rwpatte

As the title states. I have the usual rock-sand nicks on the splitter. No cracks, normal road damage. Is there a way to refinish, sand polish to having it look basically new looking. I prefer not to purchase a new one. Or go with an after market replacement. There is probably a post somewhere, but I can't locate one if its there for refinishing.

BAAD LS2

I need to do the same. Was thinking about wet sanding to see if I could level it out and blend it in a bit.

The boss

Maybe wet sanding + few coats of clear than clear wrap to protect. This is what I will try this summer, I also have some small stone chip damages but no cracks.

rwpatte

I wonder how far you can sand, and polish before you get into the carbon fiber? Looks like you need to experiment to see how far you can go. I haven't seen or heard about anybody working on one of them. Of course it depends on how deep the problems are.

vetteb_96C

Doesn't the carbon fiber have that special clear coat that GM said was $60K per gallon?

I've got a rock nick in my too.

rwpatte

I understood the top has that $60k stuff on it. I don't know about the splitter. Its worth a try. It looks like crap now. I'll try a small spot that doesn't show, if I can find one.

Red Devil

Before I bought my car the previous owner had put the car up on the Hoist and split the front splitter In half it's fixed and you can't tell from the top half but it looks like a mess underneath where they fixed it.

rwpatte

Going by the amount of postings, it doesn't look like anybody has tried to repair one. Maybe its a job for the experts. Or buy a new one at $14K.

Red Devil

He did have it repaired professionally and they did an awesome job. Unless you're skilled in carbon fiber repair I don't think I would touch it.

Both Katech and LG offer a quality replacement pieces at a much better price than OEM. Good luck.

nolimits

See:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...n-repairs.html

Note clear paints will chip easier. Clear Fiber resin will not.

YOU 2 SLO

I've done mine about 5 times, from repairing cracks to patching the carbon fiber. My car is lowered to the bottom of the factory bolts, so it's an operational hazard, so I have a spare splitter I can install while I work on the damaged one if necessary. It's not as hard as you might think. If you've worked with fiberglass this is about the same thing.
Fortunately for me I have a lift, and find it much easier to work with the splitter while it's still attached to the car, and I can position it where it's easiest for me to work on. Recommend you tape the car with plastic from where the splitter meets to prevent any damage or mess while you're working on the splitter.

If it's just scratches/pits to the clear coat you can sand them out with 600 grit wet first to get them smooth and then work up to 1200 and 2000 grit. I use detailing spray as my wetting agent. Seems to work better than just water. Do not sand so aggressively that you expose the resin or CF. Stay in the clear coat. After they are smooth, I wipe them down with alcohol, and they are ready for paint. I spray them with clear coat, 3 coats 10 minutes between each coat, and then let it dry for 24 hours. It needs to be at least 60 degrees. Then I use detailing spray(McGuire's or equivalent) and 1200 grit paper wet to make sure the entire surface is smooth. then I buff it out with 3M Machine Polish to start and finish up with 3M Ultra-polish and it looks better than new.

If you have cracks, they can be repaired just like fiberglass, but you may need to find and match the CF, which you can find on line. It's not that difficult, but it does take a little patience and time.

Good luck,

rwpatte

Both of the last posts all sound good. Both repairs are close to the same fix.
Thank You!

nolimits

Couple finer points based on my experience, auto, boats, aircraft... to each his own though and you'll be fine:

-You can start with 400 grit to work quicker but definitely no less.
-Used folded paper or a semi flat or flexible backing block so your sanding will not just dip down in the pits, still leaving smoothed less visible gradual dips later.
-Final shooting should be after sanding up to 1000 or 1200 grit, this will still maintain a good surface for adhesion. Too smooth and it won't bond as well.
-Heat is important to avoid runs when shooting. Recommend room temp (70+) or above for materials, splitter, and air. Heaters yes, but not with fumes in air !
-Paint is easiest, but gloss final coating resin with proper acetone cut will give you closest to OEM durability. Resin is more hassle to shoot and get right.