In this paper we show that current abrasion surface preparation practices do not perform equally on all composite surfaces. The effect of abrasion on the adhesive bond strength of various carbon fiber (CF) composites was investigated. Cyanate ester composites were fabricated using a low, a high and an ultra high modulus carbon fiber (T300, M55J, K13C2U). XPS and contact angle measurements showed that the surface energy of all three composites increased due to the removal of contaminants as well as increased in surface roughness. However, the lap shear strength degraded sharply for a number of cases, irrespective of roughness, depending on the fiber used. Composites utilizing lower modulus carbon fibers increased in adhesive bond strength following abrasion in comparison to composites with higher modulus fibers. As the modulus of the fiber and the abrasive grit size increased, the degree of degradation caused by abrasion was shown to increase significantly. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry measurements showed the development of an abrasion-affected zone that was especially prevalent for higher stiffness composites. The failures for the higher modulus specimens were caused by subsurface damage located a few fiber diameters below the abraded surface. However, an alternate technique using atmospheric plasma surface treatment exhibited efficient removal of contaminants while showing no degradation of bond quality when treating these ultra high modulus composites. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012