Caring For A CF Hood

[JimAllison]

Hello,
I am debating putting a carbon fiber hood on my Scion tC but I was wondering if the process to care for it is any different then a normally painted part for your car.
Is a CF hood clearcoated just like the stock hood? Any special considerations I need to take into account?
Thanks!
- Jim
P.S. - Does anyone have pics of a black or silver carbon fiber hood on a silver car?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Jim,

Care of a carbon fiber hood is just like caring for a clear coat. Wash, Clay, Clean, Polish and Protect as you needed. There are two types of resin used for carbon fiber hoods that I'm aware of, Polyester resin and Epoxy resin. Some/most company's also spray a clear coat over the hood to give the hood UV protection.

I've had numerous tuner events down here and worked on many carbon fiber hoods. So far, most have been filled with swirls. We always show the owner how to remove them and restore a clear, high gloss, deep wet look.

Like this,









Below, the owner of this BMW with the brand new custom paint job is going to learn how to fix the problem using his hands with a few quality Meguiar's products.

First up, ScratchX by hand.







Next, the owner applies an application of Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, works it in well, and then removes it. Meguiar's polishes do not need to dry before removing.




After the polish has been removed, an application of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax is applied, worked in well and allowed to dry for 10-15 minutes.



After it has cured, it is gently removed using a microfiber polishing cloth.




The car is then backed out of the garage for inspection...




Here are the results.

Remember, this was all done by hand and it was to my knowledge the first time this person had ever used any of these products.





Not bad, definitely a dramatic improvement from where he started.

After learning the techniques for getting good results by hand, we then taught him how to use the G-100 Dual Action Polisher to go over the entire front clip and put a show car shine worthy of his new paint job...

Here are those results...





This young gentleman now has skills that will last him a lifetime to not only maintain his own cars, but he is now enabled to help his friends and family when they run into problems with their car's finish.


This was taken from the Europrojektz at Meguiar's!

Mike

[JimAllison]

Awesome pics. Thanks for the info Mike! I won't be getting my hood till January it looks like but once I do I'll polish it and post some pics.
- Jim