RK Sport Carbon Fiebr Blister Hood

[Snarf77]

Having hung with the Jeeplab crew for some time now, I will also be moving to forced injection as soon as possible for Jesse's Girl, my metalcloak'd 2012 2 door Rubicon. RK sport makes some really nice hoods for the JK that direct a lot of air volume right over where the intake is/will be. Plus, they just look nice. Either way, if I'm going turbo, then it can't hurt to get more air to the right location.

They offer a fiberglass which looks basically like this (clean, minimalist IMHO):

809

Then they have a full carbon setup (too much contrast for me - probably look best with grey/black jeeps):

810

811

Then, what I chose - something in the middle..fiberglass with a carbon fiber blister. Gives me what i feel is a nice mix of paint-match and carbon awesomeness:

812

813

[Snarf77]

So it was ordered, shipped directly to my paint shop. They put it in the queue with their other work and started on it yesterday. Pretty excited..thought I'd share some pictures as they come in.

The first thing they did was dust spray the under-side of the hood. Nothing exciting..just some paint to even out the look of the inside.

Today they sent me some pics of it prepped for paint and primer'd. Looking pretty good - doesn't look like a supremely easy tape job, but these guys know what they are doing.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5192/14412404964_5e3bdf2aff_c.jpg

And the bottom taped up against any over spray.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5474/14226967650_049df592ef_c.jpg


That's all I have for now. I hope to get some pics of it all painted up, before it goes (literally) next door to be vinyl wrapped with xpel like the rest of my jeep. That should keep it looking fresh for a while.

[Snarf77]

Here it is after removing some masking tape for the carbon fiber. The vents are still masked up, but it is certainly looking good! After all the tape comes off, its heading to be wrapped with Xpel film.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5501/14412373446_98a421bed1_c.jpg

[JeepLab]

i cant wait to see if it matches perfect. the dark cherry metallic paint is a PAIN to match.

[Snarf77]

i cant wait to see if it matches perfect. the dark cherry metallic paint is a PAIN to match.

I know that for a fact from my MC fenders. Just a shade off..its growing on me though. This looks more accurate.

[Snarf77]

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2929/14250468289_d9ccf79fd1_c.jpg

Here she is!

[WhiteRavenRR]

Looks good!

[JeepLab]

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2929/14250468289_d9ccf79fd1_c.jpg

Here she is!

I can't wait to see this up close.

I want check out the tape job

[Pznivy]

Ive been following this build a long time.

I cannot wait to see the finished product. Snarf, your plan was sound with the brown and cherry. I was a fan.

Now with the black mixed in, I'm going to have to see the finished product... Guess it will match the tires....

[JeepLab]

Im waiting on this one also. A very rare original build. They are risky....but when they come out good, they are show stoppers.

[Snarf77]

Ive been following this build a long time.

I cannot wait to see the finished product. Snarf, your plan was sound with the brown and cherry. I was a fan.

Now with the black mixed in, I'm going to have to see the finished product... Guess it will match the tires....

Yeah..I'm with ya. BUT..the jeep has SO much black its unavoidable so hopefully it will be enough to stand out, but not look cheesy. The interior is black..the spiderwebshade is black..tires, like you said. I don't want TOO much brown/tan so hopefully it will all come together. We'll soon find out; I hope to pick it up this friday. I feel like this hood will deserve some aftermarket hood hold-downs. Recommendations?

[JeepLab]

I feel like this hood will deserve some aftermarket hood hold-downs. Recommendations?


Betty wears Drake Latches

814

I flipped them around so the wires face backward instead of forward. more streamlined.

[Snarf77]

Betty wears Drake Latches

814

I flipped them around so the wires face backward instead of forward. more streamlined.

I saw those..so clean, so simple. Adjustable. Correct colors. I may have copy you.

[JeepLab]

I saw those..so clean, so simple. Adjustable. Correct colors. I may have copy you.

be my guest,

Its not copying, it just doing it right.

[Rexx19]

I like what snarf is doing here. Here's the issues I see. .02

The hood is beautiful. I especially like the upgrade from one sprayer to 2 as i think snarfs jeep is a 12.

Here's the drawbacks. 1. Its a 1k$ hood right? So your in the hole 1k unpainted, then you bring it to a shop for paint... this is a HUGE risk, even more huge when your talking about a metallic color thats difficult to match like the dark cherry.

When this paint shop messes up, what then? your out the money for the hood, and the paint, and you have a hood you don't want to use.

Is it possible that RK sport would release these hoods painted with real factory paint? So you know it will match perfect when you receive it? I'd pay extra for that.

Just having watched JL's problems with powder coat for BB makes you realize that all shops are not created equal, and he is near NYC. Imagine the problem of finding a good shop in wyoming? RKsport - If you are reading this, consider an option for selling painted hoods. I think quadratec sells AEV hoods matched with paint codes, so I'm pretty sure its possible.

[JeepLab]

I like what snarf is doing here. Here's the issues I see. .02

The hood is beautiful. I especially like the upgrade from one sprayer to 2 as i think snarfs jeep is a 12.

Here's the drawbacks. 1. Its a 1k$ hood right? So your in the hole 1k unpainted, then you bring it to a shop for paint... this is a HUGE risk, even more huge when your talking about a metallic color thats difficult to match like the dark cherry.

When this paint shop messes up, what then? your out the money for the hood, and the paint, and you have a hood you don't want to use.

Is it possible that RK sport would release these hoods painted with real factory paint? So you know it will match perfect when you receive it? I'd pay extra for that.

Just having watched JL's problems with powder coat for BB makes you realize that all shops are not created equal, and he is near NYC. Imagine the problem of finding a good shop in wyoming? RKsport - If you are reading this, consider an option for selling painted hoods. I think quadratec sells AEV hoods matched with paint codes, so I'm pretty sure its possible.


I see the point your making. It dosent matter how good RKsport makes the hood, if your pain shop ruins it. If they could do it all in house, It would be worth a few hundred more.

[WhiteRavenRR]

I understand not wanting to paint them in house. Imagine the headache of having to worry about scratches and dents during shipping. Saves them the hassle of returns. Poison Spyder has the same policy.

[Snarf77]

I understand not wanting to paint them in house. Imagine the headache of having to worry about scratches and dents during shipping. Saves them the hassle of returns. Poison Spyder has the same policy.
You are exactly right. Shipping something painted..one chip = returned item.

My hood WAS painted with factory paint. SO many issued with OEM painting at a shop then shipping. You see..there are 4 or 5 shades of FACTORY deep cherry to contend with. I had to send a part of my jeep to the paint shop so they could aim for the correct shade. You'd have to do the same for RKsport or anything else you want factory painted. I recall learning a few months back that they even have 3 or 4 shades of OEM black for the same paint code...wild.

Hopefully the hood will be close enough in color that when I'm flying by them (on or off road), they wont' have time to notice the minor variation!

[Snarf77]

Drake latches and AEV dual sprayer kit ordered!

[Snarf77]

Drove up to my paint shop and vinyl shop last Thursday morning to install the hood. The paint shop was infinitely better than my last shop. They color matched the hood perfectly..it is indistinguishable from the rest of the jeep. They even textured matched the peel of the clear coat so it looked OEM. They did all this with only a piece of my jeep to match with. Super pleased this go round. Here it is..note the fenders are a slightly lighter shade--but not the hood.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/14521483350_a4e4beb9e9_c.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3837/14708155615_06c9385107_c.jpg

[Snarf77]

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3839/14521560450_46e262e43a_c.jpg

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2908/14521574279_99f25ebcd9_c.jpg

[WhiteRavenRR]

That turned out really sharp.

[Pznivy]

That turned out really sharp.

X2. really matched the wheels to the decals, and it would have looked good if you had gone black on the accents, but leather brown was a risk that paid big dividends.

This is one of my favorite built jeeps. Maybe leather out the intercooler....? (im kidding do not do that)