LazyKidd209

iTrader: (3)

Whats up guys, so long story short, some lady crashed into me at a low speed but did some damage to the rear of my car. My carbon fiber trunk is all scratched up along with a few small cracks but the worst of the damage is along the bottom of the trunk where the latch is. The skeleton and the actual carbon fiber portion basically split but for the most part the trunk is pretty much in tact.

I wanted to see if anyone knows what I can do in terms of repairing the trunk. Is there any way I can apply some kind of adhesive to the two parts, as well as "filling in" some of the cracked areas and then basically reclearing it. I wanna try to restore the trunk to how it was before the accident, if not better. If anyone has any suggestions or experience with a project like this (what materials to use, etc.) that wound be appreciated! I'm also open to body shop referrals but I'd much rather make it a DIY project. TIA!

-Patrick

LazyKidd209

iTrader: (3)

How the.... Stupid iPhone! Admins can you please move this thread for me to the general bay area forum please

DSav408

iTrader: (7)

Well carbon fiber is fibers... Strands. So filling in would likely not be a choice. I'm not even sure how or if you could repair.

LazyKidd209

iTrader: (3)

Well yeah, it's like a film then it's combined with like plastic resin or something like that. Is there anything I can buy like a spray to kinda act as that resin? I wish I had pics to show, these cracks are really small but easy to spot out if you know what youre looking for. Haha I'll do some more homework, otherwise I'll be offering the trunk to be taken off my hands.

PROcede

iTrader: (12)

It's an expensive repair. Only a really good body shop can fix it and even if they do it won't really look the same. It's probably cheaper to buy a new one or just paint over the affected part.

queeg9k

iTrader: (11)

I helped a friend make a carbon splitter for his 67 Camaro. It was a lot like laying fiberglass. I am sure someone who is good at that could help you. Is it still structurally sound? Could you just fill it with bondo and paint it? Or is it unpainted Carbon Fiber that you are trying to match?

LazyKidd209

iTrader: (3)

It's basically still in one piece. My main concern is the inner bottom part of the trunk where the latch is because that's where the skeleton and carbon fiber came apart. I'm not sure who else has a cf trunk and has to do this but whenever I had to open mine I had to just dig my fingers under to pop it up (after pulling the lever inside the car). Now, if I were to install it in it's damaged form, I would have to hold the skeleton, the cf part, and possibly the latch together just to get it open. Eventually all that would just crap on me from the force of closing the trunk.

I'll try to post pics later to give you guys a better idea. Maybe I can try to lay fiberglass on the inside since no one will see it. And then maybe just wrap the outside. What was the name of those guys who do that carbon fiber wrapping? idk, it would be somewhat contradictory to my real cf, but hey it's all just for cosmetics in my case.

nic3krnnamja83

iTrader: (8)

Buy a new one, if the lady hit you, why aren't you talking with insurance, asking us these questions is wasting your time. If she hit you, she can pay you out for a new one or just claim insurance. Unless there is something underlying here, you are asking silly questions. Hence your SN, lazykidd.

OneManArmy

iTrader: (7)

word! insurance ftw.

queeg9k

iTrader: (11)

I just assumed he was going to just pocket the insurance monies and live with a crappy repair job.

LazyKidd209

iTrader: (3)

If that was the case I wouldn't be asking these questions. I'm asking BECAUSE:

1. She declared to be 100% at fault and offered to have all repairs compensated by her insurance company as well as giving me a rental to use during the duration of the repair process. So I didn't have to pay for isht.
2. According to the tech at the body shop, AAA was only willing to fund them for OEM parts (for safety reasons). They were only allowed a certain budget per part I guess. The tech even called me and told me that if I wanted to, he would give me the AAA-issued check of $4xx.00, to buy a new cf trunk myself, but the remainder would have to come out of my own pocket, take it to them, and then they'd install it there. I refused, so they just went ahead and got me a new oem wrb trunk, which is currently on my car. Believe me, they all knew I wanted that seibon trunk replaced. My car sat untouched for four days because the shop and AAA were trying to come to agreement on what trunk was going to be ordered and paid for. All i knew was that AAA was not gonna allow a cf trunk. At that point the situation was out of my hands. At least I was allowed to keep my damaged cf trunk and it's sitting in my garage.

I guess I should have mentioned those key details in the original post. My main reason however for posting this is because I believe I can still use the cf trunk so I want to try to fix it, if possible. And if not, **** it, I'm not really losing anything. All I asked for was a "how-to, if-possible". Situations are handled differently given the circumstances. I really didn't want anything to come out of my pocket even if I would have been reimbursed for it.

And no need to bag on screen names buddy that has nothing to do with anyone's lack of information. But thanks anyways for taking the time to read my post. I didn't think it would generate a little hostility towards another member of lower ranks. I wish you a better day today.

SkizzDawg

iTrader: (7)

If you are trying to keep it looking CF after the repairs, best of luck. It wont be cheap, if you have the skills and tools then you could do it your self, it will take time and again best of luck. if your willing to loose the CF look then treat it like Fiberglass, repair and paint. if the damage is just at the bottom maybe come up with a paint scheme to paint just the repaired area.
Subaru Impreza WRX STI Forums: IWSTI.com - View Single Post - GD: -Four's 06 Wingless CGM - CSK tuned - teardown and cleanup started
this isnt a trunk, its a CF APR lip that someone repaired. Maybe use what they did and apply it to your trunk. They were not able to keep the CF look. If that is what you want to do google google google, or take it to a body shop that can do it.