Originally Posted by
ultraman6970
Looks good but from 400 to 150 grit is not the way to do things, the idea is go from havier grit to lighter grit, when i rear emery cloth I almost...
Well looks good
I went Emory cloth, 150, 400 dry, then 400 wet. That got it pretty smooth with just a few deep spots in places that the emory cut into due to the decals on the rear being right on the carbon/epoxy later. The front wheel had clear, decal, then another clear. So removing/sanding those was pretty easy and the surface is beautiful.
The clear coat filled in any minor scratches still in the rear wheel due to the decal being right on the carbon/epoxy layer the emory cloth left.
Heat, acetone, nor goof-off would get the decals off. I had to use the emory cloth to sand them off right down to the epoxy/carbon layer they were sitting on. But I wasn't getting any black carbon dust ever. Which means I will still on the clear layers and decal and not damaging the carbon. The dust was always white/residue white.
The slight roughness now is due to the clear coat being sprayed and not having 1000 grit since Lowes didn't even carry it. I just used some rubbing compound and removed much of the roughness. Some 1000 grit wet would be nice with a buff afterwards to get it real smooth. But comparing it to a tubular carbon wheel I have, the surface isn't that much rougher, so I'm not so concerned about the additional roughness.
From talking with a few carbon frame repair guys, either my method of just sanding, then heat to remove stickers is what they do. Or some use safe chemicals to remove clear coat/paint that don't go into the epoxy/carbon and won't damage the structure. But either method works. If I did it again, I would prefer a chemical method to remove the clear/decal, then some prep sanding before re-shooting the clear. Sanding is a lot of work, and it has to be done by hand due to the spokes and other delicate parts of the wheel assembled.
Live and learn. Wasn't that bad at all. Just time consuming and my fingers hurt for a few days.
Edit: picked up some 1500 wet from the local auto parts store. Best place to find that stuff in case anybody wants to know. Wet sanded the surface, wiped it down, then waxed the wheels. Smoother than my tubulars from a well known wheel company now...sweet.
Stealth mode is sweet. Next time, just buy wheels I can remove the decals off of easily, or that come with no decals.