With the C8 Corvette currently being one of the hottest cars on the market, enthusiasts are seeking out ways to make their cars stand out from the crowd. This includes everything from custom wheels and body kits to under-hood modifications, but carbon fiber parts are some of the most popular right now. With carbon fiber having become incredibly cheap and easy to work with, you can give your C8 Corvette Carbon Fiber look while keeping it safe and protected from dings, scratches, and other wear-and-tear damage.
3 Deciding Factors For Corvettes
There are 3 main areas that you’ll want to focus on when it comes to customizing your new C8 Corvette. The first is body, which includes all of those parts that are visible when you look at your car. Then there’s underhood, which consists of everything underneath and in front of your car’s hood, as well as what’s hiding behind it. Finally, you have interior—your surroundings while riding in (and sitting on) your car. There are a number of different options available for each category, but today we’re going to talk about carbon fiber for each part because carbon fiber is by far one of the best materials for increasing performance, decreasing weight and giving off a high-quality look—especially with a newer model such as yours!
Step 1: Choose your top half
Since you have your new carbon fiber parts, all that’s left is to paint them. There are several ways you can do so, and a few rules of thumb to follow. First off, always use a high-quality primer. You don’t want your investment damaged by some weak spray that’ll peel as soon as you drive away from your shop. And when it comes time for paint, be sure not only to get it into every crevice, but also give yourself plenty of time between coats. It may seem like good advice is painting it over night once or twice, but in reality you should aim for around 3-4 days between coats. This will let each coat cure evenly and make sure there aren’t any mistakes or missed spots.
Step 2: Paint them
As with any paint job, you’ll want to ensure that your new fiberglass or carbon fiber parts are thoroughly cleaned. For carbon fiber, use a pressure washer and detergent or soap and water to clean off any grease or oil. Allow them to dry for a couple of days before moving on; you don’t want anything else sticking if you can help it. Then, lightly sand down any rough areas (using an ultrafine grit paper) to get rid of any micro-scratches and make sure there are no chips in your finish. This is especially important when working with carbon fiber; remember that minor flaws will show up more easily. Once they look good enough, start applying primer and paint just like you would with a regular car part.
Step 3: Wrap with carbon fiber vinyl film
First, you will want to clean and sand your plastic. This is done before applying carbon fiber wrapping film to help ensure a quality finished product. After sanding or cleaning your plastic, follow up with denatured alcohol or acetone wipe down. The alcohol or acetone will allow for better adhesion of your carbon fiber vinyl wrap. You may also use rubbing alcohol with water in a spray bottle as an alternative option for cleaning/preparing your surface. Thoroughly spray entire surface of part, allow to dry and continue on to next step! Note: The drying time is quick but make sure that no puddles of water are left behind! Too much moisture on a particular area may cause bubbling while trying to apply your film so keep it dry!
Step 4: Cut out sections for vents and windshield
I used a Dremel and a drill bit to make these cuts. The windshield portion is not necessary, but I wanted it for show. You may have better tools or methods of making these cuts, so feel free to use them instead. You may also decide that you don’t want anything on your hood at all. That’s fine too. It’s your car after all.
Step 5: Tape off edges with automotive masking tape
For example, delete all extra spaces. Now you should have something that looks like what is shown below (your title might be different from mine). Save it in a file on your computer and use it for your assignment here. Edit as needed for length and make sure to double check spelling! You can submit it as an attachment if you wish. Or, if you have time, you can print it out before submitting as a hard copy (just make sure everything is legible)..
Step 6 – Spray your primer grey
Using a spray primer is an easy way to avoid brush strokes, which can give your paint job a cheap look. The gray primer will help with that. However, remember that you’ll have more coats of color ahead of you than with just grey. For example, if you choose white as your color, you’ll have three coats of white before you put on any other colors and clear coat. For most paints and solvents, I would go with two light coats and one medium-to-heavy coat.
