Ditched the matte black hood wrap on my 1LE!
 

...and much happier!

I just wasn't feeling the OEM matte black vinyl wrap on the hood of the ZL1 1LE, as it didn't match all of the other blacks on the car. I think they should have gone with a satin vinyl wrap that matched the rockers.

We ripped it off, disassembled the hood, then polished out the carbon fiber because they (all) have a lot of sanding marks, swirls, haze, etc. Then I coated the carbon fiber, and wrapped the hood (and the rest of the car) in STEK paint protection film for the ultimate in clarity.

All of the details will come out in the future videos (performance mod video to be released within the next 24-48 hours), but you can clearly see that I added Forgeline wheels, Michelin 4S tires, tinted windows, etc.

Everybody who has seen this car before and after prefers the look without the matte black hood.

https://i.imgur.com/vH0TpBe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YQI9ZP5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7T7FCxI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/i5mnB25.jpg?1

And for the obligatory artsy shot...

https://i.imgur.com/PzGVAKI.jpg?1

well done!

I like it. That looks great!

I have been considering this as well. I like it.

Do the Forgelines match OEM offsets? Or did you have to use spacers?

Looking forward to your new videos.

The flat black didnt last too long on my car.
I just had it swapped out with a satin wrap a couple weeks ago.
I agree - definately looks better with the satin.

Looks awesome! :thumbsup:Got a glimpse of it this morning when I dropped off my 1LE.

Now what Todd? I was looking forward to you guys showing us the right way to maintain the matte hood! Car looks great btw...

Thank you!

Thanks!

Thanks! The wheels are OEM-spec in terms of size and offset.

I may run satin at some point...figured I would go with the stripped-down look for a while!

Thanks, and sorry I missed you when you stopped by! Hopefully I'll get a chance to chat with you when you pick it up.

This IS the best way to maintain it! :)

We added Suntek over the top of the matte hood, it gave it a deeper black satin look...much better.
Just a heads up.

Yes, we've done that to some 1LE hoods too, and it does look better. It still doesn't match the rest of the black trim on the car though.

Great looking ride!

What was your process for polishing the carbon fiber? Can it be treated just like standard clear coat?

Than manual say not to "wax" it so that has me concerned that it needs to be treated differently and like you said it needs some polishing.

Thank you.

Yes, you treat it just like paint because it's clearcoated. Like I said, every single carbon fiber insert looks "less than good". I have yet to see any carbon fiber from any manufacturer that can't be improved upon...OEM or aftermarket.

I did a multi-stage polishing process that really brought out the clarity and detail in the carbon fiber. As you can see from the before / after photos below, clarity was improved significantly. Now you can clearly see all of the individual strands.

"Before" condition: sanding marks, buffer trails, haziness.

https://i.imgur.com/c9McTwT.jpg

"After" condition.

https://i.imgur.com/V8IfeTr.jpg

Clarity!

https://i.imgur.com/IckGv6v.jpg

Reflectivity and depth (Before applying any coating)

https://i.imgur.com/ujREICt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0gQP76S.jpg

The Red 1LE is much more beautiful without that matte wrap!!!

Thinking of doing the same with my future Black 1LE.

Here's their performance upgrade video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-KaODPI_oc