# How to matte out glossy carbon?



## bdundee (Feb 4, 2008)

Sorry in advance I know this is probably not the right spot but I'm sure some of you have dealt with carbon before. What I am looking at doing is taking the gloss off of a Ritchey WCS seatpost and making it flat. Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.....bOb


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## brent878 (Apr 17, 2007)

What about something like 2000 grit sand paper? If you scuff it up it would give it a matte finish. Or painting it with a matte clear.


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

Lightly sand the clear coat with fine grit sandpaper and water. Don't don't sand through the clear coat. Be conservative with the sanding, just take the shine off.


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## Joe Nation (May 16, 2007)

Only trouble with abrasives is that you have to be very careful with how you rub, or else it'll look rubbish. I suggest either small swirls (if it's an aero/oddly shaped frame), or straight along the tubes (if it's straight round tubes). If you use a fine enough grit, at least 2000 if not 4000 you might avoid major swirl marks.

A better bet IMHO would be either a matte clear coat or some kind of chemical etching process. Of course the latter could do untold damage to the carbon fiber lay-up, so best avoid it unless you can guarantee it won't kill the frame (talk to the manufacturer or find an already-dead frame and test it).

Needless to say anything you do will likely void the warranty.


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## TrailMaker (Sep 16, 2007)

Oh Brother...

Keep it simple. Anything you spray it with will not dull the shine, only cover it. When that wears off, it will shine again, and it may slip in the tube with that coating on it besides. ANYTHING that you rub it with that is abrasive will dull the shine. Leave it alone and put it in use and it will dull over time. Paper toweling will scratch your plastic glasses, and will dull the post if you rub long enough. Newspaper is surprisingly abrasive under some circumstances. it's AWESOME for cleaning glass. Some scouring powder and water will dull that clear coat. Grab a handful of dust off the ground and you can dull it.

Point being, don't over think it. I'd use a worn out piece of scuff pad or whatever grit wet paper myself. Whatever was on top in the used scrap bin. You may not have that, so grab some scouring powder, pumice laden hand cleaner, sand, )) steel wool, or dirt off the road, and give it a light rub. Repeat until happy. Done!


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## crazy8 (Apr 21, 2009)

Scotch-Brite pads, don't have to worry about going through the clear coat. 1st try the grey (fine), if that doesn't dull it enough use maroon (med), next is green.



bdundee said:


> Sorry in advance I know this is probably not the right spot but I'm sure some of you have dealt with carbon before. What I am looking at doing is taking the gloss off of a Ritchey WCS seatpost and making it flat. Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks.....bOb


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## Yogii (Jun 5, 2008)

Scotch-brite or just leave in the sun...


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## atomicmanatee (Sep 1, 2012)

+1 to the scotch-brite. through years of modifying/building guitars with poly finishes i've found scotch-brite to leave less pattern on the finish.


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## eriklanden (Sep 1, 2013)

atomicmanatee said:


> +1 to the scotch-brite. through years of modifying/building guitars with poly finishes i've found scotch-brite to leave less pattern on the finish.


I want to sand my WCS-post also, where can I buy scotch-brite?


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