Replacing My Car's Roof with Carbon Fiber & Full Exterior Assembly

Preparing the Car for Roof Replacement

• ⚠️ Masking the car is crucial to protect the fresh paint from grinding dust during the roof removal process, as paint is still curing for 30-90 days.
• 🩹 Automotive refinishing tape is recommended for masking to prevent damage to the freshly sprayed paint due to its lower adhesion.
• 🧼 Before removing the roof, the interior needs to be removed, addressing issues like cat urine odor and animal hair.

Removing the Stock Roof

• 🛠️ The process involves removing windshield urethane around the roofline to access and drill out spot welds.
• ⚙️ A spot weld cutter is used to carefully detach the roof from the car's body, ensuring not to cut through multiple layers of metal.
• 💨 After drilling out the final spot weld, the old roof is peeled off the car.

Installing the Carbon Fiber Roof

• ✨ A dry carbon fiber roof from Saibon is prepared for installation, requiring a UV-resistant clear coat for protection and a better finish.
• 💨 The new roof is wet sanded and polished to achieve a glossy appearance, with efforts made to correct minor imperfections like air hose marks.
• 🔗 The backside of the carbon fiber roof is sanded to ensure proper adhesion of the panel bond used for installation.
• 🔩 The roof is secured overnight using clamps and a sandbag to allow the panel bond to cure properly.

Exterior Assembly and Finishing Touches

• 🚪 Hanging the doors requires careful adjustment of hinges to ensure proper alignment and gaps with the freshly painted fenders.
• 🎨 Fenders with fish eyes (blemishes in the paint) are addressed through wet sanding, compounding, and polishing, with a potential need for respraying.
• 🗜️ Wet sanding with high-grit sandpaper (1500, 2000) is performed to remove clear coat imperfections, followed by compounding and polishing to restore shine.
• 💨 Runs in the clear coat are tackled using a specialized tool or a razor blade, with careful attention to avoid cutting through to the primer.
• 🚀 A Saibon carbon fiber trunk is acquired and prepared, involving wet sanding and clear coating to match the new roof.
• 🚗 The front splitter bumper is mounted using rib nuts, and the rear windshield is installed to check alignment for the front windshield.
• 💡 Panel bonding is applied to the bare metal of the car's body and the roof's backside, ensuring a strong and protected bond.
• 🌟 The car, an FRS, is nearing completion with the installation of the hood, doors, side skirts, bumpers, and glass, transforming it into a "banana car" for its debut at the Peterson Car Museum.