Carbon cycle wings 'misting' up

[barrysnow123]

Has anyone experienced a slight misting up of the carbon cycle wings in the damp?

Due to a garage refurb, I've had to keep my car outside under a waterproof cover and have noticed both cycle wings (and the protectors on the rear wheel arches) have patches of what looks like 'misting' or condensation forming under the top layer of lacquer.

Has anyone experienced that and know of a cure and prevention?  I'm a couple of weeks away from being able to get the car back in the garage and would like to prevent it doesn't get any worse.

Thanks

[SM25T]

Do a search here. One of the most talked about topics.

[Jim 123]

Have you photos?

[Jim 123]

Have you photos?

[rhauri]

Yes I did.

The lacquer has basically given up the ghost.

A proper key with various grades of wet n dry paper and a re-laquer should do the trick. I got a local paint shop to do mine for me though, £30 for the pair, and I was very happy indeed with the result.

You may also find you can use a cutting compound with a DA polisher to bring back the gloss, but it won't last (even if you apply many layers of wax!)

 

[Dave Rayner]

A good tip given to me is use a heat gun on the surface (not too close!) and that generally gets rid of the blemishes, ultimately though a re-laquer  will be required

[Jim 123]

If a heat gun works as a temp fix, that implies that moisture could be migrating through from the unprotected carbon fiber on the reverse side.

[SLR No.77]

Are these milky wings pre-preg Carbon or wet-lay? Both methods have been used on o/e wings.

Neither will actually be "lacquered".

Stu.

[anthonym]

Same here, milky wings - not originals for year 2000 which did not have the problem. 

Local body shop this afternoon is suggestion (in French vernir which is varnish, I assume they mean lacquer), to do what sounds like rub down and lacquer. 

Water ingress from beneath would be a solution killer. I will try the heat suggestion, I may have done it before and iirc it works, until more rain and sunshine. Istr it requires both the rain and then the sunshine to have this effect. 

Same with my read wing protectors, which are original, but/and have taken a beating over 18 years.

Anthony

has anyone indexed all the threads about this? (please ;-)  )

 

[Jim 123]

Without photos it is not easy to define what may be causing the milkyness.  Maybe the following can help....

With reference to Stu's comments: I'd suggest that problematic parts can be ex-mould and non-clearcoated. Alternatively, parts may come with clearcoat on the outer surfaces.  Clearcoat would be a standard treatment if the CF forming process has not given a visually uniform finish, especially with manual moulding on low volume parts where you can get  unwelcome fibres/dirt sticking up. Either way the accrued moisture in the CF has to be encouraged out (heat gun or oven bake) and then all surfaces hermetically sealed with clearcoat including the edges.  

If any photos show a more general surface "milkyness" this could be down to the parts supplier using a clearcoat without a UV absorber in the clearcoat formulation (not unusual), and the low quality clearcoat  is just ageing under sun exposure. This would explain the advice in #5. UV damage to a clearcoat can take time to manifest itself.

[SLR No.77]

It'd be good to know if adding a lacquer coat to a previously milky wing has prevented it happening again.

There's more to the problem than just the quality of the carbon though. I'd not had any of the milky issues until my car had sat overnight in damp (dew) conditions at a hotel in North Yorkshire, in the morning I discovered various milky bits. Everything dried off and it's never re-appeared despite being exposed to some pretty horrendous rain and overnight damp conditions ... it's what happens if you're near Manchester!

So why North Yorkshire? It's hard to believe that the environment that caused the milkiness in North Yorks is any different to the conditions the car's been in before and since, that was 4 years ago and not even a suggestion of a repeat occurrence.

Stu.

[rhauri]

Mine would go milky instantly after washing / spot of rain, so used compound to buff them back up.

Since lacquering they've been nice and glossy and hold up against rain / washing.

[anthonym]

Anyone tried WD40?

[aerobod - near CYYC]

Yes, I use it all the time. Works well for removing the water spots on bare carbon fibre. I wipe it on liberally with a rag so the surface looks damp but not enough to run and leave for an hour or so before polishing the excess off.

[A7 OOH]

I agree WD 40 works wonders.

Gordon

[anthonym]

H   a « before » and underside: 

Me too now, can’t believe my eyes. Being moisture rejecting it may also be protective. How often does it need to be re-applied? Not that I really care if it’s daily, just very curious and want to know :-)

Admittedly I have dried them previously with a heat gun, but that does not bring back the shine. I’ve done the undersides too, so right now they look pristine.

Anthony

pics don’t go where we put them...

 

[aerobod - near CYYC]

Depending how much I go out in the rain, I usually go between a month and 3 months between applying WD40 on the carbon fibre.

[anthonym]

Gosh, that's perfectly practical, thanks.

Anthony

[grumpy the 7th]

2nd post says "do a search here"

How do you use search on BC. I've never had much success........... Often nothing like what you're searching for comes back. But! this search takes the biscuit.

Try typing "wing protectors" in the top search box and this is what you get

Enter terms

wing protectors

Did you mean
wife protection

*rofl*

Wife gets polished often enough.

 

[Jonathan Kay]

How do you use search on BC. I've never had much success...........

Over here. Happy to help if you want to practise.

Jonathan

PS: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:lotus7.club+wing+protectors

[grumpy the 7th]

So, I have to leave the BC site (or open a new tab) and open Google.com and type "/search?q+site:lotus7.club+(what ever I'm searching for")?

I've just tried it and it works  I've also been on "Google.co.uk" and that works as well. (no wife protection necessary now)

also worked on a search for radiators

It just seems odd to have to leave a logged in site to search on that site. but now I know. THANKS.

 

[Jonathan Kay]

It does work, but you don't have to leave the site if you don't want to. That first link in post #20 was to a thread about the new built-in Google search.

Jonathan

[Jonathan Kay]

Depending how much I go out in the rain, I usually go between a month and 3 months between applying WD40 on the carbon fibre.

What do you think makes it work well? WD-40 is a mix of liquid hydrocarbons in a convenient package.

How about a comparative trial against a hydrocarbon wax, a silicone wax and carnauba wax or similar, which is probably the least polluting?

Jonathan

[aerobod - near CYYC]

The WD40 displaces the water absorbed into the composite (around 1% over prolonged exposure, according to this research: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aae5/cc999bf7184d7bba7cc7d6f44979c4c9afa9.pdf )

Waxes do little to seal the surface effectively and from my experimentation with a number of synthetic wax/sealer treatments, do not correct the water mark already created (also, lots of complex chemicals in these, too, so not necessarily any more environmentally friendly than WD40).

Clear coating the surface seals it well, but any exposed edge is quite vulnerable and the loss of the natural carbon fibre pre-preg look is detrimental, in my opinion.

[anthonym]

Agree, Yes I’ve tried various products, polishes, wax etc over several years All ineffective. I think WD40 solves more problems than it causes. Of course if I wanted to be real green I wouldn’t own a Seven .. or maybe I would.

My original year 2000 cycle wings never had this problem so I think it is down to manufacturing issues, and WD40 chases out moisture, so it’s both a coating and a possible cure, albeit one requiring maintenance.

anthony