Ceramic coating of the carbon fiber trim?

[seamaster222]

I wonder if anyone has tried to ceramic coat the trim in order to protect it from light scratches.

[specced]

Ceramic coating doesn’t protect from scratches.

[MJBO]

Magic coating doesn't protect from scratches, either PPF or simply be more careful.

Probably going to have to PPF the centre console in my CS, I'm not careful.

[TunaNoCrust]

For what’s its worth, I have carbon fiber trim and I haven’t had any scratches on my trim. It’s pretty durable and honestly hard to notice any scratches.

[silvermanor]

Ceramic coating is snake oil. You need to PPF trim if you want it to be scratch resistant.

[TJay74]

Originally Posted by silvermanor

Ceramic coating is snake oil. You need to PPF trim if you want it to be scratch resistant.

Ceramic coatings are far from "snake oil". They have a purpose and work well at it. What they dont do is offer any sort of magic paint protection to stop scratches like people can be lead to believe.

Prep the paint correctly and apply a ceramic coating the paint will be much easier to keep clean and will look amazing. Want protection against scratches then use a quality PPF.

[TimmyTurbos]

CC for chemical protection - PPF for scratch protection.

[silvermanor]

Originally Posted by TimmyTurbos

CC for chemical protection - PPF for scratch protection.

CC can't even stop bird shit from etching your paint.

[TimmyTurbos]

Im speaking more along the lines of salt, oil, road grime, hard water etc. Bird shit is pretty much acid dude, its in its own catagory! Lol..Nothing can stop that process.

Each application be it CC or PPF will have its limits.

[Phillies8008]

It's funny when people want to trash something like ceramic coating for not doing something that it was never claimed to be able to do in the first place. "Dude, it doesn't even stop bullets. Total crap!" For what ceramic coating is intended and claims to do, it does a very good job (assuming it's an actual good, well-applied coating). It is not, however, a forcefield.

I had the godawful piano black plastic in my interior PPF'd, and so far so good. I don't see why that wouldn't also hold true for carbon fiber, though it can't possibly be less scratch-resistant than the piano black garbage.

[TimmyTurbos]

For real! I have whole car PPF, but if I took and ran a hammer claw down the side of the car I wouldn't expect it to hold up!

[Atrane23]

I reached out to a couple local installers for PPF, and was surprised when one of them told me not to PPF the carbon roof.

He said that if I ever needed to replace it, it could delaminate the clearcoat from the carbon fiber.
Has anyone heard of this happening?
I’d still like to PPF the roof, but this caught me off guard.

[fiveightandten]

Originally Posted by Atrane23

I reached out to a couple local installers for PPF, and was surprised when one of them told me not to PPF the carbon roof.

He said that if I ever needed to replace it, it could delaminate the clearcoat from the carbon fiber.
Has anyone heard of this happening?
I’d still like to PPF the roof, but this caught me off guard.

There are low occurrence but definitely documented cases of PPF taking clear coat when removed. There are a range of opinions about this, with some people saying that it will never happen to factory applied clear, others saying that it comes down to the removal method and only happens with "improper removal" (opinions on this also vary), and others saying that there is a risk regardless of paint history or removal means/methods.

Installers do have this potential for damage hanging over them and may have even had a failure. It's tough to get a sense for what went wrong when people have an issue. You generally don't know the history of the car, may not know if the panel was repaired at any point, and may not know how the PPF was being removed. It can take a fair amount of heat to remove.

IMO, the best you can do it talk to installers in your area to gain their experience with installation and removal. You can read around online to gain some additional insight, and decide on risk. I would say the risk is low (usually very low) but not zero, for any PPF install.

[Phillies8008]

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

There are low occurrence but definitely documented cases of PPF taking clear coat when removed. There are a range of opinions about this, with some people saying that it will never happen to factory applied clear, others saying that it comes down to the removal method and only happens with "improper removal" (opinions on this also vary), and others saying that there is a risk regardless of paint history or removal means/methods.

Installers do have this potential for damage hanging over them and may have even had a failure. It's tough to get a sense for what went wrong when people have an issue. You generally don't know the history of the car, may not know if the panel was repaired at any point, and may not know how the PPF was being removed. It can take a fair amount of heat to remove.

IMO, the best you can do it talk to installers in your area to gain their experience with installation and removal. You can read around online to gain some additional insight, and decide on risk. I would say the risk is low (usually very low) but not zero, for any PPF install.

What I've heard, and this is also anecdotal, is that most times the damage occurs because the PPF has been left on the car too long. They say that once it starts to either discolor or edges begin to peel up it's time to go ahead and get it off of the car.

I'd also have to say the risk is low, otherwise you'd hear about it much more often than you do. However, in this instance the OP is specifically referencing carbon fiber, so maybe there's a crucial difference? You can always get a second opinion, but I think I'd be more apt to go with the installer's opinion than not.

[fiveightandten]

Originally Posted by Phillies8008

What I've heard, and this is also anecdotal, is that most times the damage occurs because the PPF has been left on the car too long. They say that once it starts to either discolor or edges begin to peel up it's time to go ahead and get it off of the car.

I'd also have to say the risk is low, otherwise you'd hear about it much more often than you do. However, in this instance the OP is specifically referencing carbon fiber, so maybe there's a crucial difference? You can always get a second opinion, but I think I'd be more apt to go with the installer's opinion than not.

Yeah, CF is a different paint process than color coated panels. That may make a difference.

What’s the guidance on how long you should leave it installed? I’ve not heard of that as an issue before.

[Phillies8008]

Originally Posted by fiveightandten

Yeah, CF is a different paint process than color coated panels. That may make a difference.

What’s the guidance on how long you should leave it installed? I’ve not heard of that as an issue before.

I'm really not sure how prevalent it even is – like I said, it's really just anecdotal stuff I've read on Reddit, etc. As for how long, I'd go by the installer/manufacturer's recommendation. For instance, mine is specified as a seven year application, so I'd think right around that time. I'll be doing a yearly inspection thingy*, so I'd assume that if it starts looking questionable the installer will let me know.

*Which I'm not sure is actually needed or just a way to generate some yearly revenue. Tomato, tomahto.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by TimmyTurbos

CC for chemical protection - PPF for scratch protection.

Thank you. Well put