Good to know Irish, thanks. I contacted the dealer about this and they told me that Magnum Collision is their authorized shop. I've used Magnum in the past and they do great work. They also have a pretty stellar reputation. I don't know why I didn't think to contact them earlier. Anyway, I'll contact them and see what they say.

 

Sorry to hear whats happened.

Might be a far out idea but you could get someone to make a small piece of carbon fibre or black plastic part to cover up the crack. Then have another one made identical for the other side so it looks like its designed like that?

 

Had a chance to visit Magnum Collision and speak to the owner about the damage to my splitter. Unfortunately, they made me realize that the damage is worse than I thought (or maybe hoped). When you lift up the cracked epoxy, you can see that the carbon fiber has been pushed upward by the screw and it can't simply be pushed back down without doing further damage. Anyway, the upshot is that the splitter cannot be repaired in a way in which would look identical to the other side (at least not without spending a fortune).

They did say, however, that they could cut out the fractured epoxy and carbon fiber, lay in some fiberglass and epoxy, sand the top surface smooth, paint over the area (in black or charcoal), and then clear coat the entire splitter. As for the painting, they said they could paint curved triangles that start from the top edge of the splitter and follow the vertical struts of the splitter and finish with a point at the location of the damage. They would paint a similar triangle on the other side of the splitter so both sides would match. I guess you could say that the painted areas would resemble inwardly-curving fangs, although they would not be very obvious due to the dark paint selection.

I'm thinking that this fix sounds acceptable. I don't think it'd look bad as the paint would only cover a very small fraction of the carbon fiber and one would likely not notice it unless they looked at the splitter very closely. Even then, I bet they would think that the paint is original to the car, unless they really knew their Astons. The part I don't like, however, is the price. They quoted me $1500. A lot of money, but better than buying a new splitter. What do you guys think?

 

You definitely have my sympathies. That sort of thing is one reason why I don't get a carbon fibre splitter and am only interested in a diffuser.

If it were my car, I would have two main concerns: 1) Am I going to be satisfied with the result, or will I always be conscious of the fact that it's no longer "perfect"? 2) What are the chances that it'll happen again? It's a lot of cash either way, so just be honest with yourself about what you'll be satisfied with.

This may be a totally cheesy idea, but why can't they source a matching decal and lay it over the repair under the clear coat. Obviously there would be more care needed to match the pattern. I've seen carbon fibre decals, but are any realistic enough to work?

 

Not sure if they could really match the weave but I suppose I could ask.

BTW, just learned that retail on a front splitter is $5,600 plus installation! That sounds high, even for Aston Martin.