Should I clear coat over bare CF parts?

[JoeMag]

I'm thinking of leaving the carbon fiber light covers unpainted when I paint my car. Should I put clear coat over them? Wasn't sure if UV effected bare cf.

There is a location on each where the fiberglass resin ran out on them when I bonded them in. I wet sanded it off to 800 grit however you can still see that and before did a lot more wet standing / buffing, figured the clear cloat would smooth that out.

[Axiom]

I colorsand lightly with 1000 grit and spray my choise of clear and then polish, i looks really good, on hoods or ducktails a spray a coat of adhesive promoter first.

[JoeMag]

1. what do you mean by "colorsand"?
2. what is adhesive promoter?

[Axiom]

By colorsanding I mean sand the surface with 1000 grit sandpaper, just enough to kill the shine, since we don't really know hoe thick the top coat is on that piece.

Adhesive promoters are sprayable materials that help on the " adhesion " of the product that you are using, Bull Dog is a company that is very popular around here.

I hope this helps.

[Jeff Alton]

I did a CF dashboard like this, it turned out amazing! Really deep gloss to it.

Cheers

[JoeMag]

Ok, got it... Was wondering if I should do the dash too (need to smooth out some scratches on the bends). Just got that mounted up. Used rivnuts along the front windshield area so it's removable and cut out CF plate to cover up gauge indents since I'll be using pista dash.

[Jeff Alton]

Cool looking rig you are building there Joe!

Cheers

[MotoSook]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alton

I did a CF dashboard like this, it turned out amazing! Really deep gloss to it.

Cheers

It does look nice (did you use a UV protective clear, Jeff?)

OK. This is an old thread, but did you finished the clear job, Joe?

I'm planning to do the same on carbon fiber panels. I'd like to use a good UV protective clear.

Here is one I found on a Google search tonight:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/11301334/Eurofast_1300_High_Solids_Clear_Auto.html

This clear offers the strongest durability and gloss with an amazing UV protection agaisnt yellowing and gloss retention.

[MotoSook]

On another search for UV blocker, I came up with this DetailWiki:

http://detailingwiki.com/index.php5?title=Clear_Coat_Paint

Clear Coats are two part systems (either a Urethane, or a good quality non-yellowing Polyurethane and an Epoxy) a solvent based urethane (a water-based clear coat is not yet available) is applied in two layers; it also contains UVR inhibitors Clear coat is not Armour plating but by adding UV blockers it provides a level of protection for the color pigmentation of the base (color) coat, but it must be protected, and the most durable protection is a polymer sealant.

[jm529]

souk, there's no need for any special clear. most of the quality automotive urethane clears will have enough uv blockers.

[MotoSook]

Thanks, Jim. I may have to get with you when it closer to painting.

[JoeMag]

Hey Souk -- nope, not painted yet... However should be heading into paint shop in a few weeks. I'm just going to have them clear. This building a car takes WWWAAAAAYYYY too long!