Carbon Fiber Hoods in 2017

**yurisuika** · 09-11-2017, 02:48 AM

Whoa there, dating the thread already in the title.

So, long story short. Took on some unidentified debris, lost a windshield, had paint gouged on the hood. High-rep collision shop wants $750 for a full respray of hood. Local indy guy never responded. I am not sure how I feel about having a pearl metallic like Cosmos resprayed, especially when it is just one panel. The 200-mile range Craigslist search comes up with plenty of Cosmos cars, but the hoods for sale are always different paints. And a tear falls down my cheek in my mind every time I look at my poor car now. So, that opens up the realm of replacements.

What are the best OEM style carbon fiber hoods these days? That includes the coupe vents, nozzle holes, and latch mounts.

I can get a VIS for $800 or a Seibon for $850. Any input on their weave, gloss, construction, and any other noteworthy aspects? Are there other brands at a competitive range that people actually have? A Google search brings up plenty with various styles, but most I have never come across any form of evidence that anyone has ever actually bought one.

I am not completely sold on the CF look, so if anyone can share their CF on black photos to sell me over I would appreciate it. And on the side while we are at it, has anyone ever resprayed a Cosmos hood alone? How did yours come out? As written above, I am weary of having it done for should it look far out of place. Paint is pretty great overall but I have the nagging feeling it will stand out in a bad way.

Some photos to share for your typographical efforts:

And some □ photos.

**MasterWorks1** · 09-11-2017, 10:16 AM

To be honest, $750 for a repair and repaint on a hood isn't a bad deal as long as they blend the fenders.

I have installed both VIS and Seibon hoods for my customers before and to be honest the quality has been hit or miss. While Seibon fit better than VIS most of the time, it still required some work to get the fitment and gaps on point. I say keep the stock hood and get it repainted, because eventually the CF hood will start to fade and peel either way.

**TH3 Shifty** · 09-11-2017, 02:03 PM

Really nice car, are your corner signals tinted?

**yurisuika** · 09-13-2017, 12:02 AM

Originally Posted by MasterWorks1

To be honest, $750 for a repair and repaint on a hood isn't a bad deal as long as they blend the fenders.

I have installed both VIS and Seibon hoods for my customers before and to be honest the quality has been hit or miss. While Seibon fit better than VIS most of the time, it still required some work to get the fitment and gaps on point. I say keep the stock hood and get it repainted, because eventually the CF hood will start to fade and peel either way.

The shame is that it isn't even dented as far as I can tell, just about a fist area of paint damage. I actually just watched a new video of a black 323i with a Seibon and it did look pretty good. If I were really certain I wanted one or the other, I wouldn't be sitting on the fence for over two months haha.

Originally Posted by TH3 Shifty

Really nice car, are your corner signals tinted?

Thanks, and no they are just Genuine ambers. I actually just had to replace one a few weeks ago from doing a pull. Those DJ Auto tabs are trash.

**AJLM34A** · 09-13-2017, 09:58 AM

A good body shop that specializes in high-end cars should be able to match schwartz III. Where is the damage on the hood? If it is close to a fender, then you will have to have that fender blended with color and both hood and fender cleared. If the damage is not near a fender, hood only. There is so many pearl type of colors used and better ways to match the original color on the car that should not be an issue.

**SyCK** · 09-13-2017, 11:01 AM

FWIW I have a Seibon TS rep hood on my Supra and the fit and finish is pretty spot on. Gaps are pretty much as good as stock and I can only find one spot in the weave where it is off by a tad. I've had it for 10 years or so and I have no yellowing in the clear but I never really leave the car out in the sun for extended periods of time. This is just my experience with it and if I had to choose between those two for my M3 I'd go with the Seibon hood.

**jakermac** · 09-14-2017, 07:28 PM

I have a 5 year old VIS full carbon (special order) on my 93 325is. About 18 months ago I started noticing what appears to be water spots on the hood. They are not water spots and I cannot buff them out. I'm about 99% sure its the clearcoat succumbing to UV. I can either paint it or wrap it (what I'll likely do). The only way to re-clear it would be to sand off the original clearocat right down to the CF and that's sketchy at best.

**bigpuppy** · 09-16-2017, 09:12 AM

I had an MA Shaw GTR hood, the fit and quality were both awesome. I didn't clear it for about three months and it did start to yellow. I then had it cleared and the body shop was able to get most of the yellowing out and I didn't have any issues afterward.
I now have a Varis CF hood and similarly, the quality, fit, and finish are awesome. On this one, I havent cleared it yet due to waiting to paint the enire car. However, I've been using Jet Seal from The Chemical Guys on it and it has held up well for the past two years getting beat on out here in the desert where live.
Your car is clean, BTW.

**yurisuika** · 09-16-2017, 09:27 PM

I was at Racelands in San Diego last night and there was a guy with a Schwarz sedan with a Seibon there. I have to say it looked REALLY nice. Still, I think I prefer the stock paint look so I think I will just end up having my hood painted.

But, I can vouch for the quality of the Seibon, looked very nice fitting and the underside was a very clean black.

Also, I ran off road and over a curb and my LTW splitter is still intact while the left corner splitter crushed. That thing is a tank.

**ben4bama** · 09-17-2017, 07:13 AM

Just respray it man it'll look good. I've got a schwarz metallic sedan with Amber fogs also and dig those amber headlights so how'd those get that way?

**weedshoes** · 09-17-2017, 07:43 PM

Paint the cf hood candy black with cosmos flakes so you can see the weave up close.

**yurisuika** · 11-02-2017, 03:58 AM

Originally Posted by ben4bama

Just respray it man it'll look good. I've got a schwarz metallic sedan with Amber fogs also and dig those amber headlights so how'd those get that way?

Thanks. Originally I was using some of that "golden yellow" JDM type film from eBay, but it wasn't a very strong yellow so I recently had my local ACE Hardware order in an $8 can of Krylon yellow stained-glass spraypaint. One can was enough to do both the fogs and the high beams after even messing up and doing over one or two of the pieces so I just made it down the the end of the can. So if you want to use the Krylon one can is definitely enough if you do it right.

Originally Posted by weedshoes

Paint the cf hood candy black with cosmos flakes so you can see the weave up close.

Yeah I think that is my plan. Get the Seibon on Black Friday and then maybe for Christmas or later have it candy coated.

**RRSperry** · 11-02-2017, 06:14 AM

I was quoted $1400 to do the entire front of the my car. Hood, nose panel, hood, mirrors, blend into fenders. So $750 isn't bad at all.

I wouldn't worry about matching the color. It isn't that hard.

**yurisuika** · 11-02-2017, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by RRSperry

I was quoted $1400 to do the entire front of the my car. Hood, nose panel, hood, mirrors, blend into fenders. So $750 isn't bad at all.

I wouldn't worry about matching the color. It isn't that hard.

Eh, that same place also quoted me about $1400 for just both the hood and nose panel.