i have a carbon fiber 4"svo hood on my '00 silver GT, and i liked the look of the carbon fiber for awhile, but now i'd kinda like to get the hood painted to match the rest of the car. the guy i bought the hood off of said all you had to do was sand the gel coat down a bit, and you could paint it just like anything else, but i was wondering if anybody has painted carbon fiber, and how it worked out. carbon fiber is really flimsy, so i thought maybe the paint would crack and stuff. ?????

 

You shouldent have any problems with anything regarding painting the carbon fiber, Its like any other composate out therejust go through the same process as painting everything eltse: Cean, sand, clean, prime light tac, prime, paint light tac, paint, paint,clear, clear, wet sand and done.

Carbon fiber is no different then anything eltse when it cimes to painting. If you decide to sand it more then less be carefull! wear a good resporator. When or if you get down to the fibers them selves they will make a very fine dust and if inhaled they will hook in to your lungs and respertory system and stay there till you die.

As for the flexing of the paint I wouldent see it as a concern.

 

i would use nonsandable primer.

 

Do you care to explain why?

I see no point in using a non sandable primer, you should sand it down to get away whatever dry overspray, runs or other screw ups you might have if you need to.

Do you have any paint experience j marsh?

 

well, if somebody wants to paint fiberglass, they cant just be the average joe. nonsandable will give a very smooth finish compared to sandable.

 

Everything I have been tought tells me that I dont want a very "smooth" surface, paint will run when applied to very smooth surfacesif your not carefull unless you lay any more then a quick dust the first coat for the next layers to hold to.

Why cant the average joe want to paint fiberglass? Half of most motorcycle body panelsare made of it as well as boats and canoes. I might be able to see what your talking about if I said Kevlar composates but all composates and surfacescan be painted in the same manner because they are made the same.

 

no, i dont have much painting experience. my cousin does a lot of painting though, and he just wanted me to check and make sure it would be alright to paint the carbon fiber before he started. just wants to make sure he won't screw up the hood by doing it. thanx guys

 

You're fine, just don't sand any more than you have to just to get rid of any shine. But 3.8 is right- if you go through the gel coat you most likely won't sleep very good that night from all the fibers in your pores itching you. You may have to fill a few pinholes after you've primed it, too.