Seibon Carbon Fiber roof turning cloudy after four years, how to fix?

[morswestford]

I purchased a Seibon carbon fiber roof overlay for my BRZ four years ago. Earlier this year the carbon fiber has gotten cloudy and it's only getting worse. It's almost like my roof is turning completely white.

Does anyone know how to fix this? I took to a body shop four years ago and they followed the instructions and installed it correctly.

[Gunman]

My guess would be any UV blocking in the resin has broken down, or didn't exist.

[morswestford]

Is it fixable? How do you fix something that's on the inside resin?

Are my only options
1) remove entirely, go back to oem roof
2) remove and replace with new carbon fiber roof layer? (why would i do that again if this is what happens?)

Originally Posted by Gunman

My guess would be any UV blocking in the resin has broken down, or didn't exist.

[DarkPira7e]

This is common for carbon fiber components, you can find a lot of information in a myriad of placed. Generally wet sanding and re-applying clear is probably your only bet to save it.

[kch]

Agreed with above. Most CF trim pieces are only gel coated and lack any UV protection. Solution now is to wet sand and clear coat. Solution in the future is to take new pieces to get a clear coat before installing.

[8RZ]

Easy fix, sand and re-clear.

[morswestford]

thanks everyone for the advice.

does anyone know how much is a good price to pay for a body shop to sand it down and add a clear coat on it? most body shops i know of don't really specialize in carbon fiber. do you think most shops would be able to handle that?

and it's probably cheaper to go the wet sand and clear coating route than removing the carbon fiber and going back to OEM roof because then i would have to get the roof re-painted because of all the glue and whatever is stuck between the roof and carbon fiber layer.

Originally Posted by 8RZ

Easy fix, sand and re-clear.

Originally Posted by kch

Agreed with above. Most CF trim pieces are only gel coated and lack any UV protection. Solution now is to wet sand and clear coat. Solution in the future is to take new pieces to get a clear coat before installing.

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

This is common for carbon fiber components, you can find a lot of information in a myriad of placed. Generally wet sanding and re-applying clear is probably your only bet to save it.

[toast]

It is trivial to do this yourself if you have a workspace. Go to your favorite AutoZone-type place, grab a pack of 800 grit sandpaper. Apply tape to any neighboring part edges and wetsand with a spray bottle. Order a can of SprayMax 2k high gloss clear. Mask off everything close and drape the rest of the car with a drop cloth of some sort. Spray 2 light coats and 1 final medium coat of the clear with 10 minutes of flash time in between coats. Most people will be done at this point. If you want to make it like glass wait at least 24 hours and wetsand with 2000 grit sandpaper and follow with polish.

[morswestford]

wow easier said than done, haha. i think i will just go to a body shop.

Originally Posted by toast

It is trivial to do this yourself if you have a workspace. Go to your favorite AutoZone-type place, grab a pack of 800 grit sandpaper. Apply tape to any neighboring part edges and wetsand with a spray bottle. Order a can of SprayMax 2k high gloss clear. Mask off everything close and drape the rest of the car with a drop cloth of some sort. Spray 2 light coats and 1 final medium coat of the clear with 10 minutes of flash time in between coats. Most people will be done at this point. If you want to make it like glass wait at least 24 hours and wetsand with 2000 grit sandpaper and follow with polish.

[kch]

Originally Posted by morswestford

does anyone know how much is a good price to pay for a body shop to sand it down and add a clear coat on it? most body shops i know of don't really specialize in carbon fiber.

Like $250? Maybe less if you do some prep work yourself.

They don't need to specialize in CF, as they won't get all the way through the gel coat. They just need to get rid of the oxidation. It'll be just like any other job for them.

[spitfire481]

we would charge around $300 to re-clear. I have had some carbon that has had gel coat failure all the way down to the weave. no way to tell until you start sanding it down

[morswestford]

awesome thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by kch

Like $250? Maybe less if you do some prep work yourself.

They don't need to specialize in CF, as they won't get all the way through the gel coat. They just need to get rid of the oxidation. It'll be just like any other job for them.

Originally Posted by spitfire481

we would charge around $300 to re-clear. I have had some carbon that has had gel coat failure all the way down to the weave. no way to tell until you start sanding it down