Painting carbon fiber.

[Jdan]

So i have a carbon fiber headlight fairing left over from the previous owner with some really bad discoloring and fading. It looks like it was never clear coated and i want to paint it black to match the rest of the bike. Since I'm a poor college student it's probably going to end up being rattle canned.

Any recommendations on paint? or methods?

[battlecry]

DP has an excellent thread on painting.  Hardest thing will be surface preparation, especially if the PO used silicone waxes and other stuff that can fill surface pinholes.  Check out the thread or wait for DP to chime in with some good advice. 

[Syscrush]

I'm not an expert painter, but I can tell you this: the biggest part of painting something and have it look nice is what happens before and after you actually shoot the paint, not during.

Careful cleaning and prep (of the part AND the work area) are 70% of the game, correct shooting and choice of good paint is 5%, and wet-sanding and polishing is the remaining 25%.

You can definitely get good results using rattlecan paint.

[red baron]

I agree about the prep, but proper spraying requires no buffing. I do it every day.

[ducpainter]

I agree about the prep, but proper spraying requires no buffing. I do it every day.

You're special.

[zarn02]

My roommate just did this to some of the tatty carbon on his Triumph. Lots of wet-sanding and five or six coats of flat black later it looks quite decent.

[Syscrush]

I agree about the prep, but proper spraying requires no buffing. I do it every day.

And how often is proper spraying done perfectly the first time by a new painter with a rattle can?

[bunnyman666]

Griot's Garage has some good silicone remover. You DEFINITELY want to thoroughly clean your CF piece with that before doing ANYTHING.

While I haven't seen what your piece looks like, I am guessing that it probably needs a primer with some building/filling properties. The weave will pop back through the paint, otherwise.

Good prep will always net a decent paint job, even with a rattle can.

[MadDuck]

Good prep will always net a decent paint job, even with a rattle can.

I see that word "decent" used a lot in this and other paint threads.  I guess it all depends on you'all's definition of decent is. 

I've never seen a rattle can job come anywhere close to a good paint job. When it comes to rattle cans there are bad jobs, not so bad jobs, and decent jobs (for cans). Then there is a huge gap to the good stuff.

But I agree that the proper prep work is hugely important no matter what.

[Syscrush]

I see that word "decent" used a lot in this and other paint threads.  I guess it all depends on you'all's definition of decent is. 

It always does.

I have seen rattle can jobs that are at least as good as factory paint (at least for the first month).  Does that count as decent?  Good?  Bad?  Shameful?

[booger]

I've never seen a rattle can job come anywhere close to a good paint job... there is a huge gap to the good stuff.

I have seen some amazing work done with rattlecans, seriously. Usually though it involves expert prep, technique, and the kind of paint that's not found at McParts. I would agree however that there is a difference between the very best rattlecan job and a good proper paint job with 2-part paint. I think for the OP's purposes, since he's on a limited budget and he's only interested in painting a headlight fairing, he should try the rattlecan. If he does it right with good paint it should come out looking pretty good.

[ducpainter]

Griot's Garage has some good silicone remover. You DEFINITELY want to thoroughly clean your CF piece with that before doing ANYTHING.

While I haven't seen what your piece looks like, I am guessing that it probably needs a primer with some building/filling properties. The weave will pop back through the paint, otherwise.

Good prep will always net a decent paint job, even with a rattle can.

The weave usually shows back up at some point regardless.

[bunnyman666]

The weave usually shows back up at some point regardless.

True, true; however, it's not quite as bad when using a heavier-bodied primer.

[ducpainter]

True, true; however, it's not quite as bad when using a heavier-bodied primer.

Just takes more time.