PPF on carbon roof

[Epoustouflant]

100% always PPF a carbon roof. The clear coat needs to have cured. These roofs are probably all made to order so consider the timeframe from production to PPF application to avoid solvent evaporations messing up the clear coat, and PPF adherence.

Repairs can be done on flaking clear - but a rock chipped carbon weave cannot be repaired. On a recent E92 M3 I helped to sell, we corrected the flaking roof using black touch up to hide the chips.

See below.

[L0okitzRaj]

Is it better to seal the epoxy surface with protection (ie. ceramic coat) first before PPF?

No, the ppf won’t stick and would have a better chance of lifting/pealing. Can be done afterwards, however.

[jet_dogg]

I'm speaking from my own experience here, so take it with a grain of salt. I had a carbon roof installed on my car, and when I did it, I had it clear coated with additional clear as Karbonius said they recommended that. After 1 summer in the Florida heat, the roof started developing small hairline cracks in the resin, I could feel them with my finger tips.

Karbonius replaced the roof under warranty - they claimed it was because early roofs had too thick of a resin and they've seen it where it would crack in the heat. However, I think this go around, I will be going the extra safe route and applying PPF to it. The PPF is much thicker than clear coat and has all the UV properties that you'd want in a clear coat with additional protection.

I think the early roof resins being too thick paired with the intense Florida heat caused mine to start doing weird things, but I think you're just gonna be better off PPF'ing it and replacing the film as it ages. EXPEL Film is recommended and lasts a long time. There's also no real concern of it peeling material up if it's installed at a good shop.

Easy, don't park outside.

And lol'e'd @ throwing things on the roof.

[usdmej]

Is it better to seal the epoxy surface with protection (ie. ceramic coat) first before PPF?

wraps and ppf go on after paint correction steps (polishing) and before any protection steps (wax, coatings) are added


the waxes and coatings on top are purely for cosmetic purposes as wraps/ppf will physically protect your paint way better than any coating will

[AWE46M3]

Hmm I guess they call it a UV protective high gloss varnish or lacquer rather than clear coat depending where you look. Sounds a little less confidence inspiring re: peeling away on removal. I’ll reach out to them, they’re pretty good about answering stuff like this.

Hey Op - sorry bump this 2 year old thread 😅. Wanted to see if you ended up PPFing your Karb roof. Mine is being installed currently and I am planning to PPF and wanted to see how your roof is holding up based on the route you went.

[repoman89]

Hey Op - sorry bump this 2 year old thread 😅. Wanted to see if you ended up PPFing your Karb roof. Mine is being installed currently and I am planning to PPF and wanted to see how your roof is holding up based on the route you went.

Yeah, I did get it covered. I’m glad I did if only because I don’t feel like I have to worry about it baking in the sun or getting scratched when I wash the car. Not as easy to repair as paint on metal. Can’t remember if I ever reached out to Karb

[AWE46M3]

Yeah, I did get it covered. I’m glad I did if only because I don’t feel like I have to worry about it baking in the sun or getting scratched when I wash the car. Not as easy to repair as paint on metal. Can’t remember if I ever reached out to Karb

Copy that. My local PPF installer uses Suntek - I've heard good things about their films but know Xpel is the titan of industry when its comes to PPF film. Which did you end up installing? Is the roof yellowing at all or is the PPF doing a good job of blocking the UV rays?

[repoman89]

Copy that. My local PPF installer uses Suntek - I've heard good things about their films but know Xpel is the titan of industry when its comes to PPF film. Which did you end up installing? Is the roof yellowing at all or is the PPF doing a good job of blocking the UV rays?

I went with Xpel — ppf installers are everywhere here so I had my choice of films. I’ve had xpel on the front of the car for 7-8 years or so and it’s holding up great. No yellowing of the roof just yet but it’d be crazy if it was even without ppf. Only been a year or so and the car doesn’t spend a lot of time outside.