BIGjohnny

By any chance, does anyone know how to take care of a carbon fiber hood? I bought one from a member through this forum long ago and it's beginning to discolor. Believe that the clear coat is becoming dull. I understand that the sun plays a role in this situation, but does the engine heat has to do anything with it? I didn't install the heat shield that was from the stock hood.

Anyways, called a few shop and they're charging few hundred bucks to re-clear coat it again. Figured i might as well buy a brand new one. Debating if it's worth it or not, might put back the stock hood.

Any suggestion or facts would be great. Drex said that the discoloring is unavoidable... hopefully someone has a different experience. Thanks fellas.

mig888

When I had my carbon fiber hood custom painted, I recleared the entire thing anyway with several layers of clearcoat. I probably won't see that problem very soon - it'll creep up on me eventually, but until then I'm fine. The heat issue hasn't been a problem for me (and man, did I have mods..)

Where are you getting all this clear coating done?

BIGjohnny

Thanks for the quick response. Problem is, i do not want to paint the carbon fiber hood. Rather leave it the way it is. I see no point in buying a carbon fiber hood if i'm going to paint it (others may disagree, however this is my taste). I called two shops, D2 and a shop in El Monte (forgot the name)... both charging me several hundred dollars to reclear the coat which i think is quite expensive.

aecasasus

Definitely....The more clear coats over, the longer it will take to become dull. How much are they asking for repainting it?

pshek

The resin in the carbon fiber hood is the part that is susceptible to heat damage from the engine. The actual carbon fiber itself does not burn, but the resin can become yellow and the surface of the hood can have pitting or lose it's shine from the heat. That is why I bought Thermotec barrier hood lining material to slow the resin over-curing process. I think that clearcoating a hood that has already become yellow or has surface pitting would not fix the problem because the defect is in the resin layer.

drexappeal

Hold up, J. Let's not go mis-quoting me here. I said that the fading is very common when it comes to carbon fiber being used near engine components. And, in most cases is unavoidable (meaning, once it starts to fade, I'm not sure if anything can be done to fix it).

That being said, if the resin is turning yellow, why not paint? I disagree with you that there is no point to painting a carbon fiber hood. Having a carbon fiber hood isn't necessarily for the look in most cases. The main purpose for having a carbon fiber hood is to have weight reduction. If you paint a carbon fiber hood, you still have a carbon fiber hood, but at the same time it's completely unnoticable and A LOT lighter than stock.

IMO, since you've talked to me about this problem before and you're obviously bothered by the resin turning yellow, paint it! If you have it for just the carbon fiber look, do a paint "scheme" (i.e. paint the sides or middle or whatever scheme you think would look good).

pshek

Thermotec will slow down the resin curing process and prevent it from becoming yellow.

drexappeal

pshek, in your experience, is there anything that can be done to fix the resin curing process? From my understanding, once it starts to go, there's nothing that can be really done to restore it. The information I've learned could be wrong, but hopefully you have heard otherwise (for Johnny's sake).

pshek

Insulate the hood from heat and/or use louvers to allow the heat to dissipate from the engine bay. Heat trapped in the engine bay underneath a CF hood slowly cooks the resin away, making it discolor and cause abnormalities in the surface of the hood. Some carbon fiber products use better resins that are more heat resistant. A cheap CF hood made with poor quality resin probably wouldn't last long.

I haven't gotten a chance to install the thermotec barrier, but you could temporarily help by leaving the hood up after a long heated drive.

BIGjohnny

Hey Drex, sorry if i mis-quoted you. I had no intention of doing so, after speaking to you and other body shops, they've all said the exact same thing...carbon fiber hood WILL eventually discolor. Whether it becomes yellow or the clear coat becomes dull. There's really no way around it. After calling VIS, they've said that the discoloring will start after a year or longer depending how you take care of the hood. The one i bought from a member i am not sure if it's VIS but it began to discolor within few months (keep in mind that i put 60k miles in 2 years). Found a place called M1 Autosport (think that's the name) located in El Monte that would sell me a new VIS hood a lot cheaper compared to the other shops i've called.

Some have said there's no point installing the stock heat shield... what do you think? I've heard many things that the sun is the main caused for discoloring but unsure about the engine's heat.

BIGjohnny

Hey pshek, thanks for the response. Can the thermotec barrier hood be bought at a local body shop? What about installing the stock heat shield, will that ease the discoloring as well? Thanks again!

pshek

http://www.thermotec.com/distributors/distributors.html

BIGjohnny

Have no idea what's the cost to repaint it, however, this isn't my plan. Prefer to leave the carbon fiber hood as it is. Recoating it would cost me several hundred dollars =(... not an option that i will take.

BIGjohnny

If anyone is interested in this carbon fiber hood and wants to paint it over or doesn't mind the minor discoloring. I'm willing to let it go at 200 dollars OBO. Local buyers only. I'll post this on the classified with pictures later. PM me. Thanks

rlee02135

got dibs if you will ship...

MiKeSSw203

pm'd

drexappeal

Damn, Johnny. How 'bout a PM first, before you post!...LOL.

Hey, if Mike doesn't want it, I do. Sorry, rlee. Mike and I are local.

nlpamg

Damn, that sucks!

I say paint it! I've seen pretty damn nice paint jobs on CF hoods. Like a gradient or a very minimal coat where you can still see the CF. Jose's paint just looks pretty cool (so long as you don't open up his hood and look at the other painted stuff ).

Mike and Drex, I can't wait to see it on either one of your cars!

BIGjohnny

Damn! I didn't think i'd get a response that fast. Whoever gives me the deposit first gets it. The Carbon Fiber hood will be remove next Tuesday at the latest.

For anyone else that's interested, i've sold 5 iterms through this forum from wheels to suspension. So you can be assure that i am an honest seller.

drexappeal

Johnny is on the up and up. I vouch for him. Sent you a pm.

MiKeSSw203

pm'd again re: payment deposit

drexappeal

It's all yours Mike. I'm bowing out to a homeboy.

rlee02135

spoke to johnny, he's willing to ship.
sorry guys...gotta prep for HIN boston

BIGjohnny

Mike just made the deposit. CF Hood already sold. Sorry fellas.

I'll keep you inform on the new hood. Also, any other ideas to decrease the discoloring of the carbon fiber hood for future references?

rlee02135

enjoy the hood Mike!