Tomiam Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Hiya all, I dont know if this is unusual, only owned my R400 for a month now, but I drove it to work and left it outside in a very light shower. There are now what look like white water marks on the carbon fiber of the front wings. Mostly on the top as if the water settled there.The rest of the car looks perfectly fine. Still very shiny etc.When I scratch them with my finger nail, lightly, about 40% of it comes off but the remaining 60% is pretty tough to shift. Even a Meguirs Paint Cleaner rubbed on it with a micro fibre cloth is having trouble. Ive also noted that the top of the wings look satin / matt in finish whereas the lower sections look glossy. Anyone had experience of this before please?My thought process / googling thus far has me thinking of trying Distilled Vinegar very gently rubbing OR nipping out and getting a small hand buffer. Then working at it with a paint cleaner. Either way, once its all clear I was then thinking of taking them off the R400 and dropping them into a decent body shop I know and getting them to put a few coats of clear all over. Any thoughts / suggestions welcome :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJG Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I had exactly the same problem, lots of info in the archives, furniture polish, back to black, WD40 etc. Nothing worked on mine so I had them painted which was a shame as I liked them as they were. Many owners seem to keep them in good condition but I suspect it's best to take pre emptive measures. Good luck with it.Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Blasted duplication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 It is the water getting in to the structure. I use liberal coatings of Wood Silk furniture polish ... dirt cheap from supermarkets. Leaves a lovely glossy finish to CF wings. Spray on and wipe off with kitchen paper towel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomiam Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Thank you very much! Greatly appreciated. Water getting into the structure would make sense. The areas the spots are appearing in look to be very thin on (whatever the clear coat is). Whereas the other areas are very glossy and perfectly fine. If I can get them back to their original condition, then I'll get em sprayed in a few clear coats to seal them up, I'll give it (I seem to remember 4 weeks?) before adding the furniture polish as a premptive measure too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian H Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 WD40 should get the worst out, sunshine and warmth will clear it away, and finally the furniture polish SM25T just mentioned gives it a lovely finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I've had this happen to me a couple of times. Looks like a disaster at first but I've managed to restore them in both cases.Used autoglym super resin polish (I guess any super fine finishing polish would do) and gave it a good waxing after. I incorrectly assumed that the wax would prevent it from happening again but that doesn't appear to be the case.Lesson learnt though.. Don’t let standing water stay on the carbon for any length of time. Give it a wipe off, even if it’s just with your hand.Would be interested to hear how you get on with a couple of extra coats of clear coat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mic Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Warm them with a hot air gun, be careful not to get them too hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmmarsh Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 A liberal spray with WD40 to GT85 works well. Leave it to soak in overnight and the spots will fade away. Once they hey start doing it it will keep happening if you don't stay on top of it. I now give a quick squirt and wipe each time I put the car away. They stay shiny now unless I am away on tour and it rains overnight. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpa Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 No no no - that's definitely 'carbon spot' - if you don't cut the wings off and get them disposed of safely, it wll spread to the rest of your car! Luckily, I happen to be a certified carbon mould recycler and can dispose of them safely for you.I'm in Bristol next weekend and can pick them up from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomiam Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 LOL :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MereCat Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Not sure i would want to be buying some new Tillet...sorry Caterham wings if they are going to do that...is this normal? Not seen this on the older wings...interested to know more on why? I like the look of bare carbon so painting not an option and do you really need to lacquer the stuff. Lots of people say don't do it..but others say its fine...what's the view on this?i would take them back to Caterham if the 7's only a month old... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBL Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Mine have done this too, and while I was able to mostly restore them, I now fear getting the wings wet. I simply don't take the car on the road whenever it appears there may be a chance of rain. The good news is, this doesn't happen all that often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 It is quite common. I think rain then sun is the big factor. Raindrops act like lenses in strong sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsup Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 had this with mine 2002 vintage they also went dull and no polish would bring back the shine in the end took the plunge and had them re lacquered, great result up to now need to wait to see if the spots come back. also spoke to a car valeter about autoglym life shine. he uses a similar product call diamond shine will be booking 7 in for a session means you will not have to polish the car just use a wash and wax combined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomiam Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Thanks for all the info folks!Here is what Ive done thus far:-The day the spots appeared I put her into the garage and dried her off. Then rubbed some WD40 into the wings using a tissue. Gave it an hour and then did the same thing again. The spots appeared to disappear by about 80%. The following day I removed the WD40 with tissue, and worked on the wings, by hand, for about 30 - 45 mins with a microfibre cloth & some Meguirs Scratch X2.0. Spots now gone by about 95%The laguer is very dull and much thinner on the top of the wing (where the spots appear) whereas lower down the wing it looks about 2mm thicker and very glossy (where the spots dont appear). This isnt caused by what ive just done, its how it was before. Ive got two track days and then I'm going to clean them up as best I can and get some coats of clear onto them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ult-jim7 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 If it is a keeper than I would recommend taking all your nice carbon pieces off the car and getting then recoated with a good quality clear coat to give them extra depth and shine. Then get a professional to apply Gtechniq crystal serum for long lasting protection. Nick at Topcoat (South France, where I am based did my clear coat) & while back in the UK in the winter servicing, KDS Keltec detailed & applied the Gtechniq. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffchris Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 For a soon-to-be new kit builder with lots of tarty carbon bits (e.g. front and rear wings, aeroscreen, tillets etc), would you advise going down the clearcoat +- Gtechniq route from the off? - as it would be much easier to get these preventative measures done prior to the build.Not meaning to hijack the threadChris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 My carbon bits are all pre-preg from Ultimate Carbon. Untreated, not lacquered, no issues at all regarding white spots or stone chips and pretty cheap compared to others available. Not glossy, just carbon fibre as it should be ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyD Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 @ £200 a pair I'm investing in some of those for my winter upgrades :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ult-jim7 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I would Chris if building is your thing and its going to be a keeper, add it to the job list. Plus it depends on the look your after. Caterham are building to a tight budget, but there are plenty of bits & bobs that can be anodised, polished, powder coated, clear coated & made lighter out of carbon, Mg Alloy or titanium or to add some bling. I believe these types of cars being very low to the road soon look tatty even if you manage to never get them wet. So any extra laquer coating, modern day nano or ceraminc sealant protection, armourfend stone chip protection is a good idea before you start blatting hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prangerman Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 A gentle application of T Cut and then some Wood Silk removed some bad white spot staining from my wings.Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomiam Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Just a small update. I've taken the plunge and sprayed up the front CF wings in quite a few coats of clear lacquer. Took ages to prep them for spraying but they look much better than before. A really deep gloss shine which is very smooth. I'll be honest and say I was more than a little nervous it wasnt going to turn out well but they came out very well :) I cant see how the rain could get into the weave now, as its sealed within a lot of layers of clear but as I havent had them out in the rain, I shall report back once done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomiam Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 As promised. Im reporting back. Have now used the Seven in the rain. Light drizzle for about 10 mins. No marks on the wings at all. Not even a tiny iddy biddy white spot. Zero, zilch, nadda! ;)Ive included some links to photos of the before / after spraying.Before: http://tinyurl.com/o23rrzcAfter: http://tinyurl.com/o8va8t3MIrrors done too: http://tinyurl.com/ojskcbv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McKenzie Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Tomiam,Well done! How did you prep them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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