The C/F on my S4 is fading in Thailands Sun ...I plan to wash it thoroughly with Thinners then with soap and water sand lightly with 800wet and dry and water , then spray acrylic clear coat several times un til it looks nice and shiny and dark again .
any other tips please
__________________
MONSTERMAN
[thumbsup]
I did the same thing. It's a shame carbon costs so much and ends up looking terrible
You'll play hell filling all of the pinholes where the factory originally sanded/buffed through the clearcoat into the carbon. [bang]
My paint guy figured out *some* way of dealing with it on the last CF fender he refurbished.
I will be doing the same to my fenders on the S4. Here is my game plan...
Remove fenders and sand lightly with 1000
Clean really well. Clean again really well.
[drink]
Clean again.
Shoot some clear coat on the fenders.
Let dry and wet sand with 1000 then 1200 then 2000
Clean again
More clear coat
Repeat sanding process if need be. If not, I'll buff it out.
Sounds like you know what you're doing but I'll add my comments for anyone that doesn't.
Paint thinner or denatured alcohol can be used to remove some of the clear coat. Be careful you don't use too much and no, a blue paper towels are not adequate for application in place of a rag. Also, don't rub one spot too much or hold your rag in one spot for too long or the clear will start to soften up and stick to your rag or create marks. Don't get too sand happy either or you get pinholes and have to do a shit load of coats to fill them.
Make sure the clear coat you're applying has a decent UV resistance or you'll be doing this all again in a little while. I think when I did mine, I used 1000 grit wet between clears and 1200 wet to finish it.
I'll add that you can go with a series of buffing compounds following your final sanding with 2000 grit. Go from course to finest. Available at your nearest auto paint store. Final buffing should be done by hand.
Quote from: akmnstr on January 11, 2011, 11:49:36 AM
<snip> Final buffing should be done by hand.
Really?
I used clear nail polish to fill the pinholes, then light sanding to smooth them out and more clear. Seemed to work fine.
Quote from: humorless dp on January 11, 2011, 01:03:36 PM
Really?
That is how I do it, with a hand polish. I ain't a pro, like you. and it takes elbow grease to overcome my failings.
Quote from: akmnstr on January 11, 2011, 02:25:39 PM
That is how I do it, with a hand polish. I ain't a pro, like you. and it takes elbow grease to overcome my failings.
I use machine products.
You'd learn a ton with a 3M catalog at your disposal. ;)
not everyone can be perfect like you DP......... ;D
[beer]
Quote from: lazylightnin717 on January 11, 2011, 07:11:59 PM
not everyone can be perfect like you DP......... ;D
[beer]
I'm far from perfect...trust me.
I've learned a few tricks over the years is all.
Quote from: akmnstr on January 11, 2011, 02:25:39 PM
That is how I do it, with a hand polish. I ain't a pro, like you. and it takes elbow grease to overcome my failings.
I've found that most activated urethanes get too hard for hand buffing of sand scratches...even 2000 grit.
If you get on them too soon hand rubbing just dulls them.
If you're using unactivated products it might be different, and lacquer is definitely a different animal.
Well.....so far I have done all the big parts both termi cans and the front mudguard and the hugger all look like New and shiny now ...brilliant !......., next items are the belt covers, side panels and the radiator side guards , all smaller so should be easy peasy .
__________________
MONSTERMAN
Quote from: Dan on January 11, 2011, 01:06:47 PM
I used clear nail polish to fill the pinholes, then light sanding to smooth them out and more clear. Seemed to work fine.
The pin holes stay holes because they never get full of clear and the more clear the bigger they get, (I no, Duh!) but i have used this trick before and it works for a piece that has a lot of holes. For just a few holes Dan's method works the best. And "This only works" with a very cured top coat before you put any clear down. Spray on enough clear to fill the holes, I mean spray until it is running of the edges and you can visibly see the holes are gone, "quickly" take a rag saturated with thinner and clean off the excess. The holes are full then proceed. A bit messy but it works.
Since you say you are going to shoot it with an acrylic clear I assume you have quality spray equipment...
1. Sand the fender down with a Black and Decker Mouse with 180 or even 80g if you are carefull, only sand till the dust turns black. Any farther and you will sand the "tops" off the carbon weave. If you sand the tops the squares on 3k woven start to look like circles. (wear a mask)
2. Go back over the fender with 400g, any good clear will hide the scratches
3. Go buy a good (expensive) "Hi Solid" clear. Standard clear can do the job but you will need more coats
4. First coat is to ID pinholes and fill em, wear a latex glove and rub the pinholes in with your hand. Do not worry about rubbing the fender all over, fill the pin holes. If you are good you will fill em and keep clearing to be finished. Note: You can also use a black body filler to get pinholes as step 2b. but I can't tell you all the secrets
4b. Chances are you will need to let step 4 cure and sand smooth with 400/600. Sand out all pin holes
5. Shoot final clear (If you are a master you are done)
6. Sand Final Clear with 1000g pulling out all runs or nibs
7. Buff with a small air powered orbital with a white waffle pad (pulling out the 1000g scratches)
8. Buff again with a finishing glaze (use a dark waffle pad) pulling out step 7 scratches
9. Hand rub with a professional terry cloth towel and finishing glaze (pulling out step 8 scratches)
10. Now your carbon looks better than anything you have ever seen, and you will appreciate it cuz you have over 30 hours invested in your fender.
Take this list and your check book down to an auto body supply and you are on your way to being a carbon restoration master.
Did it with,Thinners 1200 wet and dry, soap and water , elbow grease and spray can clear 4 coats each item .. the bike looks BRAND NEW now i am very happy with the results.
I snapped some crappy pics tonight and they don't do it justice. But who cares? Pictures are fun to look at!
(http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/rappevan/DSC02663.jpg)
The bike is red. Flash made it look all funky
(http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/rappevan/DSC02665.jpg)
After much debate, I decided to clear that son of a pregnant dog right in there
(http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy130/rappevan/DSC02666.jpg)
I'm happy with the way it turned out. A little bit of time, research, elbow grease and [drink] go a long way. The only bad part is that the rest of the bike looks terrible now. It's a vicious cycle
Quote from: ducpainter on January 11, 2011, 02:30:43 PM
I use machine products.
You'd learn a ton with a 3M catalog at your disposal. ;)
I agree with Ducpainter...you can still use a random orbital polisher for the final step. Learned a lot when it took me 27 hours (3 separate times) to re-do the paint on my car. I knew nothing when I started.
I know this may be a dumb question, but the instrument cluster surround on my '99 M750 looks like fake carbon fiber. It's really worn out from exposure, but I want to know if it's real CF so I'll know how to approach restoration. It's so cloudy that it looks like a cheap fake right now. I'm working on getting all the little things right on this bike, since I can't afford the big things...
Post a picture of it.
I used a can of smokey clear that some use to smoke their indicator lenses.
My carbon was turning a greenish tinge and this carboned it up again in color and restored the gloss and depth of the finish.
For such small jobs I'm happy to use canned stuff; but I'm a hack painter. ;)