Im looking to get the top of the Z done all in CF. Ive tried to search but didnt show any valuable results. What I would like to know is what kind of extra maintence does CF parts need if any? Can they be treated just like a regular painted panel.

 

I wouldn't treat it any worse then the rest of the car. As well, sun exposure seems to be an issue so consider adding clear. It most likely comes down to the type of product, use and maintenance.

 

Ya definitely go w/ some clear coat that has UV protection in it and then just polish it all when you polish the rest of the car and you should be fine. Don't have any first hand experience but it seems to be the right way based on what I've read.

 

+1 on the extra clear coat. dont skimp on that. i had a CF hood on my old car and it started peeling. my friend got the exact same hood and his at the same time mine was peeling turned white from the clear going bad from sun exposure.

 

Quality of the product has a lot to do with it too. Stay away from Carbon Creations, VIS, blah blah.

 

does anyone know how to repair cf scratches?

 

I have a veilside cf lip. I just make sure to wax it once a week... So far after almost a year, still looks great like the day I bought it.

 

I have had plenty of CF parts on my car since I first got it. Most companies that make the CF parts use some sort of UV protection in the gel coat to help prevent fading, however due to high costs of such addatives, most companies use this sparingly and without maintenance, the coating will fade in time in the sun. Roof overlays usually have hardly any UV protection in them regardless of what the company may tell you. So be sure you take the parts to a body shop and have it clearcoated which will help longevity of the parts.
Even high end parts like CWest from Japan don't use that much UV protection in their parts. I'd highly recomend polishing and waxing (buffing if need be) on a regular basis.

side note: the same can be said for clear bra films, these have a UV reistant chemical built into them, but they still fade, so to prevent fade, polish and wax like normal paint.

It's very easy to keep the appearances of your CF parts up, just be smart and don't let it go too long without treating it to some nice waxing etc....

IF you let it go and the carbon itself begins to fade, you've lost the battle so be sure to take care of it well before it gets to that point.

I was reading up on a few things regarding the UV protection that manufacturers use such as BMW ont he M6 and new M3, as well as for the exotics, and these addatives are hundreds of thousands of dollars for not very much of the materials needed. Probably part of why these kinds of cars end up costing tons of money...

 

so noone knows how to fix CF scratches?

 

you can have it re-enameled

 

So is it possible to just wax the cf more often instead of clear coating it again? Is there some kind of chemical that we can use that is soley used for UV protection?

 

i her zaino has some UV protection in it (so does other quality car waxes)

 

how deep are the scratches?? are they just in the clear or through the actually cf cloth??

 

it's just the clear, just some scratches on my front cf veilside front lip i will post a picture soon

 

wet sand and buff it guy. it's nearly the same as a scratch in the paint.

 

Mr. Miyagi style "WAX ON, WAX OFF, WAX ON, WAX OFF"

LOL...
-J

 

like Rick said, i would def. invest in a good quailty clear coat, and just wax and re wax and wax some more lol

 

surface scratches are in the gel coat, color sand and buff like normal paint.

FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, CF PARTS W/CLEAR OR GEL COATING SHOULD BE TREATED THE EXACT SAME AS YOUR NORMAL PAINTED SURFACES

this includes waxing, color sanding and buffing if need be, re-clearing etc... it's not rocket science, it's all still some form of clear coating on top of another surface, treat it the same