Anyone have good instructions for removing?

So ultimately it sounds like it's the coating that's causing them to warp?

 

Yes, it's the coating. With the coating removed they naturally lie flat.

 

​​​​​​​Thanks! It was the bending of the finished trim that concerned me.

 

Anyone have good instructions on how to remove the pieces?

 

I bought a set of auto trim removal kit off Amazon, and I was able to get 1 piece off (the worst one with the crack).

I'll try and take a pic tonight, but John@Speedtech, to fix the crack... if I read the posts right, the clear cracked material on the CF strip should come off?

So 2 main questions:

1) I gather I can just peel of the cracked clear coating?

2) Once the clear coating is off, which epoxy spray do I use? Does anyone have an Amazon link by chance? Is this the clear coat one would pay over the fiber strip after the cracked clear coat is removed?

https://www.amazon.com/EPOXY-RESIN-CRYSTAL-COATING-TABLETOPS/dp/B01LWT156B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488397541&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=clear+epoxy+resin&psc=1

 

You need to sand it and then you can use the 2 part epoxy you linked. It will take a few coats. Then that gets block sanded and you can spray clear coat over it.

 

Thanks. Is the epoxy from the link I provided enough? Or do I have to get clear coat as well? Or.... can I only do clear coat and not do epoxy? Just trying to match OEM, as my driver's side CF strip is still good.

Is this a good clear coat spray?

https://www.amazon.com/Spray-High-Gloss-Clearcoat-Aerosol/dp/B0043B7UQY/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1488400957&sr= 1-3&keywords=spray+can+clear+coat

 

Following this thread as my are just starting to pry off the dash. So far, great info on this "how-to". Thanks

 

If you use John's method to remove the old epoxy I don't think sanding will be required unless you want to sand the actual carbon fiber....

 

Correct, I did not have to sand the CF, it had great definition. I did sand smooth every few coats of clear, though...

 

Sorry to hear of all your concerns with the OE CF trims.
When I was spec ordering my car, I asked a friend of mine who a Master Porsche tech. He response regarding the CF was... do not order it as you will be P...Off in the future when they start coming apart..
just like Gen 1 PCCB... PAG does not built cars like they used too. Don't believe all their advertising hype. I'm happy that I took his advice...all good luck with your cars.

 

As a data point, my experience gas not been that bad. I ordered a full front and rear carbon fiber interior in 2002. I have driven the car 145,000+ miles and parked in the sun all summer and the only issue I ever had was the windshield strip started curling at the end and would not lie flat. Personally, I have not experienced any big problems with the carbon. It has actually held up very very well with the exception of the small windshield strips.

 

I'm happy that your having a good experience. Did you actually spec order the car or is it a second hand. I had the opportunity to actually spec my car.. so who would know what's the Porsche dealer actually having issues with then to ask someone who works on these Porsche's day n day out. One other comment from my friend.. the Carrera GT is built like a F1 vs the 918...as production car. The components are worlds apart.
In the end of the day...its depends how one's perception of " quality " is.

 

I have OEM carbon trim and yes, after @ 14 years, it will have issues. My door panels are excellent, save for some yellowing. I find the issues to be on pieces with hard contours. The upper horse shoe around the radio surround is very susceptible to cracking where the bends occur.

It's worth noting that the OEM stuff, as nice as it is, is still an overlay and not pure CF. If anything was full carbon it would cost $$$ so most companies take a plastic piece and it gets overlayed with carbon sheet and epoxy. Over time the carbon will try and delaminate from exposure to heat, time, general use, etc. Also, the factory finish coating is not UV resilient and will 100% yellow over time. This is even true for the CGT as noted in many complaints to Porsche.

While John had good luck with re-clearing the piece, clearcoat is very thin and I'm sure he sat there and applied 15-20 coats to get a nice buildup. The proper fix is to use epoxy resin. This is also how it's produced and will give the best results. Stay away from polyester resins as the epoxy is a superior product for this application and what is used in production. Done right, with a good product, you shouldn't even have to clear coat the finished piece. New epoxies are UV resistant and very, very hard.

Below I will show a quick repair I did last night to my upper dash piece. I will be re-doing most of my trim just because I am looking for things to do



1. Take the piece off the car and analyze what needs to be done. If the piece has delaminated from its base, mix some epoxy and use some toothpicks or other methods to get the epoxy under the piece and clamp it. Once it sets up you can address any cosmetic issues to the face of the panel.

2. My upper trim had numerous cracks along the contours and small chips in other areas easily felt while rubbing your fingers over the pieces. I start by using 80 grit paper on the really bad areas and slightly feathering the cracks out to the unaffected areas. Next I work my way up over the prior areas and entire piece all the way up to 400-500 grit. Sand each area with the new paper until the prior marks have been removed. Your end goal should make the piece look perfectly matte with only little sanding marks visible.


*Note that some cracks may be deeper than others and if they go all the way to the substrate to the carbon it will require removal of most of the factory epoxy in that area. For this piece, I did not sand to the base as it was very late at night and I needed to get this piece done rather quickly to get my car back together. Additionally, the repairs below achieve a 95% perfect finish without having to spend additional days on the repair. I also try to maintain most of the integrity of the OEM parts, so the least amount of work needed to repair, the better in my eyes.

Below you'll see pics of the sanding process and how deep some of the chips, scratches were. These were very visible and felt if you rubbed your hand over them.















2. Once the sanding is completed I go over the piece with alcohol and prep it for the epoxy repair. For the repairs I am using a commercial 2-part epoxy. For this, it's best to use an ultra clear product for a perfect finish. Epoxy should be (relatively) self leveling and I use a foam brush and a synthetic bristle brush as needed to make sure all the edges are covered and contours are wrapped. Epoxy covers thick, so it's much more suited to this than just traditional clear coat. It also adds a tremendous amount of strength and rigidity to the final product which in turn will prevent future cracking from any flexing. It still will have some slight flex to it, but most of the original flimsiness is removed which is ideal.

Here are pics once epoxy is poured. It wets out very well. This is just one coat. Don't mind the drips as they will ultimately be sanded flat around all the edges in the final stage of finishing.






















Note the above finish is nearly perfect. Below you'll see the crack that was very visible in the first sanding photos is nearly gone. It's clarity is now 95% perfect with only a slight line visible only depending on how the piece is looked at. All the other imperfections are gone, including the yellowing that appears in the pieces due to age/time/sun.







And below is the final piece, about 10 hours later, in the sun. I still have final sanding/polishing to do, but you can see the results are dramatic and the depth is 100x better than it was when the car was new. The product used adds many mills of coverage and considerable depth.




















Thanks for viewing! I have been repairing/working with fiberglass and carbon fiber for 20+ years and feel pretty comfortable with it. I also do repairs from my little shop. Should anyone have any questions or need any repairs feel free to inquire and send me a message.

Thanks!

 

If you're talking only about the thin strips and can get the clear to delam from the base by flexing it slightly great. You DO NOT want to ever sand the actual carbon as that will ruin it. If your piece is like my post above and just requires repairs to cracks/chips then you'll sand just what's needed off. If you are starting from bare carbon you'll need to build up layers with the epoxy.