Carbon fibre clear coat tips question

[Cooper]

Hey guys, I have never painted or cleared carbon hulls before. I have a cf shocker hull. My question is how to prep and paint the epoxied carbon. Do I sand with 400, 600, 1000 then layers of clear? I might place some decals under the clear. I would like To end up with a deep clear look. Lots of clear i know, but just not sure about getting there. And what kind of clear is best? I don't want to have the hatch tape pull off any of the clear. (I know nobody does and had that happen on one of my boats before.). Is automotive paint better? Krylon? Lacquer? Any help and information will be very much appreciated. Thanks guys. I have my build here under Cooper's shocker build#2. I'm thinking of paint on the underside and just clear and decals on topside.

[dana]

Urethane car clear would be best. Yes sand with 800 or 1000 well then paint.

[Cooper]

Urethane car clear would be best. Yes sand with 800 or 1000 well then paint.

Thanks, good to know as I already started to sand the hatch, used 600 for some low spots near the edges but ended with 1000. Should I use alcohol or something to clean before painting, that was the other question I forgot.

[dana]

Yup you can clean with wonder to remove most of the dirt or residue, then rubbing alcohol lightly and paint

[dana]

Windex"

[siberianhusky]

I've had great luck with Dupont Nason Automotive clear coat. Sticks great, tough as nails and can be wet sanded and buffed to that super deep "wet look".
HAVE to use a carbon respirator with this stuff, nasty fumes. You should with any paint IMO.
Very easy to apply and you can re coat in about 5-10 minutes, as soon as it flashes.

[dana]

I've had great luck with Dupont Nason Automotive clear coat. Sticks great, tough as nails and can be wet sanded and buffed to that super deep "wet look".
HAVE to use a carbon respirator with this stuff, nasty fumes. You should with any paint IMO.
Very easy to apply and you can re coat in about 5-10 minutes, as soon as it flashes.

Right you are. You must wear an appropriate respirator. Automotive urethane uses catylist to harden... So it is very bad to breathe in

[Cooper]

What about dupli-color acrylic enamel? What's the difference between acrylic and urethane? Is it polyurethane just short for urethane ? I'm not a paint guy as you can tell, and when I sand down the hull do I have to get every little spot? Like inside corners, I'm talking about the outside of the hull of course. I'm referring to areas 1/8-1/16 or smaller in the corners. They are a pain in the .... To get to. I know if it's easy then usually it's not worth it but just don't know if this is ok to skimp on. And I'm doing the corners well on and around the hatch area as I don't want tape to pull any paint or clear. Thanks for the advise too.

[siberianhusky]

The Polyurethane from a hardware store for finishing floors is not the same at the automotive urethane.
I've used the dupli color lacquer paint with good results, some nice colours for trim. but I clear coat it with the urethane, even without wet sanding and buffing you get that deep wet look, wet sanding and buffing makes it like glass though.
Your call, not sure if you will get the desired results with rattle can clear enamel. I do know it won't be anywhere near as tough and scratch resistant. The auto urethane is just about like a layer of ultra hard super clear epoxy. Never had it peel.
My new rigger will be clear coat only, like the natural wood showing. Plus it will weigh a bit less.