How to make my carbonfiber hood shiny again???

[rayw1128]

Hey guys,



I have a carbon fiber hood that is really starting to lose its luster. There is now a dull glaze over the entire hood, making it very ugly. I was told that it might have been caused by a wrong mixture of the resin when it was created and also by the heat of the engine.



So I took my car to a detailing shop today, and ask the guys whether they could make my hood look new again. The guy took a cloth and applied some polish (or wax) over a little portion of it, soon making it look brand new and shiny. But he said it would cost me about 100 dollars to "refinish" my hood. I felt that it was a very high price he wants to charge me, and he couldn`t even guarantee that the shine will not fade....



So I was just wondering if any of you guys out there knew what kinda of polish (or wax) was used on my hood? Or if anyone else knew of some way to make my hood shiny again?



Any input is greatly appreciated.



Ray

[flynfrog]

i work with carbon on a daily basis and the best advice i can give you is to paint it





but since you want to see the weave i would wet sand with 1000 work up to 2500 then cutt and buff you cat realy hurt the carbon by sanding it and the dulling is being caused by the heat form your engine and the resin breaking down in the sunlight

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Ray,



Be careful. I do not think it is a good idea to start out by `wet sanding` your carbon fiber hood. I would much rather see you start with the least aggressive method first.



What you need to do is figure out if the paint on your hood has been `clear coated`. This can be easily done by taking a little polish and gently rubbing a small area of your hood to see if the color transfers to the cloth. If you see the color on the cloth then there is no clear coat.



If your hood has no clear coat then you can simply use a fine grade polish of your choice. I am sure you will get plenty of recommendations from this forum.



Also, there is a reason why that detailer told you that he couldn`t guarantee that the shine will not fade. That`s because if your hood has no clear coat the `dull glaze` (oxidation) will most certainly return in a relatively short period of time. And he is probably right.



However, there is really no reason why you can`t get your hood looking good and keeping it that way. It`ll just require more frequent care on your part.



Please note, if your hood does have a clear coat you can follow the same process above and your results should last longer.

[flynfrog]

verry true i guess i was jsut asuming it looked like most of teh carbon ive seen in teh sun the resin actuly breaks down and becoem rough kinda like a flat or oxodised paint carbon was never meant to be left raw

[imported_Greg]

My favorite product on carbon fiber is Klasse AIO and then followed up with a wax/sealant of your choice. AIO has strong chemical cleaners, but no physical abrasives so it works well on CF hoods and removes oxidation very well.

[rayw1128]

Thank you everyone for the replies.



CAn someone please tell me what is Klasse AIO and where i mite buy this at?



Anyone have any polish they recommand?



Thanx again

Ray

[JAGOWNER1981]

paint it.

[cardana24]

Thank you everyone for the replies.



CAn someone please tell me what is Klasse AIO and where i mite buy this at?



Anyone have any polish they recommand?



Thanx again

Ray



I am having this same problem. I just bought a 95 maxima and it came with a carbon fiber hood on it. I like the look of exposed carbon fiber, so I would like to bring this one back to life rather than paint it. I have washed it with dish detergent, then clayed it, then re washed, the waxed it with NXT. I do not have a PC/or anyother power tool for detialing so all of this is done by hand. It was recomended that I try polishing it, do you guys think this should be my first step? Before I bought the car it sat in a parking lot for about 4 months and I am not sure how old the hood is, but I know it is a GTP hood so its suposed to be nice. It has a very dull haze all over it, and from certian angles it looks to have a hologram effect. The clear coat seems to be in good condition. When the hood is wet it looks like new, but as soon as it dries it takes on its normal dull hazy look. Any suggestions? Thanks.



--also this is my first post, my name is Carson and I have a 95 and a 98 Nissan Maxima.

[DM101]

check out http://www.sportscarcare.com/scc/product.asp?ItemID=men-ftg sounds like you need o polish then a glaze to "feed the paint" oils and stuff it needs to give it some life. Meguire`s #7 Glaze is excelllent at feeding paint. Also this site does carry Klasse AIO also check out

http://www.sportscarcare.com/scc/product.asp?ItemID=men-ftg It is best to use a buffer if you can. Hope I helped some.

[DM101]

Sorry check out http://www.autogeek.net/was.html

[admac]

once you get the carbon nicely leveled, you should have it professionally clearcoated by a paint shop. as a motorcyclists (we are whores for carbon fiber) i`ve seen lots of cf stuff. clearcoating it will help it a lot. also, get them to shoot both sides so the water doesn`t seep up from the bottom and get stuck under your clear.