repairing carbon fiber?

[bmoha7321]

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the corner of my cf hood is broken. It's still hanging on but looks terrible. Any ideas?

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[PEGE]

Epoxy + wet sanding.

 

[gixrman]

Contact the maker then contact a good autobody repair shop.

 

[4g63tc]

"V" out the crack, fill the backside with "chopped" fiberglass mat, for strength.
On the topside, looks like the carbon fabric is damaged, so I wouldn't pay much attention, "V" out the crack again, and fill the topside with Fiberglass resin, then it will have to be sanded first with 320, then work your way up, the damage will be slightly noticeable.

 

[bmoha7321]

Less than a year old. I'm not sure how it happened. I think someone tried to steal the hood with a prybar. Snapped off the corner. I don't really have another explanation. Cars been parked in my parking lot with broken clutch for months.
I'll be fixing it myself.

 

[4g63tc]

I've had a ViS hood for 5 years, and mine finally cracked at the hood hinge area, i repaired it using the above process.

I have wetsanded, and repolished the hood to bring back it's luster, and that's about it, good product IMO

 

[gixrman]

The one thing I will add to 4g63tc's suggestion is to again contact the maker to find out which resin they did use. They all don't cure the same and epoxy will not stick to poly and vis versa. Plus all resins do not cure clear. Some have a redish, brown tint others are clear.

 

[phunny]

It it's a good hood they will have used a good surfboard resin. If you use a cheap resin it will yellow.

 

[bmoha7321]

No idea. I'll see if I can dig up a phone number for them

 

[gixrman]

If you use a cheap resin it will yellow.

Now I wouldn't say that, I use West Systems epoxy resin for a majority of my composite projects and its not cheap. They do offer a clear.
You just have to clear coat it with UV resistant clear or use UV resistant resin. If your using Polyester resin look at this:

Ding All Ultra Clear Polyester Resin

 

[bmoha7321]

I gotta decide how I'm going to attack it. I think it might be a lot harder to fiberglass it and then make it look good, clear it and uv block it. I think much more likely I'm going to fiberglass repair it and get it painted to match the GSX silver metallic. I have a shop kitty corner to me that I can drop it off to get color matched after I do the repair.

 

[95talongirl]

I found this video quite helpful when I did the crack repairs to a CF hood.

YouTube - ‪Aviso Surfboards Ding Repair Video (part 1)‬‏

But remember, it is going to be virtually impossible to match the pattern, so you'll either want to paint it after the repairs, or just live with it. Since its a corner, you could probably just live with it.

I've has the hood on the car for almost 2 years and no recracking!