Waxing Carbon Fibre ?

Can anyone tell me what is the best maintenance for carbon fibre trim?
I would guess that for interior CF trim, a damp cloth would be fine but
what about for exterior CF trim like the 430 rear challenge grill?

I know someone who has just taken delivery of a Pagini Zonda F and the
entire car is in CF. Yes, the entire car is panelled in carbon fibre! Was
wondering if waxing it is okay or even needed but I am sure the finish
would dull if it wasnt waxed or polished. Any thoughts? Cheers..

 

The part of CF that is shiny on your challenge grill is a resin base coating, not much different than the finish of a modern boat. You should treat it like the rest of the exterior and wax it.

 

So its ok to wax the resin coat on CF..thanks.

 

I like this stuff for brightening up various trim:
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I think something with UV protection is important. Otherwise the resin will dull over time. Look at some of the old Carbon Fiber on race cars and motorcycles. Very dull look. Covers will help of course.

 

I have a MV Agusta and all the body panels are carbon, some painted some clear coated have been using regular car wax on the stuff for a couple of years hasn't hurt anything. I wouldn't have expected it to for that matter either. You should be fine with waxing as you would any other finish on a car.

 

I tend to just claybar the CF area.
It's been fine for me so far.
Is that OK to do? Or will it end up stripping my resin coat or something?

 

The way I understood, the bare carbon fiber Zonda F still has many layers of clear coat paint on it... so you can wash it like a normal painted car.

Any pics of it?

 

If it's clear-coated with normal automotive clear coat like the Zonda undoubtedly is (and the parts we make are), then treat it just like the outside of your car, because it's just clear paint with carbon fiber instead of colored base coat underneath.

If it's just raw carbon fiber, there's probably nothing you can do except wipe it off every once in a while and keep it covered. Like the race parts someone mentioned, the surface will probably fade as it hasn't been protected properly.

If it's some type of resin gel-coat, wax might work - check with the manufacturer.