Carbon Fiber Roof Tint Wrap

[enkeivette]

Just sharing an idea/ option for the CF roof.

A lot of E92 roofs have sort of a greenish brownish tinge, and often sun spots showing signs of imminent failure. I thought about spraying it with a tinted clear like I use on taillights to black them out, but I didn’t feel like spending hours peeling the old clear coat off of the CF and then risking adverse reactions with a surface that can’t be sanded and prepped properly. (Yes I paint cars as a hobby, I’ve painted a few panels on the M3, let’s me know if you can spot them).

So, I had the idea to use a tinted clear wrap, that would show the CF, make the CF black again, and maybe protect some of those sun spots from disintegrating. The Lux tint for taillights doesn’t come in a wide enough sheet, but I found a shop that can print a tint on clear wrap. (Sticky Fingers in Huntington Beach, CA).

Since the cost was only 2-3 times what I’d spend on clear I decided to try it out. Pretty pleased with the results. This was 70% tint if I remember right.

Before:


During-After:

[SnohoRaptor]

Looks amazing. Interesting idea of tint.

I've found that my CF roof with non-tinted PPF creates a loss of visibility and change in reflection. It almost masks the CF roof.

Still worth the trade off- the CF roof repair thread is terrifying.

[enkeivette]

Originally Posted by SnohoRaptor

Looks amazing. Interesting idea of tint.

I've found that my CF roof with non-tinted PPF creates a loss of visibility and change in reflection. It almost masks the CF roof.

Still worth the trade off- the CF roof repair thread is terrifying.

Thanks, ya, a bit harder to see. That pic made it look pretty black, here's another. You can still see it, but it fades into black quicker.

[EDWYER]

Looks good.

[NeverL8]

I like it. I have Jet Black car and green/grey CF roof looks sooo out of place. This makes it more livable

[Narvin]

How much was it? I need to get mine done and I’m local to them

[JJH]

This is very cool ... great idea and looks spot-on!

[enkeivette]

Originally Posted by Narvin

How much was it? I need to get mine done and I’m local to them

400 on 3M clear w/ gloss laminate, or 500 on PPF

[enkeivette]

Also my roof was oxidized and scratched a bit, so before the wrap I hit it with some 2000 grit wet and Meguiars 205 on a foam buffing pad to bring the shine back.

[Battle]

Here

[Down_Shift]

Horizontal life of that film is about 2 years under the sun. Be ready to be peeling pieces of your roof with the film when it's time to remove it

[Throatpunch]

Originally Posted by Down_Shift

Horizontal life of that film is about 2 years under the sun. Be ready to be peeling pieces of your roof with the film when it's time to remove it

Agreed- the clear cost gonna come off with the wrap if you leave this on too long and The sun kills wraps

[apexscholar]

Very interesting approach, I wonder how it will stand the test of time.

I own a small local shop that does paint protection film, the carbon roof was one of my biggest concerns and also the paint (my car is a final edition finished in frozen blue metallic). We decided to do the entire car in XPEL Stealth for the painted sections and XPEL Ultimate Plus for all the gloss/carbon bits.

Paint protection film is not what it was in the early 2000's. The formula today is completely different and with the right product/installer you can get years of worry free driving. Removal is the biggest worry for people as many have hear the horror stories of paint coming of with vinyl wraps. XPEL can be taken off years later with a steamer with no visible damage to paint done.

[Down_Shift]

Originally Posted by apexscholar

Very interesting approach, I wonder how it will stand the test of time.

I own a small local shop that does paint protection film, the carbon roof was one of my biggest concerns and also the paint (my car is a final edition finished in frozen blue metallic). We decided to do the entire car in XPEL Stealth for the painted sections and XPEL Ultimate Plus for all the gloss/carbon bits.

Paint protection film is not what it was in the early 2000's. The formula today is completely different and with the right product/installer you can get years of worry free driving. Removal is the biggest worry for people as many have hear the horror stories of paint coming of with vinyl wraps. XPEL can be taken off years later with a steamer with no visible damage to paint done.

The film he is using is not xpel. Looks to be a laminate from the dry app. I haven't been able to print on xpel.

Even with xpel, it will peel chunks with carbon roof failure or poorly repainted panels. Even if you use a pod steamer. Chunks even get picked up with painters tape.

To cover up a roof that is starting to show signs of uv damage is like sweeping it under the rug.

I refinish and clear the roof. Ppf film and a few coats of ceramic.

[apexscholar]

Originally Posted by Down_Shift

The film he is using is not xpel. Looks to be a laminate from the dry app. I haven't been able to print on xpel.

Even with xpel, it will peel chunks with carbon roof failure or poorly repainted panels. Even if you use a pod steamer. Chunks even get picked up with painters tape.

To cover up a roof that is starting to show signs of uv damage is like sweeping it under the rug.

I refinish and clear the roof. Ppf film and a few coats of ceramic.

Although I have heard the horror stories about the roofs, I have unwrapped a handfull of ZCP E9X's with no damage done to the roof. I have ran into problems with glue marks from pretacking on new cars, a quick and easy trick is to dab a little wax on a rag and go over the entire panel pre install.

The small layer of wax will save you on the opposite end as well (removal).