Unsuccessful Carbon Fiber Hood Restoration

[oldmodman]

A member of a car forum I frequent bought a non clear coated, bare carbon fiber hood that looked just as bad as yours does.

He had it sprayed with four coats of high build clear. It now looks better than it ever did new. it reflects like a mirror. It was wet sanded and polishes to remove the orange peel but it still has two+ coats of clear and should last for years.

[kevincwelch]

Mike, every time you post, it reminds me of the E.F. Hutton commercials.

[bryan5437]

Hi all, I wanted to update with a few pieces of information. The hood does not have any thermal heat shielding. I think that this is the major contributor to the damage. I had noticed before, but didn't put two and two together. This hood gets very hot. This morning I went to a body shop to get another opinion. They do not believe that they will be able to remove the damage from the hood. Their fear was that even if they sanded, polished and put a coating on it, it would look the same. Their suggestion was to paint over the hood. I've heard this suggestion a few times and wonder if this might be the best option. In the immediate future I will install heat shielding. Other than that I'm still considering my options.

[JustJesus]

Thanks for the update...

Please keep us posted. I have a hood that I've been considering polishing, but haven't had time. Mayyybe I'll get started on it, now that one of the cars (of 2 I was working on) is done.