Applying CF

Hey everyone, I am plannin' to use CF on the hood of my kit. You can view it through the link in my signature. This is my first time attempting to use it. I was discussing this with blueboost and i was wondering what methods are there to applying CF to a hood such as mine with a big vent in the middle

Look Here (http://briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial.asp?TutorialID=29&CurPage=1)

Or you could just visit the 'How to' section right here on AF.....the same tutorial is in that section.

i think this is a little different guys... he wants to know how to go about doing it with that huge ass vent in the middle, not so easy as making a template and applying methinks... although i havent embarked myself on such a project yet, so i wouldn't know

It will be hell of the job to put the CF around that hole in the hood, I think that you will have to make two decals one for the raised part of the vent and the other one for the rest of the hood. Just be sure to cut out that hole in the middle because if you try to cut it affter application you might destroy it.

With my 350z, which has a similar hood, I opted to apply the CF decal as one piece. Lay down the decal and smooth it as best you can, around the sloping edges of the intake will be the most tricky, plenty of patience and decal solvent will help. Ignore doing too much to the decal within the area of the lip of the intake, let the decal dry for a little while then cut carefully with a brand new blade around the edge of the lip. The decal will drop down inside the lip, apply more solvent where necessary and it should conform to all the curves. You could apply more small bits of decal to the interior walls of the lip too if you wish. Its also a good idea to paint your hood, gloss or satin black before hand so that any gaps are less obvious when complete - remember that decals won't stick so well to matt paint.

LOT of microsol and lot of patience. making a perfect hood can take you near 1 hours of full work.. over time, the decal will come very soft and will finally fit on the hood perfectly. there is no real trick beside the tutorial posted here and patience

I've read in the tutorial that there are two components for appling the decal:
decal setting solution and decal solvent.
But when I went to LHS yesterday, they just gave me one bottle of Microsol and that's it!
Was I hosed of Microsol would do both jobs?

Thanks
Paul

I use only Microsol, it will do the job

Thanks Chris. Really helpfull story you got there. I'll apply CF on the hoods of my next to projects. I had the same problem with the hood. This method seems to be the best I ever heard :D

Its also a good idea to paint your hood, gloss or satin black before hand so that any gaps are less obvious when complete - remember that decals won't stick so well to matt paint.

I've discovered that semi-gloss (satin) surfaces make it extremely difficult to apply decals, especially these large ones like Cf. I used Tamiya semi-gloss over gloss since I had a ton of it, and it made it very difficult to move the decals around, the semi-gloss had too much tooth. I would suggest to be sure to use gloss black, it will facilitate your work.

wow...thanxs for all of those tips guys. Im going to attempt this task later on. Check my progress thread for the pics.

try to lay down a nice big piece over the main part of the hood, maybe cut a slit in the decal to allow the vent through. Use additional pieces of CF decals to cover the vent and areas in the tight corners. In the long run, Its going to be impossible to lay one big sheet of CF down on your hood and get it perfect. I'd try to figure out a way to use a second piece for the center and be very careful about lining up the pattern. If you line it up correctly you won't see the additional piece. remember, lots of microsol and you can even hit that bad boy with a hairdryer to get the decal to "tighten up" and smooth out. Afterwords, you can always clearcoat if you wish. I usually don't myself, even if i've used additional CF to patch a spot or two, if you do it correctly you won't see it. If you do choose to clearcoat, remember to make the first couple of coats light (mist) so you don't eat the decals up.

Sorry so late, good luck!