Help with Carbon Fiber

[PaPaHoFF]

I recently bought a carbon fiber trunk off of someone and it has been painted and cleared. Basically, I am looking to remove the paint and leave the carbon fiber exposed. The carbon fiber trunk will be recleared after it is completed.

What is the best process to do this?

Hand, Air sand, or PC sand?

[OCDetails]

I would probably recommend taking it to a body shop. There are chemicals and other processes designed to strip paint. A body shop does that kind of thing all the time when they repaint a car or do a color change. It will probably only cost you a couple hundred bucks too. It is much safer than doing it on your own and potentially screwing the whole thing up. If you have to ask how to do something like this, then chances are you are not going to get the same results as a professional.

[Mike Phillips]

The carbon fiber should be impregnated inside a matrix of typically polyester resin or epoxy resin, if you, or someone else sands until you see the actual fibers fuzzing-up, you've sanded too far, kind of risky if your goal is to somehow remove the paint and showcase the weave design of the carbon fiber.

Like Anthony mentioned, try to find a way to chemical dissolve the paint without dissolving the polyester or epoxy resin, I don't know if that can be done safely but maybe?

Check with a company that makes carbon fiber components or your local body shop or PBE Store. Checking with the PBE store might be the fastest and easiest thing to do and if you get lucky, the paint mixer will know a little bit about this topic and if a product exists that will do the job he'll point to on a shelf and you can purchase it and some safety gloves and safety glasses and go to town on the trunk lid.

[OCDetails]

A lot of that can depend on how the carbon fiber was prepped before painting it. It could be anywhere from low grade carbon fiber that was barely clear coated, to high grade gel coated carbon fiber that will be much easier to get paint off. Mike's advice is gold. Check with someone more familiar with the product and is able to physically inspect the part before you do anything. Typically once you paint carbon fiber it is meant to stay painted. If there is a way to remove the paint, you'll want a pro to do it.

[PaPaHoFF]

My problem is finding a shop to do the work. 2 shops I have been to wont touch it. It is a high quality and very costly Ventross trunk and I would rather pay someone to do it but if no one will then I will sand it myself I guess and just get it cleared at a shop.

[rohnramirez]

hi there, just to chime in and add my thoughts on this. I've worked with fiberglass and carbon fiber before. It is true that it has to be molded properly in resin and a chemical hardener. I understand what you wish to accomplish here. I'm not sure if "stripsol" is available where you live, but i've used it to strip paint off of a plastic and it doesn't burn through. You might wanna try that, but before you apply any type of chemical paint stripper on your CF, make sure you get a clear go that it won't dissolve resins from the manufacturer.