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CARBON FIBER BUILD TIPS??

Adrian2016GT

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Hey guys i recently got my 2106 Mustang GT PP, and i plan on making it my show car, its not a daily driver and its garage kept. Ever since I was younger I have always loved the way that carbon fiber looks and feels, I have had a few fun cars in the past and a show car that when I purchased came with a few Carbon pieces/ a spoiler too but never had the budget to get real carbon fiber parts for myself. Now I do!! I am going through TRUFIber and Anderson Composites websites and I wanna order everything.

But I never had a lot of expierence with real Carbon Fiber, so I had a few simple questions and I would love any advice or tips you guys could offer.

How long does it last? Does it start to show wear sooner then normal clear coated materials? or does it depend on the clearcoat?

I havent been able to get out to any car shows within the last few years just cause of work and a lack of a nice car just took me out of the scene for awhile so i havent seen alot of mustang builds is carbon fiber very common now a days with mustangs? Back in 2013-2015 i felt like there was a lot less options for carbon fiber on the market.
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S550_GTCS

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I would suggest that if you have the $ have any carbon parts cleared with automotive clear coat. I can't speak on Trufiber but Anderson does have a "marine grade gelcoat" on their pieces. I daily my car, so I got my carbon trunk cleared and then had ppf put over it to protect it. Carbon parts aren't cheap, so I personally wanted to be sure it lasted out in the sun.

If you are going with a carbon hood be sure to apply a some heat shielding to the underside of the hood.

Oh..and one more little thing...stay away from ebay or instagram carbon pieces. Most of the time the fitment is terrible.
 

m3incorp

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Are you going to be replacing all the panels yourself? If not, might want to factor in labor also. It can get to be pretty dang costly but can look super when done right.
 

2morrow

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I have a lot of CF parts on my car and with any laid material you will experience fitment issues. its just a part of the game.
Shrink rates, mold discrepancies and don't forget shipping issues makes composites a challenge. Expect to modify parts for a good fit.

Check my build, IG or youtube links in my sig for some pointers and don't hesitate to DM me if you have any questions.
DSC09568.jpg

JDP-7617.jpg
 

speedfrk

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I custom paint bikes for very picky customers- and I'd definitely clear any parts you put on. Make sure they are surgically clean, scuffed thoroughly including the edges and rinsed with lacquer thinner. Most of the parts you get are right out of the mold and will have mold release on them still so the clear will start to peel in a short time if they aren't prepped properly and lots of shops cut corners on this.
 

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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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I would suggest that if you have the $ have any carbon parts cleared with automotive clear coat. I can't speak on Trufiber but Anderson does have a "marine grade gelcoat" on their pieces. I daily my car, so I got my carbon trunk cleared and then had ppf put over it to protect it. Carbon parts aren't cheap, so I personally wanted to be sure it lasted out in the sun.

If you are going with a carbon hood be sure to apply a some heat shielding to the underside of the hood.

Oh..and one more little thing...stay away from ebay or instagram carbon pieces. Most of the time the fitment is terrible.

I was going to ask that exact question. I seen they come with a clearcoat already, i had no idea its safe to add a second coat ill definetly look into that, how long have you had the trunk on?

Also will take into consideration the heatshielding, one of my my main concerns are pieces engine dressup pieces like radiator cover, manifold cover, how does carbon fiber handle that direct heat? I even seen coolant resevoirs that are solid carbon fiber. I wonder how they hold up to the heat of the engine bay over time.

Hahaha i appreciate the advice on Ebay parts i was def not gonna go that route, I waited over 6 years to start this project the last thing ima do is go cheap and start budgeting on parts been there done that when i was younger.
 
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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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Are you going to be replacing all the panels yourself? If not, might want to factor in labor also. It can get to be pretty dang costly but can look super when done right.
I planned on starting with the interior pieces and then small trim pieces, then the engine bay dress up and that alone is close to $5k all of those are simple enough that i can do myself but once i get into body panels I planned on getting it all together and having it all installed at once by a bodyshop, my budget for this car is deeeeeeeeeeep i plan on spending a lil extra everywhere i can to get the best. The last thing i want is a cheap looking build with insanely expensive parts haha.
 
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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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Hey
I have a lot of CF parts on my car and with any laid material you will experience fitment issues. its just a part of the game.
Shrink rates, mold discrepancies and don't forget shipping issues makes composites a challenge. Expect to modify parts for a good fit.

Check my build, IG or youtube links in my sig for some pointers and don't hesitate to DM me if you have any questions.
DSC09568.jpg

JDP-7617.jpg
Hey man first and foremost, badass build! Gave you a follow with my cars page and my personal one. I actually just ordered my APR GTC-200 wing last week.

Luckily for me im in Southern California so im trying to work with some of these companies directly to avoid the shipping issue. APR is local to me and i believe Anderson Composites is also local. As for some of the bigger items those it seems like ima have to order from Trufiber and they are out of Houston. Im thinking with them ima wait till i can order everything from them at once and get it shipped by pallet and maybe get a lil discount if i do it that way.

Do you have any engine dress up thats carbon fiber? You have any idea how long Carbon Fiber last when its in the engine bay? Im imagining it would dry and crack sooner?

If youre in Socal i might have to DM you to learn more about your classes! Id love to track my Mustang one day!
 
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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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I custom paint bikes for very picky customers- and I'd definitely clear any parts you put on. Make sure they are surgically clean, scuffed thoroughly including the edges and rinsed with lacquer thinner. Most of the parts you get are right out of the mold and will have mold release on them still so the clear will start to peel in a short time if they aren't prepped properly and lots of shops cut corners on this.

Thanks for the advice i honestly thought the parts would come ready to go, now ima take everything to my paint guy and have him add extra clearcoat to it all!
 

2morrow

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Hey man first and foremost, badass build! Gave you a follow with my cars page and my personal one. I actually just ordered my APR GTC-200 wing last week.

Luckily for me I'm in Southern California so I'm trying to work with some of these companies directly to avoid the shipping issue. APR is local to me and i believe Anderson Composites is also local.
As for some of the bigger items those it seems like ima have to order from Trufiber and they are out of Houston. Im thinking with them ima wait till i can order everything from them at once and
get it shipped by pallet and maybe get a lil discount if i do it that way.

Do you have any engine dress up thats carbon fiber? You have any idea how long Carbon Fiber last when its in the engine bay? Im imagining it would dry and crack sooner?

If youre in Socal i might have to DM you to learn more about your classes! Id love to track my Mustang one day!
Thank you @Adrian2016GT ! What's your IG? I think I followed you back.

I think you'll love the APR wing (Check my YouTube page for my install & tips). It's not just sexy AF but functional too.

Your location is key. If possible I would suggest picking up all your large pieces like a hood. I didn't have an issue with the APR wing as it breaks down into smaller box size and it was packed well.
Good idea on the pallet shipment too. I do have a bunch of CF in the engine bay but unfortunately I had to remove the top cover because of fitment issues with my ported 350 IM. Its now just a
decoration lol. I'll dump some pix.

I'm up in the SF bay area right next to Sonoma Raceway. I coach for SCCA's Track Night in America but that's all the way up at Thunderhill. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions on that.

Current Engine Bay Situation.
20200623_093909.jpg


Wall decoration lol. Thinking about selling it (?)
20200623_093547.jpg


Brain Bucket.
IMG_20190624_080810_795.jpg


CF Race Seat.
IMG_20200202_222143_387.jpg


Current Interior Situation.
JDP-0245.jpg


Sorry for photo-bombing your thread OP. :crackup:
 

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Anderson Composites

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Hey


Hey man first and foremost, badass build! Gave you a follow with my cars page and my personal one. I actually just ordered my APR GTC-200 wing last week.

Luckily for me im in Southern California so im trying to work with some of these companies directly to avoid the shipping issue. APR is local to me and i believe Anderson Composites is also local. As for some of the bigger items those it seems like ima have to order from Trufiber and they are out of Houston. Im thinking with them ima wait till i can order everything from them at once and get it shipped by pallet and maybe get a lil discount if i do it that way.

Do you have any engine dress up thats carbon fiber? You have any idea how long Carbon Fiber last when its in the engine bay? Im imagining it would dry and crack sooner?

If youre in Socal i might have to DM you to learn more about your classes! Id love to track my Mustang one day!
We're located in City of Industry off 60 and 605 fwy.
https://andersoncomposites.com/pages/contact-us
Call us for product availability. Pallet shipping can cost you $300-400 depending on location and shipper.
 

2morrow

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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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Thank you @Adrian2016GT ! What's your IG? I think I followed you back.

I think you'll love the APR wing (Check my YouTube page for my install & tips). It's not just sexy AF but functional too.

Your location is key. If possible I would suggest picking up all your large pieces like a hood. I didn't have an issue with the APR wing as it breaks down into smaller box size and it was packed well.
Good idea on the pallet shipment too. I do have a bunch of CF in the engine bay but unfortunately I had to remove the top cover because of fitment issues with my ported 350 IM. Its now just a
decoration lol. I'll dump some pix.

I'm up in the SF bay area right next to Sonoma Raceway. I coach for SCCA's Track Night in America but that's all the way up at Thunderhill. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions on that.

Current Engine Bay Situation.
20200623_093909.jpg


Wall decoration lol. Thinking about selling it (?)
20200623_093547.jpg


Brain Bucket.
IMG_20190624_080810_795.jpg


CF Race Seat.
IMG_20200202_222143_387.jpg


Current Interior Situation.
JDP-0245.jpg


Sorry for photo-bombing your thread OP. :crackup:

dont even apologize that beauty deserves to be seen!
 
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Adrian2016GT

Adrian2016GT

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We're located in City of Industry off 60 and 605 fwy.
https://andersoncomposites.com/pages/contact-us
Call us for product availability. Pallet shipping can cost you $300-400 depending on location and shipper.
I actually emailed you guys over a week ago about the option of picking up products directly from the warehouse and havent gotten a response, I do appreciate you responding on here though! I actually applied for your guys test pilot program as well. Dont expect that to happen but a man can dream haha.

Id like to order as much as I can through one company only so if i can get in contact with a sales rep over at your warehouse that would be great, I was going to call in next week and place a small order.
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