rear spoiler

[terry randall]

Hi, I have 1990 SE in excellent conditon but the rear spoiler is spoilt( no pun intended) by a palm sized whitish patch which I suspect is water damage under the gel coat. As the spoiler is removable would I do best to get it respayed or try to advertise for a replacement that is in very good condition? I've no idea of the relative cost or availability (only recently got car). it's red

[Nige]

Terry, welcome to LEC. I would have thought that a respray would be the best and cheapest option if the damage is only to the paint. It's unliklely to be the gel coat, it's most likely between the colour coat and the clear laquer over it, a known problem with early cars and red ones in particular. I don't know if spoilers are available from Lotus and even if they were you would still need to get it painted, likewise with any second hand one unless it was red to start with.

[terry randall]

Thanks Nige, I wondered if there might be the odd red one around as its a common colour and might survive from damaged cars. Is there any dealers of that sort in the Berkshire/Oxfordshire area that you know of?

[Nige]

There may be some around, as you say Red is a popular colour. Not sure about dealers in your area apart from SGT at Taplow near Maidenhead, but you could always post in the parts wanted section for one.

[Specky]

SGT don't have a Lotus parts person any more...

The spoilers normally appear on ebay every now again, sometimes attached to the boot... a couple of Ayrton's should be a reasonable price to obtain a secondhand one...

TTFN

[terry randall]

Has anyone tried any method to get the lacquer coat back in contact with the paint underneath and had any sucess (even limited sucess might indicate a way forward)

[Nige]

Proper preparation and a respray is the only option I'm aware of, once the laquer has lifted it continues to lift and spread, my personal view is that trying to reattach it would be a futile exercise. The early cars were painted using ICI paint, these are the ones which have this problem, the later cars were painted with DuPont paint which doesn't seem to suffer in the same way.

[rip]

Thanks Nige, I wondered if there might be the odd red one around as its a common colour and might survive from damaged cars. Is there any dealers of that sort in the Berkshire/Oxfordshire area that you know of?

Red is notorious for fading so the chances of you finding one which matches your paintwork are slim.

[terry randall]

Well, thanks to one of our members from Bury St Edmonds I now have another red spoiler in place which means I can have a play with the other and not have to worry too much should disaster come knocking at the door. Now if the problem is a paint one under the lacquer coat its likely to be a chemical coming out of the paint and therefore could have a chemical solution(no pun intended) if introduced under the skin of the lacquer. Unfortunately, my background is physics Any chemists out there could point in the right direction and I'll have a go.

[dapinky]

I think physics is the better option to investigate the cause of this one......

....all the symptoms are just a lack of adhesion between the paint and the laquer, causing it to 'bloom' and then lift away.

I'd be surprised if it is a chemical reaction (though not unknown, if the panel has ever been painted - other than original factory - then there may be a chemical reaction, usually between primer and topcoat - not usually between colour and laquer)

It can be possible to remove the offending laquer and leave the colourcoat intact - easier with a solid colour like red, than with a metalic like blue - and then reapply a clearcoat laquer.

Personally, i would just take the bull by the nettle and give the paint a good rubdown, re-colour and re-laquer instead of trying to patch it up......

....it may well be that if you use a gloss 2-pak paint (i used Lechler stuff), then you wont need a clear-coat applied anyway - but if you use a 1-pak or water-based colour, then it will have a dull finish until laquered.

If you dont have access to spray equipment, but fancy having a go, then with solid colours it can be done - simply mix the paint and activator in a jar, and brush it on with a soft paintbrush - with the right mix (usually 2:1, but i'd go a tad thinner) it will flow well and you will have minimum brushmarks. Once the paint is cured, rub it down with progressively finer wet & dry (used wet), finishing of with a really fine (2000 grit) paper, and G3 rubbing compound - on a panel the size you are talking about, it shouldn't take too long, but be careful to put enough paint on to start with so you dont rub through it. Then you can use an aerosol of laquer if needed.

If spraying, just a nice thin dusting of colour, repeated after 15 minutes, and then a covering coat after a further 20 minutes will be plenty - modern paint doesn't need a great thickness to get the depth of colour, due to the pigments used, and the depth of shine can be obtained with the laquer.

Failing that, a bodyshop didn't ought to want an arm and a leg for the job.

[terry randall]

thanks dapinky, this spoiler is original so likely the paint is ici rather than du-point ( quoting Nige here) maybe the ici red is less stable than other colours and something comes out in time to give this blooming which could be separation or some sort of chemical salt. It seems to spread with time. I know the obvious thing to do is just rub down and spray, but i was curious to see if something else could be done. What about a low temp poultice approach to see if the two surfaces would slowly re-unite. Guess it needs careful control to stop melting? will keep you posted when i've thought a bit more ( not much coming to me on the physics side)

[surfboardfiller]

Just get it painted