I have a seibon wet cf trunk aalong with some other misc pieces also wet. Ivve been debating on whether or not to switch to the dry cf look as its becoming more appealing to me. What I was wondering, is what's the difference in the process? And also does dry cf fade like wet cf notoriously does? It would seem if it did there would be no way to fix it whereas wet cf you can just cleaar over it and voila its as good as new. Also is there a considerable weight difference? I would think the gel coat is what actually makes up most of the weight on wet cf pieces.

 

Dry is lighter and probaly less scratching.

 

Wet I think is better if you like the shiny look. The weight really isn't enough difference.

 

Dry is a lot different in price.

 

dry is made by a completely different process. i don't know if you can refinish dry carbon, but the weight difference should be significant.

 

dry looks like a better quality fit and weave with less waves and imperfections

 

All I know is dry carbon looks wayyyy better than wet.

 

Dry carbon is a lot lighter then wet carbon fiber. A lot more expensive also

 

Anyone know the exact differences in the process of making the two? And if. Dry fades or changes in any way over time like the wet? Im not worried about price if I can save more weight, have a better look, and it not fade or change color over time

 

something from gruppe-m that discusses both if you want to read it
http://www.gruppemusa.com/2010/10/carbon-fiber-101/

 

"Wet" carbon fiber is made by taking carbon fabric and applying resin to it in a fashion very similar to how DIYR's make fibreglass parts. Parts made with this process are typically heavier due to the larger amount of resin matrix in the final part.

"Dry" carbon fiber is made with a prepreg (pre-impregnated) carbon material where the resin is already applied to the carbon lattice in a controlled manner. Parts made with this process are lighter and if correctly designed are stronger than their "wet" counterparts due to finer control of resin matrix in the composite.

Both parts need to be autoclaved for full strength. Both types of parts should be protected from UV radiation to maintain full strength. This is more important for structural parts (think load bearing here) than for aero parts (think body panels). UV breaks down the resin in the composite weakening it over time.

This degradation is easier to see in the "wet" carbon parts because of the clear coat/Gel coat on the exterior of the parts.

 

Wet carbon fades easily, isn't that light compared to aluminum pieces (like our hood), the clear coat cracks very easily and is basically junk within 2 years. Dry carbon fiber is the real deal... made with pre-impregnated carbon before being autoclaved, its light weight, and unbelievably expensive.