Carbon Fiber Hood Question
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Hey Fella’s,
I have a customer whom just purchased a carbon fiber hood and was going to get me to clear it for better UV protection. I don’t do much of this work so I thought I’d ask first, is it normal to get a carbon fiber part that hasn’t already been cleared?
you shouldnt have a problem just buzz it with some 800 an reclear it ta be honest those hoods dont have the best clear on em an i have seen em fade ta the point that you can actually can see thru em
Basically what he wants to do is put it on for now and bring it back in 4-6 months to be cleared. I didn’t know if it was common to leave a carbon fiber part with the epoxy or polyester resin exposed without clear on it. If it wasn’t cleared would it be dull still????
naw there shiny its like a gel coat sorta thing but i dont think the stuff has as good as uv as automotive clear so it sure cant hurt
It’s just a molding Epoxy resin, unless the company chooses to clear over or use a high UV protection Resin, You would be informed of it’s uv protection in advertising, and it would cost a lot more than standard Carbon fiber parts.
They don’t use a glaze like fiberglass. It’s just a thick layer of resin, let dry, lay carbon fiber cloth, then more of the same resin.
Believe it or not Just like Fiberglass, Carbon fiber was never meant to be uncoated in high UV area’s.
And if they use a UV protection product on them, it would surely be the Companies biggest advertising method.Generally they’ll start to chalk and pit after just a year.
Hell I think 4-6 months would be calling it close as far as fading.[b]jimmo wrote:[/b]
[quote]If it wasn’t cleared would it be dull still????[/quote]No, the Epoxy resin is shiny and is typically untouched from the factory. (Unless they have to fix flaws)
One disadvantage to painting over Carbon fiber is they are direct out of the mold. (Unlike some fiberglass parts, where if they have a flaw out of the mold the company will correct it before sending the part out.) So any flaws will surely have to be corrected. (Unless you just clear it, because the design of the fiber hides many small flaws.)I was at an I-Car class the other day and the instuctor told us that the roof on the ZR1 corvette is carbon fiber. If that pannel has a scratch in it it has to be replaced due to the fact that it can not be buffed. It has a protective UV coating on it that cost $60000.00 a gallon! Sounds crazy to me!
now ur starting ta sound like those spi boys like bloverby :lol1 :cheer:
So whats the easiest way to distinguish if it’s resin or cleared?
Find out who manufactured it.
And my understanding is that the Resins with UV resistance cost 4-6 x more than typical Epoxy Polymers.
And still they don’t even offer as much UV resistance as a modern 2 part Urethane Clear Coat system. (That’s just the nature of Epoxies.)And I’ve heard the only way to clear coat one is for the company to scuff and shoot once the part has fully cured. Which means longer wait, more man hours, and more materials. Which as we all know equals Cost, Cost Cost.
With all the costs involved in adding UV protection, Chances are they WILL advertise it’s UV resistance. Because it’s the only way they can justify the additional costs of their products VS the other companies.
One thing you may want to explain to your customer, is that the same with all non UV resistant transparent Epoxy Polymers, the UV light travels through it, thus it doesn’t only yellow the surface, it yellows the resins throughout. So if the resins become yellowed throughout. Clear coating it later on or not, it will still never look as transparent as it did when it’s new.
Which doesn’t actually effect the integrity of the Epoxy, it just makes it less appealing to the eyes.And there really is no way to tell how long this will take, do to so many different quality of epoxy Polymers on the Market. Just like in the Paint industry. Some products are just straight up better than others.
Just explain that to him, and leave the decision up to him.
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