Help me please-Carbon fiber

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Bianchi10
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:53 pm

by Bianchi10

Long story short, bought brand new superlogic carbon bars today. Used acetone to take off a to logo and it MUCKED up the carbon! Sanded off the matte clear and naw it's smooth and down to raw carbon. Almost finished with it.

So I spray a matte finish clear coat protectant on it or leave it? I don't want it to be sticky at all on the top bar. I bought some rustoleum advanced matte clear. Just don't know if I should use it or if there is no need.

Kicking myself in the fave right now for ruining $300 bars 10 minutes after getting them home.

sungod
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by sungod

yes i would apply clearcoat to protect the resin

if this http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalo ... tte-finish is what you have, i would not recommend it, the technical datasheet says indoor use only, it may have poor uv/weather resistance and go yellow or peel, flake etc.

look for an automotive spray, that'll be more likely to stand up to life outdoors

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Bianchi10
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:53 pm

by Bianchi10

Here are some photos. Again, this was JUST normal acetone and a microfiber towel. Wasn't GOING at it, just an easy rub trying to get the two smaller decals off the backside. As I was rubbing, I felt a small ridge as I went back and forth. pulled the towel away and say that it had gone through the clear. Immediately felt sickened, but took it outside in sunlight to get a better look. Sunlight hit it and I could see this green appear. Almost as if the sunlight ignited the chemical reaction to turn it color. let it sit for a while in the garage and when I came out it was even worse. Was ready to pull the trigger on another set (Only because I knew I wouldn't allow myself to ride with these bars), when I figured at this point, I have nothing to loose and try and sand this top bar section down. Might be hard to see in the last photo, but what I meant by "raw carbon" is that you can now see the directional layers of the carbon. I used a 1000 grit to get down past the clear coat I had already gone through with acetone. Took a lot of time, but I didn't want to rush it with a 400 or 600 grit and possibly risk taking off more than I wanted too quickly. The carbon is sanded down pretty even and I think at this point, once they get wrapped, I'd at least be ok with it for now since the entire top bar (or at least all you will see after wrapped) is the same "raw" look.



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This is the clear coat I bought. It was $8 and told that it was much better than the standard Rustoleum style protectants. Has a UV protection and is supposedly very durable. I haven't used it yet so I can easliy return and go to an auto shop and get something that will be more durable if recommended. I wouldn't mind getting some sort of "cloudy" or "Mist" clear to maybe help cover up some of the imperfections of the carbon lay. What do you think?
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Last edited by Bianchi10 on Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

NiFTY
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Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

Should be fine. I chose to sand down almost all my components to eliminate logos. Rattle can clear has held up fine.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

numberSix
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by numberSix

That snag/ridge you felt was the acetone biting into the upper layer of resin. Unless the bars were swimming in acetone, I'd say it's structurally good to go.

600-1000 grit wet sand should get to a smooth cosmetic surface, then use the automotive clear coat. Wet sand that as needed. Of course follow up with more photos

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Bianchi10
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by Bianchi10

numberSix wrote:That snag/ridge you felt was the acetone biting into the upper layer of resin. Unless the bars were swimming in acetone, I'd say it's structurally good to go.

600-1000 grit wet sand should get to a smooth cosmetic surface, then use the automotive clear coat. Wet sand that as needed. Of course follow up with more photos



Ok. I'm assuming that the matte clear will still show the imperfections in the layered Carbon though correct?

numberSix
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Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:53 pm

by numberSix

IMO the imperfection/discoloration is in the thin film of resin outside the outer carbon fiber layer. So if you want it cosmetically consistent, you need to remove the existing clear coat (UV protectant), then sand the outer resin without cutting into the carbon fiber.

Patience and care will be required. For starters, stop using solvents. The razor blade technique for paint stripping would work, and/or an auto-body wet sanding technique where you clean the piece and check often for cut depth. IMO the bar ends are less structural, and hidden by tape, so start practicing stripping/sanding technique there, not the visible center bar. With wet-sanding, the color of the slurry tells you what layer is coming off, and when to stop. Or use frequent cleanings to get the debris off and observe the cutting rate.

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Bianchi10
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:53 pm

by Bianchi10

Thank you for all the input and advice.

I kept racking my brain with how I could make this look as perfect as possible. A friend of mine and I were discussing some options and we remembered that a friend of ours had his own air brushing company. Took the bars to him and showed him what I was looking at and what my goals would be if he was able to shoot it. He taped it up right then and there and went to it. 10 minutes later, they turned out PERFECTLY. Gonna use the advice of a couple here and get that spraymax for a matte clear. There's a local shop that I'm going to go to tonight and grab. The great thing about the air brushing is that its so light, that I'm not concerned about adding any weight to the bars either. I was originally hoping for no logo's anyway, so sanding the bars down and having it air brushed ended up resulting in a perfect solution.

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Last edited by Bianchi10 on Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

Nicely done! Those are great bars btw.......
Never cheer before you know who is winning

numberSix
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Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:53 pm

by numberSix

You're welcome, glad it worked out. The end result looks great.

thumper88
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Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:27 pm

by thumper88

Its unlikely that acetone would eat into the resin. Cured epoxy or polyester is usually impervious to a wipe down....the clear coat will often eat through instantly, though. saw a poor bastard do that to a new s-works Roubaix once to get sticker adhesive off.

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