The Importance of Pictures

[RhetoricMixes]

I had a guy contact me about getting his hood polished since he said it was "oxidized from sitting in the sun for over a year" and I told him to see if he could get me some pictures since he lived about 1.5 hours away from where I live. Needless to say I politely declined to work on his vehicle after seeing this mess.

Now he told me that this was due to the vehicle being outside with no protection and i tried to educate him and tell him that this does not happen in just a year, even in Texas weather. In my opinion I told him that this hood will definitely need a repaint in order to fix this since the clear has failed so bad beyond repair. Keep in mind this is supposed to be a BLACK car with a shiny carbon fiber hood that's been cleared. http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu260/RhetoricMixes/1347666244430-1.jpg

[Mike Phillips]

Appears to be an uncoated carbon fiber hood and without regular maintenance it will oxidize just like a single stage paint or a gel-coat boat.

It's possible to abrade it too much and actually hit the fiber material and then it's really toast.

Good idea to do what I call,

"Let some other guy have the blessing"


:xyxthumbs:

[RhetoricMixes]

Appears to be an uncoated carbon fiber hood and without regular maintenance it will oxidize just like a single stage paint or a gel-coat boat.

It's possible to abrade it too much and actually hit the fiber material and then it's really toast.

Good idea to do what I call,

"Let some other guy have the blessing"


:xyxthumbs:

Exactly what I did Mike, i actually thought of a past article you wrote about that when I politely declined to work on the car. I did not personally look at this car in person but from the picture I knew I would have had a "fun" time fixing that hood. Is it just me that sees the clear coat failure on the lower right hand corner of the hood, towards the driver headlight?

Also, FWIW the client told me that this was clear coated when he ordered the hood.

[Mike Phillips]

Also, FWIW the client told me that this was clear coated when he ordered the hood.



Doesn't look like it but I guess it's possible...

Could be the sales people don't know the difference between coated and straight resin?

Clear coats don't normally oxidize and look like resin oxidation...

:dunno:

[RhetoricMixes]

If thats the case and it might be just straight resin thats oxidized, is it possible to nail it out and get it polished with a 7424xp? Will it be powerful enough?

[RoadRageDetail]

That hood may be ruined beyond any repair. I've brought back my fair share of gel/resin coats but this looks like the worst I've ever seen. I can almost guarantee it wasn't clear coated at any point.

[Mike Phillips]

is it possible to nail it out and get it polished with a 7424xp? Will it be powerful enough?



Sure, just might take longer than a wool pad on a rotary buffer which is the fastest way to remove severe oxidation.

And yes, it can be improved, it probably won't ever look like it just popped out of the mold though... I have an article on what you can do with it...


"Taking your car's paint to it's maximum potential" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/27081-taking-your-car-s-paint-s-maximum-potential.html)






I can almost guarantee it wasn't clear coated at any point.



Yeah from the picture it looks like straight resin...

When I worked for Meguiar's in SoCal many of the Tuner crowd bought carbon fiber hoods and wings and any other doodad they could bolt on but they rarely did anything to take care of the carbon fiber components just like they rarely did anything to take care of the finish and for this reason I had a lot of guys bring their tuner cars to Meguiar's to either a TNOG or a Saturday Detailing 101 Class and it was a great opportunity to show people how to remove oxidation.


:dunno:

[RoadRageDetail]

Yeah from the picture it looks like straight resin...

When I worked for Meguiar's in SoCal many of the Tuner crowd bought carbon fiber hoods and wings and any other doodad they could bolt on but they rarely did anything to take care of the carbon fiber components just like they rarely did anything to take care of the finish and for this reason I had a lot of guys bring their tuner cars to Meguiar's to either a TNOG or a Saturday Detailing 101 Class and it was a great opportunity to show people how to remove oxidation.


:dunno:

There's a stigma in the aftermarket parts industry where people claim this oxidizing (and ruining the "show" aspect of a piece like this) is due to a fault of the manufacturer. I find it very important for people to understand: Carbon fiber pieces are made for racing. The typical race car spends most of its life in a garage or trailer. When you buy a piece like this, a part meant for something other than daily driving, you typically won't get the best results leaving it out to rot in the elements. Very special precautions need to be taken to ensure its longevity is assured.

For carbon panels especially, they need to be clear coated with a flex agent and a UV inhibitor mixed in to prevent these types of issues. The flex agent allows the panel to bend as most carbon panels do without the clear being stressed, the UV inhibitor is what will help with oxidation. This should be done preferably after test fitting, but prior to final installation. The hood may cost you several hundred dollars, up to a thousand depending on the make/model/availability, but just another $150 or so means the difference between a long lasting, easily maintainable finish and six months of enjoyable aesthetics followed by a wallet crunching headache.