Protecting carbon fiber

[racerwad]

I’m installing a APR wing shortly. Any suggestions on how to keel the carbon fiber looking good? I’m hoping to minimize any yellowing over time. Was thinking of XPEL or something similar?

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[subaru_gc8]

best is to treat i like headlights. most of the carbon fiber resins suck so if you sand off a layer and re clear it that usually works best

[anarekist]

a ceramic coat with uv blocking properties will help. not sure which to go with hopefully someone more into detailing will chime in.

[blurred]

Originally Posted by racerwad

I’m installing a APR wing shortly. Any suggestions on how to keel the carbon fiber looking good? I’m hoping to minimize any yellowing over time. Was thinking of XPEL or something similar?

YEs, xpel clear ppf it.

[subaru_gc8]

Originally Posted by anarekist

a ceramic coat with uv blocking properties will help. not sure which to go with hopefully someone more into detailing will chime in.

I dont think it will. I have a chargespeed CF scoop and it changed even though i ceramic coated it, reason is if your clear is crap than it doesn't matter what you put on it, it will still turn yellow

[oichan]

Yeah, biggest enemy is UV, so get UV coating and keep the car garaged or in the shade when you can.

[nappyrat]

had my seibon hood and trunk clear coated right out of the box, and 2 years later there is no yellowing to be found. hasn't had a coat of wax on it for the past 6 months too.

[Mc Orange]

Originally Posted by subaru_gc8

best is to treat i like headlights. most of the carbon fiber resins suck so if you sand off a layer and re clear it that usually works best

Any luck correcting clouded clear coat on carbon fiber the same way you clean headlights?

[racerwad]

Originally Posted by nappyrat

had my seibon hood and trunk clear coated right out of the box, and 2 years later there is no yellowing to be found. hasn't had a coat of wax on it for the past 6 months too.

So I've spoken to a couple of body shops and detailers as well as APR and their recommendations were all the same: put on automotive clearcoat.

APR says that their CF is gelcoat only because racecar; they fully expect their product to yellow in a few years of direct sun.

All the body shops said that sanding into the gelcoat is no bueno because that could cause the fibers to raise up and be terrible.

Went to an Xpel factory trained installer as well as spoke to Xpel direct - the PPF is not intended or marketed as a UV protectant. It is better than nothing, but the installer suggested that I look into other options before choosing Xpel. Also, the installer and Xpel both said that the performance of the film is designed to release from automotive finishes (eg - clearcoats) and that they couldn't guarantee it wouldn't harm the gelcoat upon removal X years down the road.

I went ahead and had the wing clearcoated and then will ceramic coat it +/- Xpel.

Hope this helps others in the future.

[gripaddict]

many aftermarket carbon fiber pieces are usually fake, but since you are getting APR you should be getting a better coated product than the crap fake stuff rolling around

[subaru_gc8]

Originally Posted by Mc Orange

Any luck correcting clouded clear coat on carbon fiber the same way you clean headlights?

tried to but yeah didnt work. plus its one of the gent types so its a little harder than just running a da over it

[littledrummerboy]

Originally Posted by racerwad

So I've spoken to a couple of body shops and detailers as well as APR and their recommendations were all the same: put on automotive clearcoat.

APR says that their CF is gelcoat only because racecar; they fully expect their product to yellow in a few years of direct sun.

All the body shops said that sanding into the gelcoat is no bueno because that could cause the fibers to raise up and be terrible.

Went to an Xpel factory trained installer as well as spoke to Xpel direct - the PPF is not intended or marketed as a UV protectant. It is better than nothing, but the installer suggested that I look into other options before choosing Xpel. Also, the installer and Xpel both said that the performance of the film is designed to release from automotive finishes (eg - clearcoats) and that they couldn't guarantee it wouldn't harm the gelcoat upon removal X years down the road.

I went ahead and had the wing clearcoated and then will ceramic coat it +/- Xpel.

Hope this helps others in the future.

I'm pretty sure ppf is supposed to let the light in so the paint ages and matches with the non-ppf'd paint. All films do is prevent chips.

Your best bet is to wax/detail with products that have UV protection.