Carbon fiber on a car roof?

madmax

Is this do-able by a non-professional after some learning? I know it can be done by pro's because I saw a car at polk where they did the top in CF. Just wondering what magnitude of a project this is.
Thanks!
madmax

Edit: It is a friends project, not mine, I'm just interested. He has bad paint on the top and wants to cover it with CF strictly for looks to match his aftermarket hood. It is a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse with a sunroof so the area to cover is actually fairly small.

PolkThug

Are you talking about replacing the metal with CF, or just a faux covering?

madmax

Just a covering for looks.
madmax

audiobliss

I imagine that'd make for a lot of heat build-up. Don't know what that would do to the substance you're using to bond the CF to the roof, but I wouldn't imagine it'd do anything to the actual CF.

Sounds like an interesting project. You may wanna ask SamaSagaZ. He just covered the a-pillars in his car with CF. He's started a thread in the Car Audio & Electronics forum:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36947

neomagus00

'interesting' would be right... as long as you use the proper adhesive and resin, i don't see why it couldn't be done (with much patience)... the only problem areas i can envision are the borders - making them blend down into the rest of the car could get a little tricky, but that doesn't mean it's impossible...

what i'd try first is doing a small test section, then subject it to every stress test you can think of (bend it, power wash it, put it under a hairdryer or heat gun, polish and wax it to make sure it won't scratch when the rest of the car gets the treatment... you get the idea)

HiPerf360

A good custom paint shop can do a custom finish that looks very close to CF. As far as making a cover that would be pretty much imposible for a shade tree.

Toxis

PM the installers at Polk. They have the WRX they did with the top CF'd to match the hood and trunk. Did a damn good job at it too!

PolkThug

Rice!

neomagus00

or, aston martin vanquish v12...

madmax

Toxis wrote:

They have the WRX they did with the top CF'd to match the hood and trunk. Did a damn good job at it too!

Yea, I saw that! I wonder if it is still holding up?

Thom

Yeah, it's holding up fine. The new M6 has a real carbon roof, but we weren't up for removing steel. Plus we did it first.

We wrapped the Polk Civic (after the body shop removed the rain rails), the WRX, and Shutty's 06 Civic. The Polk Civic without rain rails is a little rough- you can see the carbon weave through the paint if you look closely, but it took a couple years for it to shrink up to that point. The WRX was the easiest because the rain rails made it easy to stop on each side, and not have to worry about the thickness of the weave standing off the paint (and the lack of sunroof was nice). Shutty's Civic was a little more of a pain because of the sunroof (more edges to deal with). We took the d/a to the roof of all cars and took them down to steel. Then spread resin on the steel, roll the weave on the roof (we use a heavy 19 oz. weave), then wet the weave. Add more resin. Then add some more. When it's thick enough you sand it as flat as you can before spraying with clear. We used House of Kolor on our cars, and Shutty's car is BASF.

It takes a while (especially waiting for the resin to dry between coats, unless your shooting PVA), and it makes a huge mess. The resin will run towards the front and rear windows so they have to be taped off (well, the whole car should be), and trimming it when you're doen is not fun. Once you grind the roof down to steel there's no turning back. It's not extremely difficult, but then again we do this stuff for a living. And we've had lots of guys ask us to do the roof wrap for them and we haven't. I haven't even done my own car yet, and I'd really like to...

madmax

This info is very much appreciated. Thanks!!!!
madmax

dudeinaroom

you could always get some carbon fiber vinyl and cover the top of your roof. We use the stuff all the time at work and it looks like the real deal. If you can't find it let me know, my boss will gladly sell you some, we have both black and white carbon fiber.

dudeinaroom

oh yeah, you don't have to remove any paint either, just clean it with alcohol first(not beer or wine). or if your ever in mid-michigan you could call the design co. at 1-888-654-2441 and we can do it vinyl that is.

neomagus00

nah, i think he's goin for the real deal on this...

madmax

I'll mention that stuff to my friend but I think he will either do the real thing or nothing at all. On the other hand, I can see some DIY uses for the vinyl stuff. I'll look for it.
Thanks!
madmax