carbon fiber hood repair/touch up

[Spimothy Leary]

can CF hoods be repaired? I have one that got about 3" of dock rash, the CF isn't really gouged but the clear coat was, so It looks a little sloppy, and the clear coat is peeling along that spot.

any suggestions ? ski is MINT so the hood damage annoys the hell out of me

 

[nitr0genics]

if the CF itself isnt damaged and its just the epoxy/clear coat it can be flatted back refinished and buffed like you would a painted clearcoat im pretty sure of it

 

[Spimothy Leary]

if the CF itself isnt damaged and its just the epoxy/clear coat it can be flatted back refinished and buffed like you would a painted clearcoat im pretty sure of it

so sand down the bad spot and re-clear. ?
gosh I hope its that easy i'll be thrilled !

 

[nitr0genics]

well id flat the entire panel and re-clear, like you would a car body panel also how deep is it? pic?

 

[Spimothy Leary]

well id flat the entire panel and re-clear, like you would a car body panel also how deep is it? pic?

duh.. good idea, i'll post a pic after I get home

 

[nitr0genics]

no worries spim is it already definitey clear coated? also you need to be careful flatting it back because if you damage the weave its pretty much toast depending on the depth i personally would block it down with 1/1.5k W&D or even 2k if its really light scuffing and just take your time but i wouldnt go below 800 then 2 pack clear coat it

also if the epoxy is damaged then theres not really much you can do so be careful taking back that clear coat

 

[Spimothy Leary]

no worries spim is it already definitey clear coated? also you need to be careful flatting it back because if you damage the weave its pretty much toast depending on the depth i personally would block it down with 1/1.5k W&D or even 2k if its really light scuffing and just take your time but i wouldnt go below 800 then 2 pack clear coat it

also if the epoxy is damaged then theres not really much you can do so be careful taking back that clear coat

ya, pic's will help, but it looks like a clear coat to me, but I don't know chit about CF hoods, or CF in general... but it looks like chit, so i was considering either

a) replacing the CF hood with a stock hood, which would be a travesty
b) replacing the CF hood with a hydrodipped stocker
c) buying new CF hood (not likely)
d) fixing the dam thing...

 

[nitr0genics]

id be doing it in this order...

d, c, a, b nothing as tacky as "fake" or dipped CF

and CF is pretty much same as fibreglass apart from the weave and colour, it gets its strength from impregnating it with epoxy(resin) which depending on how its done can either be left as is or clear cloated, chances are it is clear coated really only performance parts are left just epoxied (race car shafts etc etc)

 

[CReynoldsMIZ]

Hydro dipped hood, I can say i might be a bit biased on that one tho

 

[Spimothy Leary]

ok, here's some pic's

as you can see, what I think is the clear coat is cracked/peeling.
also some minor rash on the top edge of the hood, but pretty minor.

zero experience with CF myself, so i'm totally at a loss, open to any suggestions.

the rest of the ski was painted gloss black a couple of months ago, new decals, everything, so this damage sticks out like a turd in a punch bowl.

 

[nitr0genics]

its down to the weave so pretty unsalvagable without being noticbly repaired spim im afraid

 

[racerxxx]

Spim,

Contact Dennis(1995HX), see if his F.I.L.? can give it a tune up.:thumbsup:

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Spim,

Contact Dennis(1995HX), see if his F.I.L.? can give it a tune up.:thumbsup:

FIL ?
edit.. father in law.. got it. good idea, he might do me a solid, I sent him a free selector switch for his twin pipe hx so at least i'm in good standing

i also got the number from a friend of a guy that does CF work locally, he basically said to pop the hood and bring it over to him, see if he can save it... i can't make it much worse !
[MENTION=39123]nitro[/MENTION]... ya was afraid of that, bummer, but not quite ready to give up yet ! lol

thanks for input guys !

 

[nitr0genics]

it may be salvagable by a professional i don't know but from a DIY perspective and working a little with CF i wouldnt attempt it

 

[racerxxx]

FIL ?
edit.. father in law.. got it. good idea, he might do me a solid, I sent him a free selector switch for his twin pipe hx so at least i'm in good standing

i also got the number from a friend of a guy that does CF work locally, he basically said to pop the hood and bring it over to him, see if he can save it... i can't make it much worse !
[MENTION=39123]nitro[/MENTION]... ya was afraid of that, bummer, but not quite ready to give up yet ! lol

thanks for input guys !

Father in Law, isn't he the cat who built the 951 HX with the carbon goodies. And I think your looking for resin top coat, not clear coat, like an automotive finish.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Father in Law, isn't he the cat who built the 951 HX with the carbon goodies. And I think your looking for resin top coat, not clear coat, like an automotive finish.

ya, thx, its duke, i found him, send him a PM a few minutes ago... i'm definitely in over my head so its time to ask a pro

thanks for that tip, i forgot that he did CF work, he's done some nice work with sponson's etc..so maybe its not over his head.

 

[griz400]

you can bring it up tampa next week and i'll have dad have a stab at it !!!!!!!