Sanding and Reclearing CF hood??

[ILLiCliPSE]

Hey guys,
I have a carbon fiber hood that is starting to get some ware in the gel coat. My dad is a master painter he doesnt even know what would happen if you were to sand and reclear carbon fiber, but he says that it can be done. Has anyone done this before? Im worried that the sanding would just ruin the hood.....as if the sanding marks wouldnt go away after reclearing. If anyone has done this before, what was the end result?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[gsnoturbo90]

i wouldnt sand that shit down, think about it you sand down metal and the metal is ther you paint over it and dont see the metal, but if you sand down carbon fiber the fiber is there you will sand the fiber and scrath it and then put clear coat over the scrathes, not a good idea i would deifntly not

 

[madhatter210]

i wouldnt sand that shit down, think about it you sand down metal and the metal is ther you paint over it and dont see the metal, but if you sand down carbon fiber the fiber is there you will sand the fiber and scrath it and then put clear coat over the scrathes, not a good idea i would deifntly not

um, no that is not what happens.
Fixing the gel coat and re-clearing is just like finishing off paint. If you leave scratchs in the prep you will see them in the finished product also. So its kind of along the lines of, if you do a half ass job you get a half ass finished product.

Hey guys,
I have a carbon fiber hood that is starting to get some ware in the gel coat. My dad is a master painter he doesnt even know what would happen if you were to sand and reclear carbon fiber, but he says that it can be done. Has anyone done this before? Im worried that the sanding would just ruin the hood.....as if the sanding marks wouldnt go away after reclearing. If anyone has done this before, what was the end result?

Thanks,
Brian

Don't be afraid to want to fix the gelcoat and reclear it. The most important step in doing it is not sanding through the cf as that is a mistake you really wont be able to fix and have it look right.

Your Dad being a master painter is a plus. If you can fix the gel coat with sanding and don't need to add any gelcoat it will be a pretty easy fix. Even if you need to add some clear resin to a heavy problem area "relate" it to using bondo, if its not smooth you will see it!

Sand just the areas that are needed.

Start with the lightest grit possible to fix the problem IE: a few small scratchs and nic's try starting out wet sanding with 800 grt (remember just like paint any scratchs you put in the gel coat have to be completly gone before you clear or you will see them). If after sanding the problem looks to be taken care of use a 2000-2500 grt to further remove any scratchs.
Now after this step I'm willing to bet theres still alot of fine scratchs. Use a buffer with a lite rubbing compound and then follow with a polishing compound to really give it a glass like finish. Clean it then clearcoat it, final finish as needed IE: buffing ect ect. Your dad being a painter will more than likely see that it really isn't to much different than working with paint if he go's into it thinking the gelcoat is your top coat of paint for his first time.

don't be scared this hood below had 2 small nics at the corners but I was using it as a base to overlay with green cf.

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I have some more pics in a thread I made not too long ago of cf work Ive done in various stages, might be a good read and helpfull, pics sometimes say more than words.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175052&page=1&pp=25&highlight=madhatter210

 

[dsmnate]

I wet sanded and re-cleared a spoiler before with no problems. As long as you don't sand the actual carbon fiber weave you will be fine.

 

[hellotbone]

um, no that is not what happens.
Fixing the gel coat and re-clearing is just like finishing off paint. If you leave scratchs in the prep you will see them in the finished product also. So its kind of along the lines of, if you do a half ass job you get a half ass finished product.





Don't be afraid to want to fix the gelcoat and reclear it. The most important step in doing it is not sanding through the cf as that is a mistake you really wont be able to fix and have it look right.

Your Dad being a master painter is a plus. If you can fix the gel coat with sanding and don't need to add any gelcoat it will be a pretty easy fix. Even if you need to add some clear resin to a heavy problem area "relate" it to using bondo, if its not smooth you will see it!

Sand just the areas that are needed.

Start with the lightest grit possible to fix the problem IE: a few small scratchs and nic's try starting out wet sanding with 800 grt (remember just like paint any scratchs you put in the gel coat have to be completly gone before you clear or you will see them). If after sanding the problem looks to be taken care of use a 2000-2500 grt to further remove any scratchs.
Now after this step I'm willing to bet theres still alot of fine scratchs. Use a buffer with a lite rubbing compound and then follow with a polishing compound to really give it a glass like finish. Clean it then clearcoat it, final finish as needed IE: buffing ect ect. Your dad being a painter will more than likely see that it really isn't to much different than working with paint if he go's into it thinking the gelcoat is your top coat of paint for his first time.

don't be scared this hood below had 2 small nics at the corners but I was using it as a base to overlay with green cf.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

I have some more pics in a thread I made not too long ago of cf work Ive done in various stages, might be a good read and helpfull, pics sometimes say more than words.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175052&page=1&pp=25&highlight=madhatter210

Awesome work man

 

[ILLiCliPSE]

o wow thanks guys
oh hell no ....im not going all the way down to the weave, im just gonna wet sand and reclear it. thanks for the advice ill post pics as soon as its done