should i just use wax or is there some kind of special polish i need to use? thanks.

 

Yep, it's called "paint"!

 

yea yea i know but in the meantime what should i use to keep it shiny. eventualy it will be painted black to match the car, but not for now.

 

Wax is fine.

 

i used wax when I had my cf hood

 

thats what i was goin to say lol
joel

 

use a good wax with a gentle applicator pad...ull be fine

 

thanks

 

ya...i had a knockoff hood (cuz it was cheaper than fixing my dented one ) and it started to yellow too....a mild rubbing compound....good Eagle One wax and polish removed the yellowing and most of the swirl marks....
elbow grease = best stuff ever

 

well it hasn't yellowed. i just wanna make sure it stays that way. not to mention...and this is gonna sound stupid...but it irritates me that the hood doesn't bead water like the rest of my car.

 

Black cars on the only color that carbon fiber hoods look good on. Don't paint it!

 

Liquid Glass

 

Be sure that your CF hood has been varnished. IF not, DON'T USE WAX.

If your gonna use wax on the gelcoat/Epoxy it will leave you with duff marks on the hood.

Get it to a paint shop and have it varnished. after that you can wax as much as you want.

 

Most carbon fiber should already be protected by gel coat. Gel coat is the same stuff on the hulls of boats and the plastic seats of mcdonalds chairs. It does not need wax to be protected the same way paint does. I would get something specific for gel coat to protect from ultra violet and a polish to bring out the shine......but you really shouldnt need to do much to it since gel coat is almost liquid plastic.

 

wrong... gelcoat is used when building parts that will be mechanically worked on (sanding,...)

For boats they use topcoat. This is like gelcoat but can not we worked on unless heavy machinery. It is used to make boats and the polyester waterproof (condense in laminate->airholes-> polyester breaking-> holes in structure)

Gelcoat is a Styreen based product. Unless you perfectly know what is in your wax (no side effects on gelcoats product specifications) you can do it directly on CF or Epoxy.

I know what I'm talking about because I build pârts myself and have seen many order CF hoods from the US, dropping them on the car without putting varnish over it and then they complain that the first time they waxed it, it was ruined. The duff markes won't come off lateron.

It's your call... have your paint shop put some varnish on, it will stay better for a long time and you can wax it forever after that.

 

when you say varnish is that like a clearcoat or will the shop know what I am talking about when i ask? has anyone else done this to their CF hood?

i waxed mine this weekend and it seems to be ok. it was just meguairs liquid wax.

 

That would be clearcoat yes.

Maybe you can ask your paintshop if they have a clearcoat protecting against UV radiation as Epoxy and polyester tend get a yellow glance after the years.

Nothing to be worried about because you will ahve sold your car by then, but clearcoat will slow down the process

 

got ya. thanks, for the help

 

I agree with 911GT2, I do like CF on black cars, but on bright colors it can look like a junkyard part or something.

 

I am pretty happy with the look. at most angles you can't even tell that it is CF. unless you are in full noon sun or really close to the hood it just looks black.