everything by hand, i am too affraid of using something powered without any previous experience on something of this value.

[Murr1525]

Hmm.. well, are you able to contact who made the parts, or read their webiste, etc to get any more info on what the coating might be?

I mean, a clearcoat has UV protection.. but I wouldnt want to garuntee they are the same thing. I know plenty of carbon finer hoods, etc have been worked on around here with great results, but always safer to get any info you can from a manufacturer first I suppose.

[Nity9cavSedanCRJ]

I finally got on the ball for making these puppies look like new again... I had the chip repaired at a body shop, they couldn't do too much about the couple spider cracks but they are hard to see...

Everything looked like this to begin with.....



The guy at the body shop reccomended i pick up these as he did a test patch and the results were amazing...



Meguiar's Gold Medallion - $21.99
3M Finesse it 2- $32 / quart
Scott Rags in a box - $12.99 at BJ's

the outcome...







Compare and contrast against... what it use to be... to now!





Looks like wet glass now....





And also i finally got around to ordering my new set of wheels for my J...I have 5 of these comming my way...





Motegi DPK's in Hyperdark 18 x 8 ( 40mm offset) now the search for rubber is on!

Can't wait for the season to get here!

[sneek]

Nice work but im really suppised that the rags in a box didn't cause scratching

[the other pc]

from the FAQ on Aerogear's website (...aerogear.net):

"17. How do I maintain parts made of carbon fiber?
We highly recommend that carbon fiber products be professionally clear coated when newly purchased, to further protect the part and increase its lifespan. Similar to that of fiberglass parts, carbon fiber parts should be clean regularly and waxed periodically to protect the resin and carbon fiber from oxidizing. Also keeping the carbon fiber parts out of direct sunlight as much as possible will help lengthen the life of the part. "

Sounds like the surface is the bare resin component (matrix) of the composite. These are typically chosen for their strength and light weight, not their ability to withstand environmental exposure. Since it went south that quickly you may want to seriously consider having it clearcoated. Either way, keep it clean and wax it often.


PC