Ok, shortly after starting here's the next step.

I started with the fork as it's small and would give me a sense of accomplishment :)

As per the interwebs here I began with 320-400 grit sandpaper both in sheets and sponges.

One of the difficulties I started to discover was actually working out how much clear coat/decal/paint and hopefully not too much carbon that I was taking off. As you'll see in the next post, I never really worked out a way to know for sure.

Anyone vaguely interested in this thread should check out a project by Nick Salazar at TriRig.

http://www.tririg.com/...ty_Cervelo_S5_Review

I think you either love or hate that look. I happen to love it (hence this project). His S5 frameset looks amazing to compared to my fork, but much of that might just be a great clear coat.

Looks like an awesome project. And yes, the clearcoat will make a very nice aesthetic difference when you're done. You can simulate it for a moment by spritzing some water on the frame and wiping smooth with a damp cloth. That will give you an idea of how the clearcoat will help make it shine. This tends to simulate glossy clearcoat, which I prefer anyway.

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TriRig.com

Ok I'm up to the present now here.

I thought I'd also reference this post by BManx, which contains a lot of interesting information.

http://forumdev.slowtwitch.com/...d._P5240199/?page=-1

As I hinted at in my last post. It's quite hard to know when your actually on the carbon sometimes. Mostly it's fairly obvious, but there are a few places, particularly around joints and edges where I can't be certain if it's black paint still, or something more structural.

A good example of this is on the bottom tube near the head tube. The 2009 and 2010 P4s had a small square cutout that was used to help the internal cabling process. For the 2011 model they got rid of it and modified the cabling inserts in the top tube instead. What remains looks like a small patch over this place, plus a bit of bondo (or whatever they use for carbon - I'll just call it bondo). So sanding this down how do I know when I've gone far enough???

In the end I decided enough was enough. So evenly sand all the paint off and not take anything structural is a lofty goal, but in reality I'd rather err on the side of leaving some bits of paint and not compromising the strength of the frame.

I then sanded with progressively finer sandpaper up to 1200 grit and gave the parts a good clean.

Note the carbon has quite a dull appearance. At this point in the project at best it looks like a homeless man's Project Liberty. I'm praying to the gods of Clear Coating to cover up its crappiness.

If anyone is still reading, I'd be interested in their input as to whether or not I have sanded down far enough, or if I should just call it quits here.

Thanks for the tip. It did looks a lot better when I was washing it. And yes, I'm definitely going for the glossy clear coat.

Next step:

I've ordered some black custom P4 decals, and a tiny touch of color. They are in transit currently.

https://www.bicyclestickers.co.uk/...?variant=18359736839
https://www.bicyclestickers.co.uk/...oducts/07045-cervelo

PS, I'm not shilling for any of these companies, I'm putting them in more to try and be helpful.

My intention is to clean the parts, apply the decals and then clear coat the frame.

Looking online the main two ways of clear coating are either by spray can or to buy a spray gun. Internet wisdom seems to indicate that the spray gun is superior, so I'd be looking in that direction (I might see if I can rent/borrow one).

Any recommendations out there for the best clear coat??

I hope the decals come soon as I'm holidaying Friday, so would like to get this part done before, so it can completely and totally harden.

Looks fantastic. I'd say you're good to go.

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TriRig.com

My opinion:
Red ellipse - too far, the banding is individual layers of carbon
Yellow lines - not far enough, black paint
green triangle - too far, through one layer of carbon

Thanks for the input. Interestingly I probably haven't sanded much where the red circle is. Owing to the awkward shape its hard to get in there. I did suspect that those areas where you've marked with yellow lines were indeed still black paint. I've bought some more sandpaper so I might have a gentle look at some of those spots.

What I'm learning too is that some of this also comes down to what parts of the frame are going to be visible. For example, the back of the seat tube and the insides of the chainstays aren't going to be visible with a wheel in there. It's hard to get a photo of the inner chainstay but it looks to me a lot more like the yellow lined areas, and probably still black paint.

Keep in mind, there will likely be some putty used as void fill in some areas that you think are merely paint. And there will be other areas where you think YOU sanded too far (like that upper head tube area) that were actually like that coming out of the factory. This thing got sanded a lot the first time around, so who knows what it looked like before the original coat of paint. Again, my suggestion is to leave it alone and just add that clearcoat. Maybe take it to a paint shop to have them do that step. Because messing up a paint job is annoying to fix.

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TriRig.com

You make a good point.

Most of the internet stuff on sanding carbon involves automotive parts. Which tend to be more simple shapes, like car hoods :). I'll have a good look at the frame again, but perhaps you're right. Plus since the paint is black once a glossy clear coat goes over it'd be nigh on impossible to tell the difference between a bit of black paint and unidirectional carbon weave.

Now the big question is do you guys at TriRig have a pink faceplace for the omega brake? I'm big on pink.

Oh man, this looks great. I had the same plan as you but chickened out and decided to keep it stock. Keep up the great work.

FYI, I found a company in Colorado that would do the sanding and clear cost for 400. Not too bad.

That's not a bad deal considering all the work it takes. Shame I'm on the other side of the world :)

I'd still probably do it myself though. Carbon is such an alien substance, I don't know how other people feel, but it seems like the whole design and manufacturing process requires such amazing software and specialised equipment that it feels very removed from what I can do as an amateur craftsman and bike mechanic. This little project allows me I suppose to build a bit of a bridge between me and this alien carbon praying mantis.

Does anyone have any suggestions for which brand/type of clear coat to use??? Please...

I like Eastwood stuff, good quality products.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Did you use a mask when sanding the carbon?

Thanks, I'll give it a look.

http://www.eastwood.com/...-quarts-15351zp.html

Hmmm, show gloss.

Yes mum, used a N95 respirator. :)

Most of it was wet sanding too, which should decrease the airborne particulates. Plus outside.