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Carbon Front Mudguard Repair/lacquer

Discussion in 'Technical Help' started by Mr-Superlight, Apr 19, 2020.

  1. Quite a while ago the front mudguard on my Superlight suffered slight damage due to some fool (ie me) moving the bike with the D-lock still on the wheel. I'm now working on repairing this which I intend to do with a small patch. It wont be perfect but will hopefully be better than before. As much of an issue in my eyes is the subsequent relacquering - in some places the existing lacquer has started to 'lift off' and I have pulled areas away where this is the case but I'm wondering what the advice is for dealing with the rest? I've been wet and dry sanding, starting with 240 and 600 grit, which is slooow going- should I just continue with this? Thanks in advance. Andy 20200419_152209.jpg 20200419_152239.jpg
     
  2. I am interested in this as the front mudguard on my 900ss is really dull.
    I’ve tried T-Cut over and over with little success.
    Any polish applied simply goes to temporarily brighten it.
    Lacquer might be the way forward.
     
  3. The top coat/lacquer seems quite hard and brittle or 'crispy' and isn't sanding off easily but with a couple of areas own to the carbon I'm resigned to removing of it - by some means.
     
  4. It is the original so that's useful info. Think I'll continue sanding the areas that need sorted then give it a go with lacquer and see what it looks like.
     
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  5. The more time in prep the better the result. Be careful where the original lacquer has gone awol as you don’t want to rub the original resin and carbon away. Take your time and enjoy the process. :upyeah:
     
  6. Thing is there are a few places where the top clear layer (resin/lacque? - i can see that it imparts a slightly brownish finish to the carbon) Is lifting off or has chipped away so before I refinish it I want to al least feather the edged of the damaged parts down. Enjoyable, hmm, end result hopefully ok. Taking a bit longer than I'd thought but going carefully.
     
  7. Yup. You will have to feather it. Just take your time. And use a sanding block too.
     
  8. The OEM front mudguard on my '97 750 was plastic of some sort....definitely not glassfibre.

    It's probably why some mudguards sagged over the years.....mine certainly did, but I cured it.
     
  9. Bit more of this today- have flatted back pretty much the whole thing - advice would be to not try and do more than than unless.the top.coat is damaged?
     
  10. It should be super smooth when you run your bare finger tips over it with lots of soap water. You can really feel any imperfections that way.
     
  11. y, not there yet, that top coat is pretty tough - makes sense as it provides protection to the paint beneath.

    My mudguard is stamped "MS Production" in yellow which I guess indicates it isn't original?
     
  12. MS Production makes it very original. Definitely worth taking your time as they made a lot of CF for Ducati in the period.
     
  13. So, I got a repair kit off ebay which enabled me to effect a decent repair. Was a faff to do well as the mudguard is constructed from a single layer of CF (?) and placing the repair section then meant that there was low area from the front - my CF sheet is thinner than the original - not sure if thicker repair sheets are available and anyway, how would I know what thickness/weight to purchase? To deal with this I added additional resin onto the front and TBH it dried to a decent finish given that it isn't that visible an area and it's quite small. There were a couple of tiny holes or gaps where repaired and original areas met so I used some superglue applied with the tip of a screw to dab it on and once dry I sanded it to a point where it was ready for lacquering.
    This is where I am now at. As I am spraying outside (shed) I waited until a warm day last week and applied 3 or 4 coats of lacquer. I was initially pretty happy with it - a shiny but not really glossy finish that looked nice until closer examination revealed a couple of runs. Bugger ! So I flatted that back with 1200 grit and waited until a nice warm day - today - to spray again. 1st coat, damn, that 1st one shows a new wet run area. I went on to add a couple of further coats with 10 or so minutes gap between just to see what the end result was, knowing that I had to deal with the 1st coat issue.
    I'm planning to leave this to totally harden for a few days before remedying but want to address a couple of issues.

    1) Once I wet and dry sand it with 1200 to remove the runs what's the best way of prepping the surface to remove all grease etc ? Tack cloths ? Thinner ?
    2) The mudguard although a relatively small item for spraying isn't the easiest to spray uniformly when it's hanging up, a feel a bigger, flat panel would be easier - I wonder if it be better to spray it in maybe 3 goes, top then each side, waiting for each one to dry before doing the next ?
    3) Once I've rectified the lacquer I plan to follow the advice I've seen a few people give which is initial light tack coat then 2 or 3 more coats with 10 minute gaps between each coat - does that seem sensible ?
     
  14. 1. Acetone (nail varnish remover). You can remove the run 1200, 2000, 2500 grit and then simply use cutting compound, polish and finish with wax. This on the whole mudguard, not just the run. No need to add more lacquer.
    2. I would do the whole thing in one go. Find a mount that you can stuck it to (old spray can if tall enough with marking tape lollipop to stick to underside) then you can move it round without touching it to ensure even coverage.
    3. Light tack coat then leave 15 mins between additional coats. Less spray is better as less chance of runs.
     
  15. Clear gloss lacquer from Halfords
    I used the whole tin, looks good.
     
  16. Temptation is more coats is better but some of the youtube advice goes against that.
    What do you use for surface prep ?
     
  17. Cleaned with surgical spirits and then a once over with some fine grade wire wool.
    Sprayed with Halfords home brew, jobs a good un
    B3769532-5826-4457-8613-C692516D1224.jpeg
    looks better that this now as it’s got more costs.
     
  18. Thanks for the advice everyone : problem I believe (wrongly maybe) with addressing the run is that in removing this I might leave minimal thickness of lacquer. I might clean it up then see if I can give it another go, being more careful with the application - there's plenty left in the can so no big deal really.
     
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