Carbon Fiber Kevlar Cloth Colors: Which Colorway Survives Clear Coat

Boat Suppliers

26 October 2026

Carbon fiber Kevlar cloth comes in one weight class and five looks: yellow aramid in a 4.8 oz/yd² (163 g/m²) plain weave, blue, yellow, orange or red aramid in a 5.5 oz/yd² (186 g/m²) 2x2 twill, and yellow in a 5.8 oz/yd² (197 g/m²) dual twill. Mechanically the four twills are the same cloth. What changes is how the colorway reads wet, how it shifts in sunlight, and how much clear you need over it before you can sand without touching the aramid. If the part is going to be seen, pick the color for how it will look in a year, not on the roll.

The colorways, dry and wet

Every hybrid darkens when the epoxy goes on, because the resin fills the air between the yarns and the aramid stops scattering light. Judge the finished color from a wetted sample, never from the dry roll. A quick test: brush mixed epoxy on a 2 in (50 mm) offcut, wait an hour, and look at it under the light the part will live in.

Cloth	Weave	Dry look	Wet, under clear	UV shift without a top coat
4.8 oz yellow/black plain	Plain 1x1	Bright yellow and black, tight checker	Deep gold and black	Yellow goes toward tan, then brown
5.5 oz black/yellow twill	2x2 twill	Yellow and black diagonal	Gold and black	Same as plain, slightly slower
5.5 oz black/blue twill	2x2 twill	Royal blue and black	Navy and black	Blue dulls, least visible shift
5.5 oz black/red twill	2x2 twill	Bright red and black	Deep wine red and black	Red fades toward rust
5.5 oz black/orange twill	2x2 twill	Orange and black	Burnt orange and black	Orange fades toward tan
5.8 oz black/yellow dual twill	2x2 dual twill	Yellow and black, doubled repeat	Gold and black, deep 3D read	Same as yellow twill

The blue is the safest colorway on a part that lives outdoors, because a dulled navy still reads as navy. Yellow is the classic and the most obvious when it starts to brown. Red and orange shift the most on an unprotected part and are the ones we push hardest to clear coat properly.

Why it fades and what stops it

Aramid is not UV stable. Left in sun it darkens from the surface in, and epoxy on its own does not stop that; epoxy ambers under UV too and takes the aramid with it. Carbon does not fade but it chalks. The fix is the same for every colorway: two or three clear epoxy build coats over the cured ply so you have resin to sand, then a UV-stabilized clear on top. A 2K automotive urethane clear is the standard on parts that see daily sun. A UV-inhibited epoxy such as West System 207 slows the shift for indoor and covered parts but is not a substitute for a top coat outdoors.

We skinned a center console dash in the black/red twill three summers ago and clear coated only half of it with 2K urethane as a test, the other half left as sanded 207. The urethane side is still wine red. The bare epoxy side went rust brown in one Florida season and had to be re-skinned. Two coats of clear at build is cheaper than that.

Matching color across panels

Three things make two panels from the same cloth look different. Dye lot: aramid color varies slightly roll to roll, most visibly on blue and red, so cut every panel of one job from the same cut or roll. Twill direction: a 2x2 twill has a diagonal, and if one panel is cut with the diagonal running up-left and the next up-right, they will not match side by side; mark the warp direction on the back of every pattern and keep it consistent. Resin thickness: a thicker build of clear reads darker, so put the same number of coats on every panel and sand them to the same finish.

Wet-out shows too. Aramid does not go transparent like glass, so a resin-starved crossing shows as a pale fleck in the color and it does not clear with more resin on top. Wet each ply from above until the carbon tow is glossy and no white shows at the aramid crossings, squeegee the excess, and do not roll with a hard ribbed roller; it pulls fuzz up through the color.

Plain, twill or dual twill for the look

The plain weave gives the tightest, most regular checkerboard and holds it square through cutting, so it is the choice for a flat panel where the pattern has to run dead straight. The 2x2 twill reads as a diagonal rib and follows a curve the plain weave would bridge, so it is the choice for a fairing, a hull or a helmet-shaped part. The dual twill doubles the pattern repeat so the yellow and black separate into larger blocks; under two coats of clear it reads deeper than a standard twill and is the one to put on the face of a part people will lean over.

Finishing schedule for a show face

Lay the hybrid ply in laminating epoxy, wet on wet with the first clear coat in the same session, then two more clear coats over the next two days without sanding between them while each is still tacky. West System 207 is 3:1 by volume with 22 to 27 minutes of pot life at 72°F (22°C) and sands at 24 hours; check the TDS if you run another system. Block sand the resin only, 220 through 600 wet, keeping the block flat. If any pale fiber shows, stop and add a build coat. Wipe, tack, and spray or brush the UV clear. Nitrile gloves, eye protection and a fitted P100 with organic vapor cartridges for mixing, sanding and spraying.

Which carbon fiber Kevlar cloth colorway to buy

For an outdoor part where the shift matters least, the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Blue) 1st Quality. For the classic look, the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Yellow) 1st Quality, or the 5.8oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Dual Twill Weave (Black/Yellow) 1st Quality when you want the deeper read on a show face. For the red or orange, the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Red) 1st Quality and the 5.5oz Carbon/Kevlar Hybrid Fabric 2x2 Twill Weave (Black/Orange), with a 2K clear on top, no exceptions. For a flat panel that has to stay perfectly square, the 4.8oz Plain Weave Carbon/Kevlar Fabric, Yellow/Black Hybrid Cloth. All of them come as 1, 3 and 10 yard cuts and a 100 yard roll; buy a 1 yard cut of any colorway you have not seen wet before you commit to a hull.

Frequently asked questions

Does carbon Kevlar cloth fade in the sun?

Yes. The aramid half darkens under UV, from yellow toward brown, red toward rust, orange toward tan, and blue toward a duller navy, and bare epoxy does not stop it. Put a UV-stabilized clear over the cured epoxy on every outdoor part, a 2K urethane on anything in daily sun. Two coats at build is cheaper than re-skinning the part in a year.

Which carbon Kevlar color holds up best outdoors?

Blue. A dulled navy still reads as navy, where a browned yellow or a rusted red reads as damage. If the part will be in sun every day and you cannot guarantee a proper top coat, buy the 5.5 oz black/blue twill. With a 2K clear over two epoxy build coats, all five colorways hold for years.

Why does my carbon Kevlar look darker after epoxy?

Because that is what it does. Dry aramid scatters light between the yarns; resin fills those gaps and the color deepens, yellow to gold, red to wine, blue to navy. It is not a defect and it does not reverse. Wet a 2 in (50 mm) offcut with mixed epoxy and judge the color from that, not from the roll.

Why do two panels of the same hybrid cloth not match?

Usually the twill diagonal. A 2x2 twill has a direction, and a panel cut with the rib running the other way looks like a different cloth beside its neighbor. Mark the warp on every pattern and keep it consistent. The other causes are dye lot (cut all panels from one roll) and clear thickness (same number of coats on every panel, sanded to the same grit).

How many clear coats over carbon Kevlar before sanding?

Two minimum, three if the part will be polished. Each coat of West System 207 or a similar clear epoxy needs 24 hours at 72°F (22°C) before it will sand, and you sand the resin only; aramid fuzzes at the first pass and will not clear back. Sand 220 through 600 wet on a flat block, then top with a UV clear.