painting a carbon fiber hood

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

i was planning on painting my carbon fiber hood to match my t-red se but everywhere i go wants 300 or more for the job. i was wondering if there was a good quality spray paint out there that i could use to do it my self.
thanks for any help

shop around or save your money up and get the hood done right. with such a large surface area like a hood and the narrow spray pattern of a can it will be hard not to get a stripe effect and dry spots and tons of overspray. spray cans have there place but not painting large areas like that. You just won't get the results your looking for and may wind up with a bigger mess and problem than you need.

you can't beat the results of a quality spray job at a shop.It takes 2 steps they lay the base color then the clear wich may account for the added cost for the labor. Like I said shop around.

Originally posted by skunk:
It takes 2 steps they lay the base color then the clear

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

you have to strip the clear off the carbon fiber hood first then paint it then re-clear it. you have to be careful not to damage the actual carbon fiber when taking the clear off first. its a touchy process, you should have a shop do it because a true paint gun vs. rattle can is no comparison. you spent the money on the hood, dont fook it up using rattle can. And this process was done on a CF hood that friends in my car club painted, the guy wanted flames that matched his paint job and they took the clear off, painted the kandy flames and re-cleared it.

Mike

Originally posted by Y2KSVT:

Originally posted by skunk:
It takes 2 steps they lay the base color then the clear

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

Ive used both, and imho a single stage just isnt as shiny as a base coat and clear coat.

You dont have to sand all the way through the clearcoat. Just make sure the entire area is sanded completely with about 600 grit or so.

How are people gonna know you have a CF hood if you paint it?

How much weight does it save anyway?

Originally posted by beyondloadedSE:

Originally posted by Y2KSVT:

Originally posted by skunk:
It takes 2 steps they lay the base color then the clear

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

Ive used both, and imho a single stage just isnt as shiny as a base coat and clear coat.

You dont have to sand all the way through the clearcoat. Just make sure the entire area is sanded completely with about 600 grit or so.

From what I was told from my bodyshop guy at Ford, it's how they do things straight from the factory. This is also the process he used on my front oval ring, my rear reflector and my headlights. Everything he did came out a perfect match to the rest of my exterior.

Mark

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

Not quality shops,

Originally posted by jthursby:

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

Not quality shops,

MAACO!!!

....

I'd definatly suggest waiting until you have the money do have it all done right.

~Alex

Originally posted by SVT Driver627:

Originally posted by jthursby:

Not always. Most body shops use a 2 in 1 process where the clearcoat is already in the paint.

Mark

Not quality shops,

MAACO!!!

Ummmmm Ford

Mark

Why paint it? The look of the carbon fiber hood is supposed to be just that...Carbon Fiber....Id leave it in it's original color...it looks good with red anyways.

I was thinking about painting mine silver to match my car but thinning the paint out so it doesnt completely cover the weave underneath and lets it show through. Isn't that what the guy with CF bodied Beamer did?

You can have them paint the carbon hood with a Tinted Clear Coat.

Originally posted by EuroTour99:
I was thinking about painting mine silver to match my car but thinning the paint out so it doesnt completely cover the weave underneath and lets it show through. Isn't that what the guy with CF bodied Beamer did?

That sounds pretty cool. Got any pics?

Originally posted by amarv12:

Originally posted by EuroTour99:
I was thinking about painting mine silver to match my car but thinning the paint out so it doesnt completely cover the weave underneath and lets it show through. Isn't that what the guy with CF bodied Beamer did?

That sounds pretty cool. Got any pics?

That's ugly, it just looks like the paint is too thin and makes it look like you DID do it with a spray can...

ya tinted clearcoat would be the way to go it think

Originally posted by TronX:
You can have them paint the carbon hood with a Tinted Clear Coat.

What I would do is paint it with clear with a small amount of silver "baby flakes" made by house of color. And no it would not look like a spray bomb job.

Originally posted by EuroTour99:
I was thinking about painting mine silver to match my car but thinning the paint out so it doesnt completely cover the weave underneath and lets it show through. Isn't that what the guy with CF bodied Beamer did?

Well actually the BMW M3 CSL has a carbon fiber trunk lid and roof. And the trunk is painted. By the way, i say paint it. I hate carbon fiber hoods on cars other than black, only because it blends in. If your cars not black paint it!!

I have done a few operations to carbon hoods. Usually we block them with 800 w/d then clear..then repeat. Some times the edges are so crappy that we repair them and shoot the edges of the hood body color and clear the whole hood leaving a center section carbon. That works good during repairs as well. Also, $300 for painting a hood red is actually at the low end of going rate. Stick with base/clear stay away from enamel one stage users.

agreed. dont do one stage. base then clear. u can have them do one sprayover of the body color so its semi transparent then clear so the cf isnt in your face but noticeable up close and the hood still looks painted. they should practice on a scrap piece of cf to know how many sprays to do. one too many and u have a fully painted hood.

after reading the post i think ill wait to have a shop paint the hood , but for right now what do you guys think of me painting the hood primer black or flat black on my own? i just dont want to roll around with a CF hood. i bought the hood for the cowl look and the weight reduction. not the look of the CF.
thanks for any input.