Painting Carbon Fiber

[groomsxxx]

Is there any special way to painting carbon fiber or do u paint it just like u would any other part?

[silverCELICAgt-s]

whats the point of buying it if you are painting it... unless its a hood that you want to do two tone then i understand. what u painting?

[groomsxxx]

I got the hood off of another member of this forum monnnnths back. It has these cloudy spots that have popped up on the hood. So I was just thinking of having the hood painted to match the car. If it was an oem carbon hood it wouldnt make sense to paint it but its like invader or whatever. I just wanna know what kind of procedures to paint it...or can it be painted just like the rest of the car.

[Speed4TheNeed]

whats the point of buying it if you are painting it... unless its a hood that you want to do two tone then i understand. what u painting?


Why would you NOT paint it?

Initially, it was meant to be a weight savings mod, not an appearance one. Answer this: would you drive around with a white car with your stock hood painted black? Prob not. Why? because it would look like crap.

"But it's freakin' CARBON FIBER DUDE!!!" I guess that makes it look good :chuckles:

I like carbon fiber as an accent. I do not like carbon fiber when it's used to just replace entire panels. Makes the car look like you're too cheap to paint it.

[groomsxxx]

my question still is would i paint it just like any other part?

[lamboceliGTS]

my question still is would i paint it just like any other part?

i would say take it to a shop common, your gonna mess up the carbon fiber.

[lpphreakx06]

sand and paint :)

[redlinee46s3]

You put a sealer coat on it and then paint like you would normally. Great it as fiberglass; after all, it's only epoxy.

[vegeta4ss]

I have a JDM console with a bad wrap job. Should I try to remove the carbon fiber or just start sanding and then reprime and paint as normal?

I dont care about saving the carbon fiber, i need this to be a useable piece that I can resell so I can afford to get my other JDM console wrapped by Topshop.

Any ideas?

[SilverRide]

whats the point of buying it if you are painting it... unless its a hood that you want to do two tone then i understand. what u painting?


Why would you NOT paint it?

Initially, it was meant to be a weight savings mod, not an appearance one. Answer this: would you drive around with a white car with your stock hood painted black? Prob not. Why? because it would look like crap.

"But it's freakin' CARBON FIBER DUDE!!!" I guess that makes it look good :chuckles:

I like carbon fiber as an accent. I do not like carbon fiber when it's used to just replace entire panels. Makes the car look like you're too cheap to paint it.


I agree. :)

[Redpunk]

sand and paint :)
x1

[BruceBruce]

whats the point of buying it if you are painting it... unless its a hood that you want to do two tone then i understand. what u painting?


Why would you NOT paint it?

Initially, it was meant to be a weight savings mod, not an appearance one. Answer this: would you drive around with a white car with your stock hood painted black? Prob not. Why? because it would look like crap.

"But it's freakin' CARBON FIBER DUDE!!!" I guess that makes it look good :chuckles:

I like carbon fiber as an accent. I do not like carbon fiber when it's used to just replace entire panels. Makes the car look like you're too cheap to paint it.


I agree. :)

x2

Actually, there was a lime green CRX and a Accord, who have painted their hoods black arround here, and a Neon who got a lil more tricky and picked up a 5x5 c/f sticker for his hood...

I like em two toned, and as dash accents and such... but c/f fenders and bodykits....
not my taste...

Back on topic, it shouldnt need any extra work to paint it...just need to sand it so the paint has something to adhear to...

[Speed4TheNeed]

You put a sealer coat on it and then paint like you would normally. Great it as fiberglass; after all, it's only epoxy.


Technically, almost all fiberglass parts use polyester resin while most carbon fiber parts use the more expensive epoxy resins for a clearer finish. But realistically, yes, you still trea them both the same.

-Sand up to at least 350 grit.
-Use a a paint prep solvent to remove any oils, grease, etc..
-Primer coat, then sand again, with up to at least 400 grit
-at least 2 base coats (sand with at least up to 400 grit between coats)
-at least 2 clear coats .

My personal advice: Use a random orbital sander or at least a dual action sander. Regular orbital sanders tend to make swirl marks and occasionally dig (especially if you use a hard backup pad). And anything that is NOT orbital in action is absolutely not recommended (that means no belts, and definately not your hands).

When you start getting to the higher grits (320+) use a soft foam or finesse backing pad. This will prevent digging as well as taking too much material off of your coats.

Don't worry too much about how much clear you use. Many people (myself included) like to put the 1st clearcoat on thick, with 1 or 2 lighter clearcoats phases after. Clearing is probably the least-worrying phase in the whole process, it's hard to mess up. But it WILL bring out every mistake you made up to that point. It pretty much magnifies every mistake you made prior to clearing. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your clear will fill-in and cover up sanding scratches and swirl marks, no matter how minor they are. Also, don't skimp by buying a cheap clearcoat. Spend a few extra bucks and get an adequate one, it's worth it. Having a cloudy clearcoat that doesn't shine as much as it should is the last thing you want.

[imp]

Why would you NOT paint it?

Initially, it was meant to be a weight savings mod, not an appearance one. Answer this: would you drive around with a white car with your stock hood painted black? Prob not. Why? because it would look like crap.

"But it's freakin' CARBON FIBER DUDE!!!" I guess that makes it look good :chuckles:

I like carbon fiber as an accent. I do not like carbon fiber when it's used to just replace entire panels. Makes the car look like you're too cheap to paint it.
glad someone else feels the same way.