Painting Carbon Fiber

[onehundredoctane]

The short version:

Planning on painting my S13's cf hood and trunk lid, I've searched here and google and it seems no one has a set method of what works best when prepping carbon fiber. Some recommend sanding off all of the clear coat / resin that is on the part before priming, some just say wet sand whats there and keep it as a base. IF priming has anyone used epoxy primer, high build primer? I HIGHLY doubt etching since that is intended for use over bare metal. I want these panels to match the car so that no one knows they are cf and the car passes for a stock look and not have the paint peeling, flaking or spider webbing off within a few years.

Thanks for the advice/ help.


-Matt

[tapdeznutz]

makes sense to just sand the coat that is on it now so that the primer has a "rough" surface to bite onto. then go thru your regular procedures. primer, then spray guide coat onto primer then sand, base coat then clear, color sand clear and buff. btw guide coat helps with identifying low/high spots on large flat surfaces.

[onehundredoctane]

btw guide coat helps with identifying low/high spots on large flat surfaces.


Thanks for the input. I've done body work for coming up on 10 years now, very familiar with guide coat and finding the highs and lows. Just not sure if one primer works better than the other being that the clear that comes on cf hoods is prone to spider webbing when hit by hail, etc.

[tapdeznutz]

Just not sure if one primer works better than the other being that the clear that comes on cf hoods is prone to spider webbing when hit by hail, etc.

well is thats the case and since you painting it over anyways/coverings the carbonfiber, i would say said the cleat coat off if it bothers you...nothing 80grit on an orbital sander cant take down in no time, hehe...

[Edwin562]

one of my buddies just recently painted his carbon fiber hood and mirrors, If i remeber correctly, he slightly sanded down enough that the clear is rough. He told me that if you go down to the weaving, it will mess up the quality of the paint.

[hOngsterr]

realistically, you "scratch" the surface with scotch brite pad the rough part, all over the clear coat, or get 1200/1500 grit sand paper and wet sand the whole area til it looks cloudy and its ready for paint, dont sand too much over grooves since it'll leave burn marks.

dont make shit look rough, you need a smooth surface

[tapdeznutz]

realistically, you "scratch" the surface with scotch brite pad the rough part, all over the clear coat, or get 1200/1500 grit sand paper and wet sand the whole area til it looks cloudy and its ready for paint, dont sand too much over grooves since it'll leave burn marks.

dont make shit look rough, you need a smooth surface

not scotch bite...to do it "right" all u need 80grit then primer then sand with 120, finish with 180grit or finer then paint and clear coat. 1200/1500 is too fine...u must be thinking about color sanding the clear for buffing.

[mike_holes]

i didnt prep shit when i painted my cf hood... but then again my coupe is camo... lol

[xBtony]

wet sand, sealer, base, clear. done.

[xMOTIONLESSx]

Same process you would do to paint anything else and don't sand too much just make sure it's smooth and scuffed up.