Does Carbon Fibre only come in black?

[PlusOneToo]

The reason for the question arises from the V12V bonnet vents which seemingly only comes in black.Having practically any colour you want on the car as long as the vents are black seems a little odd. I would have thought that AM would have been able to colour match with the car colour so they're not so "in your face" IMHO.
After all I remember in the late 80's similar bonnet vents on the Escort Turbo were able to be colour matched so is it cos its CF?
Expanding this, other CF stuff like instrument, gear stick surrounds, wing mirrors, air splitters seems you can have any colour in CF as long as its black. Admittedly naive in this I thought CF was like GRP but using carbon fibre instead of glass fibre as the reinforcing material. Anybody know?

[leerandle]

Carbon itself is black, so without it being painted it will always appear to be black/dark grey. On most cars people want to see that parts are made from carbon, so leave it with just a resin/gloss finish. whereas, some companies use carbon fibre for lightness and then paint afterwards. Its down to personal preference really.

[AMDBSNick]

[telum01]

Yes you can get carbon in different colors. I've seen red, blue, and yellow in person.

[Vee12V]

V12V bonnet vents aren't painted because of heat issues IIRC.

[Composite Guru]

Coloured carbon normally uses coloured polyester for the colour and has carbon woven into it too. So officially you only get a 50% CRFP part.

[jonby]

Vee12V said:

V12V bonnet vents aren't painted because of heat issues IIRC.

well the coloured carbon fibre which is now offered is not quite the same as painting

you are right that historically, they have refused to paint the louvres for those reasons, although I think there is a suspicion that it was in reality more down to them being awkward to paint and then offer warranty on

However I've seen at least one recent Q car with factory painted louvres, on official AML releases

[Manwhoneverwas]

The V12 Vantage bonnet louvres are available in Red Carbon Fibre factory fitted or as an accessory (at a price)
The latest 2015 AM accessories brochure can be found here and they are listed and shown on various pages

http://www.astonmartin.com/accessories/brochure-20...

See also here (the last line of the description mentions Red Carbon Fibre)

http://astonmartinbits.com/models/5-V8-Vantage/par...

Edited by Manwhoneverwas on Tuesday 2nd June 16:07

[AdamV12V]

Loads more pictures here of red CF:

http://www.astonmartin.com/en/accessories/v12-vant...

and here, scroll down and click on the "China Grey Gallery"

http://www.astonmartin.com/cars/the-vantage-range/...

I really wouldn't want to ask the what the cost would be!!!

Edited by AdamV12V on Tuesday 2nd June 16:22

[Manwhoneverwas]

AdamV12V said:

Loads more pictures here of red CF:

http://www.astonmartin.com/en/accessories/v12-vant...

and here, scroll down and click on the "China Grey Gallery"

http://www.astonmartin.com/cars/the-vantage-range/...

I really wouldn't want to ask the what the cost would be!!!

Edited by AdamV12V on Tuesday 2nd June 16:22

The price is here (+VAT and fitting for Red CF)

http://astonmartinbits.com/models/5-V8-Vantage/par...

[Speculatore]

It comes in many colours.

Blue


Green


Pink


Yellow Kevlar


Red


But I went for Black to match the car.

[PlusOneToo]

Thank you everyone. From the Q accessory catalogue it also seems their learning also how to paint these in blue.

Wont be long now before its a mainstream option I guess.

[Guycord]

Vee12V said:

V12V bonnet vents aren't painted because of heat issues IIRC.

I believe you correctly recall mis-information. The louvres can be painted without any detrimental effect.



Someone spouted this up without really thinking about it assuming it was an engineering decision rather than a design/style decision.

Think about it....
Why would the clear coat on a natural CF vent be significantly different to the clear coat that covers the V12V bonnet in the first place?

Why would the paint be an issue as well?

Why are One-77's, DBS's and Vanq II immune?


I think the real answer is style and differentiation - nothing else. If I'm wrong, my louvers have not shown any issue which is more than can be said about quite a few Owners door handles.

[KarlFranz]

There are three options:

1. Painting the part which obscures the weave pattern that so many like.

2. Tinting the resin which gives a translucent finish so you can still see the weave. This is what Aston does through Q.

3. Blending the carbon with other fibers when woven to give the fabric different colors and patterns.

[Murph7355]

jonby said:

well the coloured carbon fibre which is now offered is not quite the same as painting

you are right that historically, they have refused to paint the louvres for those reasons, although I think there is a suspicion that it was in reality more down to them being awkward to paint and then offer warranty on...

It's never seemed to bother them on the rest of the car....

[Little Donkey]

No words are needed.

[divetheworld]

Speculatore said:

It comes in many colours.


But I went for Black to match the car.

[url]

Where did you get the cheeky little carbon cover in between the manifolds?

Edited by divetheworld on Wednesday 3rd June 07:58

[Speculatore]

divetheworld said:

Speculatore said:

It comes in many colours.


But I went for Black to match the car.

[url]

Where did you get the cheeky little carbon cover in between the manifolds?

Edited by divetheworld on Wednesday 3rd June 07:58

That particular one has been dipped and the radiator cover is real Carbon Fibre. I can now get both done in CF using the same weave so it matches (And almost any colour) but I am not allowed to advertise on the Forum.