How To: Carbon Fiber Restoration

red_EF9si

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Carbon Fiber Restoration

I decided to remove my hood while my car is in the paintshop and give it a quick restoration treatment. Luckily my work is equipped with everything I needed to complete my project properly and best of all, free of charge.
There are several ways to restore faded, scratched and just plain ol sad old carbon fiber. The method I used is very simple. Here's what I used.
High powered air buffer
Wool buffer pad (synthetic)
3M brand rubbing compound
Denatured alcohol
Wizard's mist & shine

Ok, Lets get started...

After the hood was off the car, the first order of business was to remove the hood pins. Mine are the sparco aluminum type, which I will replace later with hood locks w/ carbon fiber surrounds. The pins will leave some grime and adhesive behind from the double-sided tape used to hold them in place.

Here is a close-up of the imprint they will leave on your hood. This imprint is nasty, but not to worry. It will be buffed out completely.

Here's a quick "before" shot.

I used denatured alcohol to clean the hood completely before starting to actually buff.
Here's a pic of the items I used before I began work.

The most important things to remember when using a buffer and rubbing compound are to:
A. Keep the compound wet. Use a spray bottle to mist water onto it if you'd like.
B. Always remeber to start the buffer while it's on the surface, not before.
C. Apply light pressure and go slow and smooth while buffing.
D. Buff only about a 1 to 2 foot square at a time...not more than that.

After you've buffed the whole hood once, It's time to spray it with Wizard's mist & shine and wipe clean with a soft rag. This will give the hood a light waxy coat to prep it for the next phase. More buffing!!


After your second round of buffing, the hood should look very shiny and scratch free. Unfortunately for me, my hood already had some hazing and yellowing when I bought it. This is not necessarily due to sun damage...its more in the production. Air bubbles and whatnot.
Here's the finished product. Took me about 45 min total. Hopes this helps someone.



Although this example was based on a hood, I'm sure the same techniques can be applied to other CF parts. PM me if you have any questions.
 

BlackHopeDC5

Is Black Again??? :shock:
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whoa....thats f**king crazy

is that possible with regular paint?
 


Boricuanology

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excellent write up, wish I was unable to see the reflect of the lights of the shop on the hood it would it help to see the final result of your work much better, but is amanizing that it still looks awsome!!! What brand is that carbon fiber hood? also makes me wonder, I have seen a lot of Carbon Fiber hoods for sale with some scratches on it, that stoped me from buying them, now I wonder how many of those hoods all they needed it was what you just explain here, hmmmmmmmmmmm!!! now I will be on the look out.
 

sohclubkid

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good stuff man... i never knew you needed to kepp the buffer wet wile using rubbing compound, why is that?
 




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