Exposed carbon fiber R wheels.....possible?

[pocketAA]

I was just wondering this the other day while cleaning the brake dust off of the R rims. Would it be possible to have someone remove the finish from the rims so that they would just be exposed carbon fiber? Anyone know of a company that might have done this? Is it even possible?

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[MikeR397]

I’m doubting that would go well. The paint is designed to withstand very high temps and be resilient, not sure how you would get off without damaging the carbon.

 

[Wildcardfox]

I was just wondering this the other day while cleaning the brake dust off of the R rims. Would it be possible to have someone remove the finish from the rims so that they would just be exposed carbon fiber? Anyone know of a company that might have done this? Is it even possible?

I’m a composites expert, sanding the paint off of carbon is easy. It does not fray like other materials like Kevlar. So yes, you could have a body shop sand off the paint and then re-clear the rims.

A person could go too deep by being too aggressive in the sanding, which will start to cut away the fabric, which will harm the finish because it will look more smudged than perfect fabric.

Also I should note that sanding carbon creates hazardous dust that is extremely dangerous, so a full respirator should be used to not breath it in. It also is itchy, so cover up and try not to get it on your skin if you attempt.

But a durable clear that protected against UV degradation could provide adequate protection. As long as a good painter approached the task, proper prep was used, and a competent clear coat was used, they could be converted to clear carbon rims where the weave can be seen—although some areas would be hard to remove the carbon like around the lug nut provisions.

I myself just had two spare rims refinished and painted and you can see the carbon weave in some areas. Before they were repainted black and cleared.

 

[pocketAA]

Thanks for the response. I definitely wouldn’t attempt it but i think the R rims would look great with the exposed weave.

I was more wondering if anyone has done this yet or knew of a company that knew how to do it.

 

[Wildcardfox]

Thanks for the response. I definitely wouldn’t attempt it but i think the R rims would look great with the exposed weave.

I was more wondering if anyone has done this yet or knew of a company that knew how to do it.

No problem. Any good body shop/painter could do it.

I got to spend a lot of time with the 500, and have it next to my car for multiple days for an event that I was covering. I got to look at the black painted parts on my car versus the clear carbon on the 500, and for me—I like the painted parts better, but that is preference.

 

[rush0024]

Just curious if any R owner has removed the paint from their OEM carbon wheels and spoiler?

If so I would love to see some pictures and hear more about that process/costs.

 

[Hack]

I would assume that the exposed weave wouldn't look very good. Since there wasn't originally a plan to have it exposed there would be no need to align the weave with the wheel spokes or to make nice transitions between the spokes and barrel.

 

[galaxy]

Hopefully someone will chime in or just continue searching because this has been done a few very successful times on here.

 

[Hennessey"R"]

I saw this on the GT350 forum . He said he did it with a bead blaster !

i also saw this , I wonder what they charge!
https://mustangfanclub.com/exposed-carbon-fiber-gt350r-wheels-carbon-signature/

 

[mavisky]

There was a shop local to me who did a set a couple years back but in 2020 they closed down and never returned. Definitely can be done, they hand sanded it down, then re-cleared over top.

 

[Tomster]

There was a shop local to me who did a set a couple years back but in 2020 they closed down and never returned. Definitely can be done, they hand sanded it down, then re-cleared over top.

That's all that would have to be done. I don't know if CR had a UV resistant epoxy for the R wheels. They were not manufactured to be exposed, but instead painted. The other issue is that they didn't build the wheels with any concern to the CF weave. You strip the paint off and may find a perfect weave pattern, or it might be all buggered up. Kinda like the story with the CFHP wheels.

I wouldnt do it.....

 

[TonyNJ]

That's all that would have to be done. I don't know if CR had a UV resistant epoxy for the R wheels. They were not manufactured to be exposed, but instead painted. The other issue is that they didn't build the wheels with any concern to the CF weave. You strip the paint off and may find a perfect weave pattern, or it might be all buggered up. Kinda like the story with the CFHP wheels.

I wouldnt do it.....

I appreciate this insight. As I was reading through this thread, I was starting to consider doing this to the set I'm sitting on. You make a strong valid points and brought me back to reality.

Post #9 had me going for it.

 

[aggarcia70]

One of the local club members had his 350R wheels stripped and then cleared. They came out beautiful. You would never known they had paint covering that carbon fiber weave.

 

[MandoGt350R]

Man that would look good on these R's. Question is can I trust my paint shop to attempt this.

 

[MandoGt350R]

One of the local club members had his 350R wheels stripped and then cleared. They came out beautiful. You would never known they had paint covering that carbon fiber weave.

Do you know which local paint shop did the work on the wheels?

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