Carbon roof peeling off

[LandonLiftz]

So like the title says I was washing my car, and I’ve always noticed these blotchy sun damage spots that were on there from when I bought the car but wasn’t too big of a deal, well I was spraying the roof of my car and one filling up with water and exploded. I talked to my body shop guy and was quoted 1k to re do the carbon roof making it new again. Although I noticed it looks like the carbon is fine it’s just a coating on top like a protectant that broke I attached a picture I’m wondering if I can just peel it all off so I don’t have holes in my roof as seen in the picture?

[RickFLM4]

I have seen a thread or two about clearcoat failures on the CF roof. I’d get it repaired soon somewhere that knows what they are doing and then consider PPF over the clearcoat. Sorry to see and good luck.

[NWH83]

You can't just peel it off, as that's the gel coat. It's UV/heat damage on the roof seeing that it's turned to a yellowish hue. You can also see clear coat failure/blistering on your roof trim, as well as the paint below it. Could just be the pics, but that's what it looks like. You may want to get all of that fixed asap, it will probably save you from a more extensive repair (respray) in the future.

[Brandoch]

It's been happening to the E92 M3s for a while now. There has been a few DIY posts about too.

[Yuille36]

Looking at your CF Roof, I do feel that you will need to have the roof wet sanded down to remove the gel coat, then resprayed with a clear coat that contains UV additives. Then, I would have it PPF wrapped to protect it even further. I've already looked in to having mine PPF, just need to schedule it.

[hC1001]

Was the car baking in the sun before you started washing it? Looks like the coating is melting off... Never seen that type of failure but it is similar to delamination from the CF.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by hC1001

Was the car baking in the sun before you started washing it? Looks like the coating is melting off... Never seen that type of failure but it is similar to delamination from the CF.

The gel coat failed due to UV exposure and then it separated from the CF. I suppose it’s similar to delamination of CF layers/plies with is a local failure of plies in the CF. Ultrasound is a great way to find delamination of internal plies.

OP - your gel coat needs to be fully removed, CF prep’ed and then a gel coat applied with a layer or two of clear coat. Cost to properly repair the entire roof should be in the $2-3k range from a reputable body shop with experience properly repairing a CF roof.

[hC1001]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

The gel coat failed due to UV exposure and then it separated from the CF. I suppose it’s similar to delamination of CF layers/plies with is a local failure of plies in the CF. Ultrasound is a great way to find delamination of internal plies.

OP - your gel coat needs to be fully removed, CF prep’ed and then a gel coat applied with a layer or two of clear coat. Cost to properly repair the entire roof should be in the $2-3k range from a reputable body shop with experience properly repairing a CF roof.

No question the gel coat failed but the OP said "I was spraying the roof of my car and one filling up with water and exploded."

Normally we see delamination and the resin coat sorta sheds away from the CF. This looks like the roof was hot from the sun and he pressure washed it and a bubble formed and exploded...

The pics make it look like you can stretch the gel coat like taffy. Just confirming if he washed his car while the roof was hot from the sun...

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by hC1001

No question the gel coat failed but the OP said "I was spraying the roof of my car and one filling up with water and exploded."

Normally we see delamination and the resin coat sorta sheds away from the CF. This looks like the roof was hot from the sun and he pressure washed it and a bubble formed and exploded...

The pics make it look like you can stretch the gel coat like taffy. Just confirming if he washed his car while the roof was hot from the sun...

Somehow I missed the explosion part

The gel coat has a coefficient of moisture expansion (CME) so the water got between the gel coat and CF and as it tried to expand due to the absorbed moisture, it created enough pressure to cause the gel coat to fail/“explode”. CF also has a CME so this should be repaired ASAP otherwise moisture will be trapped in the CF resin system and could potentially result in a delamination between plies of the CF roof (could be internal so you can’t see the delamination with your eyes).