cloudy carbon fiber hood fix, **pic warning**

For as long as I've had my hood, at least that I can remember, its looked like crap, cloudy and and covered in waterspots. Waxing never helped, quick detail would make it look ok for about 30 seconds, and if it was dry (even clean) it usually had the texture of sandpaper. Even claying didn't help. Everybody who's seen it has told me to take it to a bodyshop and have it recleared. Haven't done it for 2 reasons: I don't want to spend the money, and the one shop I went to had no clue if they could even reclear it.

Anyway, skip to the present... at last weeks MidA Wash'n'Wax meet, AnimeS2K asked if he could try messing w/ my hood a bit. He had a theory that the clear on CF is different than regular clearcoat, that it's gel, and that if you put a coat of regular clear on it would just peel off. A PC and a few minutes later, he had one corner looking pretty nice. I was impressed, and determined to finish the job.

Thus, I began a search for some new supplies, since obviously the stuff i've been using wasn't gonna cut it. In the process of looking around the Autogeek site, a statement caught my eye. In a nutshell, it said that the gelcoat used on boats is different that a car clearcoat, that its very porous, and prone to oxidation, waterspots, and stuff growing in the pores. Normal car stuff couldn't work, and there was boat specific stuff that would. And of course, Meguires makes marine stuff too. Contemplated ordering some stuff, when i was reminded I live in a heavy boating area, so I went and hit one of the big boating stores. Bingo! Picked up some #45 Marine Polish and #49 Oxidation Remover and Cleaner. Started hitting it last night, forgot to get a good before pic, but got some half ways that make the situation clear.

In the end, I ended up applying the 49, then the 45, topping it off with a layer of Klasse AIO, then two coats of Natty's Blue Paste Wax. All by hand. My arm hurts (and yes, I want a PC, but the extention cord I'd need to use it would cost me about half a PC)

The #49 is some pretty gritty stuff (almost like Lava soap) but it breaks down fairly quick. I think I needed it, but they do make some less harsh products. They list some waterspot remover and some color restorer that looks a little weaker for less demanding jobs.

The #45 polish was alot smoother, but I had some pretty splotchy/uneven looking results until I figured out I needed to work it in more so it would actually remove right.

In hindsight, i probably should have claybar'd before the polish, but I didn't feel like taking the extra time that would entail yet.

Before I continued this morning. Still have the driver side to do. Only #49 so far.


Close up of some of the nastiness. top portion of pic. bottom is complete I think.


another pic of the bad area


hood corner, real bad spot. another pic later for comparison.


half'n'half, bottom good, top bad


farther along, unfinished part circled (though its pretty obvious)


finished. Shiniest its ever been i think.







Proof of what I used


Hope you guys like what I did, and that it'll maybe help somebody else in a similar situation.

-John

good post!
polish is usually the solution for dull paint...

dont worry about the claying- in the old days, we didnt have clay and polish was the solution... it still is fine without clay.
you can always clay next time you detail the car if the surface is rough.

John,
I'm glad to see it worked out. That's looks 100x better!
Believe me when I say the pics don't even show how bad it was

looks brand new! great job.

Nice. I also tried to do this but i used different products that guys at Honda-tech recommended but i had no success. I ended up paiting my hood not because of oxidation really but because it turned yellow and green...

Props to you. The finish on that hood looks great now.

Thanks It seems to be holding up so far. Noticed what looked like a spot forming right above the engine after a 2+ hr drive, but it went away when I hit it w/ quick detailer and hasn't come back, so it may have been dirt or condensation. If it keeps doing it, I'm planning to slap some heatshield on the underside of the hood.

Subscribing as I am faced with the same situation. Props for the due diligence.

looks great

Excellent, this is just what I need, and I have exactly the same hood too!

I just stopped by one of the local boat dealers and picked up some "Star Brite Rubbing Compund for medium oxidation" and also some Marine Polish, I'll apply it soon this weekend, and I let you guys know how it turns out on my cf lip and spoiler.

I have a couple scratches and a little oxidation on my lip.

I am bumping this thread because I recently got all of the supplies and I am trying this tonight. I will take pictures and post because mine is in far worse condition and if this works I know I will be able to help a bunch of people who have the same issue in my area.

Great thread and thank you for the information. I will document my progress.

RoB

That looks great!! Looks like new

Tagged I have a CF AUT Radiator plate, with what appears to be smudges on it...I tried clay bar, polish, glaze, wax to no avail. This actually turned me away from buying anymore CF products. I'll have to give this a try.

awesome job +writeup .. the hard work paid off... just wondering if the hood is still looking like new? any signs of the hood starting to fade again since this polishing...

Wow! I've never seen this post before. It's a GREAT write up and I'm sure very useful to those with CF panels.

Mike A. is there a link for this somewhere in our stickies? If not there should be.

good job

mikeyc- good idea...
i will link it up!


http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=S...=0#entry4209396

Anyone else successes with #45 Marine Polish and #49 Oxidation Remover and Cleaner?

best thing to do is to wet sand the entire hood with 320 grit sandpaper, and reclear it using UV protected clearcoat (via paintgun, no aerosol cans).

320??? kinda low gritt.

learned something new today, thanks.

I remember using this thread back in the summer and bought the exact same products, and it work pretty well =D

Yeah, extremely low! More like 2000 grit and then wet sand. Let that puppy soak overnight and then use it the next day.