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Restoring My Carbon Fibre Hood

Joni Boi

By Joni Boi,
in Exterior & Interior Styling

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Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
Posted

Hi guys,

I recently got back from holiday and saw that my carbon fiber hood on my R34 is fading and it looks really disgusting. It looks like the gel coat (or is it clear coat?) has been fading under the sun. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this before and could help me out on what products I can use to polish this out.

20160319_165002_zpsalzjzal4.jpg

20160319_164954_zpsvuz63ua4.jpg

It hasn't gone through to the actual c/b. The coat still looks thick.

20160320_103846_zpsrxukthkl.jpg

Here's a pic of the carbon fiber exposed on the end of the hood just to show how thick the coat ontop of the c/b is

I'm not sure if it's gel coated or clear coated

I would love to get it all shiny and have a reflection in it

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Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

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You need to go visit a panel beater.

They probably won't re-clear it for you

Uh ok. I really thought I could buff this out my self with a special polish.

Would you recommend a good panel beater that does this type of stuff? And how much would they charge?

Pezhead Grand Master

Pezhead

Posted
Posted

Carbon is laid up with epoxy resin. If the resin is poor quality it can oxidize and turn white like that. Try wet sanding it back with 2000 grit sand paper and polish. If the white stuff comes back to a glaze after a wet sand and polish then you're fine. If it comes up ok, I'd shoot come good quality clear paint over the top to protect it from UV.

That cracked bit looks like it needs to be reset in resin. 1:1 clear UV stable epoxy is what you want.

If you haven't used it before it can be a bit tricky. Go watch a few youtube videos and try something before attempting your bonnet fix yourself.

It probably won't get that "as new" look but hopefully that will help you out.

Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

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  • Author
Posted

Carbon is laid up with epoxy resin. If the resin is poor quality it can oxidize and turn white like that. Try wet sanding it back with 2000 grit sand paper and polish. If the white stuff comes back to a glaze after a wet sand and polish then you're fine. If it comes up ok, I'd shoot come good quality clear paint over the top to protect it from UV.

That cracked bit looks like it needs to be reset in resin. 1:1 clear UV stable epoxy is what you want.

If you haven't used it before it can be a bit tricky. Go watch a few youtube videos and try something before attempting your bonnet fix yourself.

It probably won't get that "as new" look but hopefully that will help you out.

Cheers for that. This is the response I was looking for.

I did try and polish the bonnet before you posted that comment. I bought Meguiars Scratch X 2.0 for about $20 at supercheap and buffed the shit out of it.

20160320_183843_zpscvksr9q6.jpg

There is still white cloudyness underneath the surface but shit.... it looks better than before. I am going to sand it down with grit 1000 or 2000 (are you sure 2000?). Then buff it with a cutting compound and then wax. I'll see what comes out of it the next time I have time. If it fails then I'll go to plan D and put a new clear coat on

PranK Grand Master

PranK

Posted
Posted

If its under the surface you need to sand back to at least that depth. Polishing wont do anything (unless you polish long enough to get down to the effected layer.)

Once you've gotten to that layer just be really careful not to go too far. Hopefully that layer is still in the clear/gel coat and you can polish it up nicely afterwards.

FWIW I'm not sure it would matter if it was gel or clear as the same polishing would be required on either (happy to be corrected here tho.)

I'd be really carful tho, I'm not sure how much longer it will last after you've done this work. Australian sun is destructive. :(

How old is the bonnet and was it from a reputable company or a Chinese knock off? (Will give you an idea of the quality of materials used)

Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

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  • Author
Posted (edited)

If its under the surface you need to sand back to at least that depth. Polishing wont do anything (unless you polish long enough to get down to the effected layer.)

Once you've gotten to that layer just be really careful not to go too far. Hopefully that layer is still in the clear/gel coat and you can polish it up nicely afterwards.

FWIW I'm not sure it would matter if it was gel or clear as the same polishing would be required on either (happy to be corrected here tho.)

I'd be really carful tho, I'm not sure how much longer it will last after you've done this work. Australian sun is destructive. :(

How old is the bonnet and was it from a reputable company or a Chinese knock off? (Will give you an idea of the quality of materials used)

Ok, thanks for the advice :)

I purchased the car a month ago from someone. They didn't say where they bought the bonnet from, just got passed onto from the last seller. So I have no idea. I did manage to search a similar (or it might be this exact one) bonet online.

http://jsai.com.au/index.php/online-store-90942/nissan-r34-gtt-z-tune-style-carbon-fibre-bonnet-detail

Looks exactly like mine, so maybe it could be from here? Who knows

"Made from high quality clear resin, carbon fibre and finished in a high gloss clear gel coat."

Edited by Joni Boi
Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Ok here's an update on my faded bonnet. I've sanded and buffed out the white cloudy oxidation (or what ever you call it) out of the bonnet and got it to look almost brand new, so I'll leave this here for other people to see.

I wet sanded my bonnet with 1500 grit sand paper. It took ages for me to get deep enough to the damaged layer of the clear resin. So I went to bunnings and bought 800 grit sand paper and it worked much faster keeping in mind that I did not sand through to the actual carbon fiber. Only sanded it down to the shitty layer.

20160323_205753_zpsfbxdnhpr.jpg

It took me alot of hours to get it sanded down as this bonnet has alot of vents and od shapes

After wet sanding it with 800 grit I then wet sanded it with 2000 grit sand paper.

Then I let it dry and polished it with Meguiar's clear coat safe polishing compound. The next process was polishing it with Meguiar's scratch x 2.0 to get those little scratches out left behind from the sanding and buffing.

20160326_091746_zpsebufbyyn.jpg

Both of these were about $20-$30 a bottle at supercheap. I only needed 1 of each.

Here's the finished results:

20160325_115005_zpsyvmjgygt.jpg

20160326_091146_zps9ronbfvr.jpg

I was planning to spray another clear coat on after sanding but the compressor I have does not work any more. I am going to sand it again and spray on a new coat when I get a new compressor for my spray gun.

It's a temporary fix as the sun will eat through it again but I'm happy with the outcome.

Edited by Joni Boi
  • Like 4
Joni Boi Contributor

Joni Boi

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Nice job! I highly recommend putting clear on it, even if you use some spray can clear. But don't go cheap get some decent stuff.

Also regular wax and uv sealant will help protect it as well.

I bought this from autobarn

20160326_091245_zps6upsg49t.jpg

I don't know if this is the right one, but I'll give it a try next time.

Do you know if I need to mix anything with it like thinners?

Edited by Joni Boi

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