Cleaning Carbon Fiber?

[mgb]

How do I clean the water spots off the carbon fiber hood insert?

[u00bgg2]

Wash and wax, the CF exterior pieces are coated with clear coat so treat them as you would paint work.

[mgb]

Originally Posted by u00bgg2

Wash and wax, the CF exterior pieces are coated with clear coat so treat them as you would paint work.

Thank You

[mgb]

Originally Posted by u00bgg2

Wash and wax, the CF exterior pieces are coated with clear coat so treat them as you would paint work.

Do you think I could use a lite to medium compound to get rid of some (water?) spots that the wax won't get rid of?

[Level300]

Try something less aggressive like polish first. If that doesn’t work try swirl remover like scratchX. The clear coat may be very thin. Test in a less conspicuous place. Also verify that it is a surface imperfection. Sometimes in carbon it may look like a water spot but it may actually be delamination, or the clear coat could be deeply etched which would require even more aggressive abrasives, which would increase the chance of breaking through the clear. Also take it very slow. If the scratch remover doesn’t work, you might want to consider taking the insert to a professional to have it recleared because it’s probably not a water spot.

Always work from a less aggressive to a more aggressive compound when tackling these types of issues (read expensive if you mess up).

Work forwards trying...wax-polish-swirl/scratch-compound, then work backwards from the abrasive that removed the the imperfection. Generally, If you can catch your fingernail on it, it’s too deep for this approach and will need to be re-cleared.

There is a detailing sub forum here so ask in there to get more opinions.

[StreetRage320]

I would recommend selling me your carbon fiber insert and I'll send you my painted one with zero water spots

But in all seriousness I would not recommend abrasives at this point. you only want to use abrasives once you're absolutely certain all the minerals have been removed from your clear coat. water spots are made up of hard water that has dried and etched itself into the clear coat unfortunately many times there are minerals that remain. Those minerals can become abrasives themselves and cause more damage if you polish before removing the minerals you can push the minerals deeper into the clear coat. I would try clay barring first. Sometimes white vinegar can help neutralize the minerals and the water spots. There are also several different types of chemicals you can buy that can help neutralize and remove the minerals. I would recommend testing several of these different ideas in a small area before doing a large area. If you do use vinegar or any chemicals do not let it sit on your car longer than you need to.

[mgb]

Originally Posted by Level300

Try something less aggressive like polish first. If that doesn’t work try swirl remover like scratchX. The clear coat may be very thin. Test in a less conspicuous place. Also verify that it is a surface imperfection. Sometimes in carbon it may look like a water spot but it may actually be delamination, or the clear coat could be deeply etched which would require even more aggressive abrasives, which would increase the chance of breaking through the clear. Also take it very slow. If the scratch remover doesn’t work, you might want to consider taking the insert to a professional to have it recleared because it’s probably not a water spot.

Always work from a less aggressive to a more aggressive compound when tackling these types of issues (read expensive if you mess up).

Work forwards trying...wax-polish-swirl/scratch-compound, then work backwards from the abrasive that removed the the imperfection. Generally, If you can catch your fingernail on it, it’s too deep for this approach and will need to be re-cleared.

There is a detailing sub forum here so ask in there to get more opinions.

You can't actually feel it with your hand. It' s not that bad in natural lite, but when you bring it inside under the lites it's very noticeable and really takes away from the looks of the car.

[mgb]

[QUOTE=StreetRage320;10375743]I would recommend selling me your carbon fiber insert and I'll send you my painted one with zero water spots

But in all seriousness I would not recommend abrasives at this point. you only want to use abrasives once you're absolutely certain all the minerals have been removed from your clear coat. water spots are made up of hard water that has dried and etched itself into the clear coat unfortunately many times there are minerals that remain. Those minerals can become abrasives themselves and cause more damage if you polish before removing the minerals you can push the minerals deeper into the clear coat. I would try clay barring first. Sometimes white vinegar can help neutralize the minerals and the water spots. There are also several different types of chemicals you can buy that can help neutralize and remove the minerals. I would recommend testing several of these different ideas in a small area before doing a large area. If you do use vinegar or any chemicals do not let it sit on your car longer than you need to.[/QUOTE]
I've never heard of using vinegar. What do you think too long would be? Would you put it on a rag or put a drop on the spot. How mean is vinegar? I do want to be careful, but I would like the spots gone.

[StreetRage320]

[QUOTE=mgb;10375752]

Originally Posted by StreetRage320

I would recommend selling me your carbon fiber insert and I'll send you my painted one with zero water spots

But in all seriousness I would not recommend abrasives at this point. you only want to use abrasives once you're absolutely certain all the minerals have been removed from your clear coat. water spots are made up of hard water that has dried and etched itself into the clear coat unfortunately many times there are minerals that remain. Those minerals can become abrasives themselves and cause more damage if you polish before removing the minerals you can push the minerals deeper into the clear coat. I would try clay barring first. Sometimes white vinegar can help neutralize the minerals and the water spots. There are also several different types of chemicals you can buy that can help neutralize and remove the minerals. I would recommend testing several of these different ideas in a small area before doing a large area. If you do use vinegar or any chemicals do not let it sit on your car longer than you need to.[/QUOTE]
I've never heard of using vinegar. What do you think too long would be? Would you put it on a rag or put a drop on the spot. How mean is vinegar? I do want to be careful, but I would like the spots gone.

you wouldn't want to leave it on long I would start out with a couple of minutes and only leave it on as long as you need to to get the water spots to remove. When I've done it in the past I just apply it with a microfiber towel. if the water spots are bad and I'm not having success on occasion I will use vinegar in conjunction with a clay bar to try to neutralize and lift the water spots away.

[ZEN357]

I would not use rubbing compound on carbon fiber. Try 3M HandGlaze. Works well for spots/water marks. Just wax after wards.

https://www.jegs.com/i/3M-Products/133/05990/10002/-1

[VRZL113]

Clay bar works wonders for water spots to.... I wouldn't use an abrasive compound until you try clay first.

[silversleeper]

If you do look up carbon fiber or real exposed carbon fiber the care would be different than what is on our hoods. That is not that raw material which absorbs water stains etc.
The surface is either expoxy or clear coat so you should treat it like that. As they said like you would treat your painted surfaces.

[fif_gen_powa]

Not all carbon fiber is clear coated. My hood had what they called a gel coat that only lasted a year in Florida before starting to fail. That being said if you want it to last make sure it has or go get it properly clear coated. Than can be treated as you would paint