I need to upgrade from stock to vented hood. My question is really, if I get a CF hood, will there be any issues painting it? Should I just stick with the CF look? I guess I was really wondering about how the CF finish holds a paint job. I figured you would just primer it and then paint/clear coat like any other piece. Apologies if it's a dumb question. Any input is much appreciated!

 

aren't there no carbon fiber hoods? i don't know the answer for your question but my guess is no dont paint it

 

Yes you can paint CF.

 

I could go fiberglass...but I figured I would ask. Thanks RE-

 

i heard its basically the same thing, u just gotta sand it down more than stock parts

 

I just finished up paintng a carbon fiber hood... they say you can treat it just like fiberglass but the truth is it depends on the quality of the hood. To do it right you will have to sand off the clear coat but carbon is so slick that paint will have a hard time sticking to it. Once again, this is just my personal experience - it was a pain in the friggen ***, I had to paint it 3 or 4 times before it finally stuck all around and didnt bubble. Certain paints will react with certain clear coats, etc. So its a real crapshoot trying to figure out what works and what doesnt. In the end it comes down to trial and error, expect a LOT of sanding, I think I clocked in about 8 or 9 hours of wetsanding.

IMO: Its not worth the effort. But I bought my hood with a destroyed/hazed clear coat so I had to paint it.

 

Why not buy a fiberglass hood to begin with? The weight difference would probably only be about a pound anyway.

 

Yeah... I just might. I'm trying to put the car on a diet... but don't want the Tokyo Drift look necessarily. NO OFFENSE to guys who run CF all over the place. It looks good, I just want a different direction, that's all.

 

BTW, thanks for all the input fellas!

 

mine was a fiber glass painted VR, just make sure to get it professionally painted.
(go aheaf flame on that old ugly bumper! )

 

Yes of course you can.

The material that the paint is sticking to will be epoxy resin in the case of CF, or in fiberglass it would be epoxy OR polyester depending on the quality of the hood (epoxy being better)

Same as any other fiberglass panel.

Personally here at the shop my fav. thing to do with CF hoods that we do frequently for people who get them painted is leave an area of the weave exposed and clear over it....you know, an area around the ducting/what not just to retain the CF look, but not while being entirely bare.

Plus most glass/CF hoods fit like **** and they're forced to paint them to make them fit the car

 

I've had the C/F Mazdaspeed Hood, C/F Scoot Hood and the C/F Re Amemiya N1 hood. All 3 hoods were eventually painted after I had fun with the Carbon Fiber Look. You'll need to make sure you take it to a good body/paint guy or you'll be able to see "Weave" through the paint.

Here's my old 7.

 

^Your car looked awesome! Why did you get rid of it?

 

to buy a house.......

 

Mine was NOWHERE as nice as your's was, but i had to sell for the same reason.

 

Ah... my wife is about to be a real estate agent/broker; hopefuly I won't have to do that! Hopefully you guys get another one in the near future, when your financial situation allows.

 

My new RX7 is being delivered tommorow at 1pm

 

One word: N I C E.