Carbon roof is fading

[patrick_mro]

Hi recently I have started to notice the carbon fiber on my roof is really starting to age poorly. The clear coat is fading and it is really taking away from the looks of the car. Is their anything I can do the save the carbon roof or will I need to re-do the clear coat. For reference I hand wash the car with chemical guys products using the two bucket method, and I have waxed the car at least once in the last few months. Here are some pics of the roof
top view


(note this is after a rain)

[young dude]

Crap I'm about to pick up a used M3 with CF roof, this is making me having second thoughts... Anyone with any insights? I hope you're able to restore!

[Honda]

wow...that looks really bad

[UPSROD]

Must have set outside it's entire life.

[///M Ryder]

Find a very good detailer and see if the clear can be saved. Just based on the look the clear may have been polished before and not sealed and protected afterwards. GL......Phil

[MachinesWithSouls]

Wash it. Clay it. If you have an orbital buffer, compound it first to get that haze off. Then polish it LIGHTLY.

Then seal it with something like AMMO reflex, skin, then carnuba wax. It's tough to tell without seeing it in person but compounding lightly should restore some of the clear coat shine.

[Redd]

A really good detailer can restore the clear on the CF. Won't be cheap but worth it for the CF roof.

[Munichm3]

Don't be afraid of these comments. The amount of clear coat on the roof is more then plenty for a polish with 2nd and 3rd stage compound. You're not going to be cutting so it should be much cheaper. Be weary of people ripping you off making you think it's expensive. I used to work professionally in the painting/detailing business, that would take me about 30 minutes to fix.

[roastbeef]

I'd bet you're neglecting your car of a proper detail.

[Landru]

Jeez.......my used 2013 M3 roof looks like new. That looks like non gloss race carbon fiber if it was not so spotty.

[Three Pedal Steve]

Take it to a good dealership before spending any money. It would be very interesting to hear the company policy on this issue.... And post their reply please.

[Denk]

How does your paint look? I'd expect the paint to look twice as bad. The CF roof is low maintenance compared to the paint.

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by ///M Ryder

Find a very good detailer and see if the clear can be saved. Just based on the look the clear may have been polished before and not sealed and protected afterwards. GL......Phil

That's my plan I am getting in touch with a local detailer to see what he can do. It's possible the roof was polished and not sealed by the previous owner but when I got the car the roof was shiny and new so I am sure I would have noticed that.

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by SoManyBlueCars

Wash it. Clay it. If you have an orbital buffer, compound it first to get that haze off. Then polish it LIGHTLY.

Then seal it with something like AMMO reflex, skin, then carnuba wax. It's tough to tell without seeing it in person but compounding lightly should restore some of the clear coat shine.

I don't have a buffer and would fear further damaging the roof since it is in poor shape already, but hopefully the detailer will follow those steps and be able to restore the cf to its shine.

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by Munichm3

Don't be afraid of these comments. The amount of clear coat on the roof is more then plenty for a polish with 2nd and 3rd stage compound. You're not going to be cutting so it should be much cheaper. Be weary of people ripping you off making you think it's expensive. I used to work professionally in the painting/detailing business, that would take me about 30 minutes to fix.

Yeah I am not too concerned, I appreciate the input. What do you think I should expect to pay for a job like this?

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by Three Pedal Steve

Take it to a good dealership before spending any money. It would be very interesting to hear the company policy on this issue.... And post their reply please.

The car is out of warranty so I don't think there is much they can do for me, but that would be awesome if they did.

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by Denk

How does your paint look? I'd expect the paint to look twice as bad. The CF roof is low maintenance compared to the paint.

The paint is pretty much perfect no scratches and hardly any rock chips and shines. The car looks very good aside from the roof..

[Munichm3]

Originally Posted by patrick_mro

Yeah I am not too concerned, I appreciate the input. What do you think I should expect to pay for a job like this?

Expect to pay $50-100 depending on the detailed. It looks ugly but any detailer knows that's easy money. When I bought my 2008 it was sitting outside for 6 months under a pine tree and sap convered the whole car. I never saw anything like it, I was able to knock off 2k off the price because of it. Ended up costing me only $40 in materials and 7 hours to do the whole car. I have the before and after pictures and it's amazing how much detailing can do. I would recommend learning it!

[Eau Rouge]

Originally Posted by UPSROD

Must have set outside it's entire life.

+1

+ minimal care.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Not normal , because it looks like shit !
Something went wrong here..

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by Eau Rouge

+1

+ minimal care.

I've only had the car for 7 months and I usually park it in my drive way. It's not a Ferrari no need to garage it or constantly worry about it. I wash it about every 3 weeks if I have time and it looked good until the roof started to fade in the recent weeks.

[patrick_mro]

Originally Posted by Munichm3

Expect to pay $50-100 depending on the detailed. It looks ugly but any detailer knows that's easy money. When I bought my 2008 it was sitting outside for 6 months under a pine tree and sap convered the whole car. I never saw anything like it, I was able to knock off 2k off the price because of it. Ended up costing me only $40 in materials and 7 hours to do the whole car. I have the before and after pictures and it's amazing how much detailing can do. I would recommend learning it!

Maybe I will consider doing the job my self then. Would you care to send links to the required tools for the job?