Calling on Carbon Fibre Experts

[Spanky]

Hi Guys,

I have an OE carbon fibre spoiler on my car. As you'll note in the attached images, there are areas where the clear/lacquer has been compromised.

The perfectionist in me wants to pull this thing off and have it properly prepped and sprayed and reinstalled. BUT, I'm scared. This is factory fitted with German precision and zero gap. Probably using Sikaflex or the like. I'm concerned I'll damage it irreparably by removing it.

So, to me, the only remaining option is to try achieve a repair in-situ.

The leading edge of the spoiler is damaged for a total of quite a few cm, so one will need to get riiiiiiiight up to the boot itself to effect a proper repair 😮

Does any one have any comments/recommendations/experience in this regard?

Keen to hear your thoughts.

Cheers,

 

[Riaad]

The OEM spoilers are stuck with 3m tape (if factory fitted) , use some fishing line to cut through the tape and remove the spoiler.

What repair are you doing? spraying it gloss black ?

 

[JoziNick]

Can’t talk to how best to remove but have you considered hydro dip instead of respray?


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[Spanky]

The OEM spoilers are stuck with 3m tape (if factory fitted) , use some fishing line to cut through the tape and remove the spoiler.

What repair are you doing? spraying it gloss black ?

It is factory fitted. I've found so much conflicting info on the web regarding the bonding method (3M v.s. Sikaflex) that I'm properly uncertain now.

Painting it gloss black would be sacrilege

I want it restored (i.e. re-lacquered/re-cleared).

Can’t talk to how best to remove but have you considered hydro dip instead of respray?

Just want it restored. Open to various approaches.

 

[Bazza]

Careful!! These spoilers, if it's done by the factory, are not just taped on!! They are fitted with a serious adhesive, it's like R500's worth of adhesive to fit a lip boot spoiler. I'm sure if you take your car to a BMW coach works that they can sort out the lacquer.

 

[Rayzor]

You would need to remove it and sanded down, you then have 2 options.
Option 1, have it resprayed with clear coat. Option 2, have it re-resin, this would be the more expensive option but you will get it close to oe again and possibly it will be more durable.

 

[TurboLlew]

You will have to remove it to do a good job given the leading edge is compromised. If it is 3M tape you're good to go... the alternative product used to put it on is 3M Beta Link. You MIGHT be able to get it off with a lot of super thin fishing line and masking off the rest of the boot lid. You might find you need to work in heat or slightly heat the piece. There is a risk that removing it will damage it of course.

Don't worry about the fitment after the fact, the OEM pieces will go back just as flush as they did before. This is a function of the quality of the piece more than it is the adhesive. Using Beta Link to fit it again is a good idea (you might want to enlist the services of someone who has worked with it before).

Refinishing that doesn't look like it will be a problem, but it will require resin work as well as probably clearing the whole piece.

Hydrodipping a real carbon piece is a HARD NO. Hydrodipping looks like garbage by comparison to real Carbon. You are better off trying to repair it.

Speak to Miggz at FSU developments for an opinion.

 

[Benji]

That peeling would drive me pretty insane...Looks like you will have to remove it and re-epoxy it properly. Use a heat gun or cigar lighter to get all the bubbles out and to get the resin to get into all the corners. Then you'll have to sand it down to get it all level the clearcoat it for durability. Probably not a weekend job excluding the youtube tutorial time

 

[Spanky]

Careful!! These spoilers, if it's done by the factory, are not just taped on!! They are fitted with a serious adhesive, it's like R500's worth of adhesive to fit a lip boot spoiler. I'm sure if you take your car to a BMW coach works that they can sort out the lacquer.

Exactly my concern 😅

You will have to remove it to do a good job given the leading edge is compromised. If it is 3M tape you're good to go... the alternative product used to put it on is 3M Beta Link. You MIGHT be able to get it off with a lot of super thin fishing line and masking off the rest of the boot lid. You might find you need to work in heat or slightly heat the piece. There is a risk that removing it will damage it of course.

Don't worry about the fitment after the fact, the OEM pieces will go back just as flush as they did before. This is a function of the quality of the piece more than it is the adhesive. Using Beta Link to fit it again is a good idea (you might want to enlist the services of someone who has worked with it before).

Refinishing that doesn't look like it will be a problem, but it will require resin work as well as probably clearing the whole piece.

Hydrodipping a real carbon piece is a HARD NO. Hydrodipping looks like garbage by comparison to real Carbon. You are better off trying to repair it.

Speak to Miggz at FSU developments for an opinion.

Thanks, @TurboLlew.

Dropping that product name, 3M Beta Link, really helped with the Google searches! That pinned it down to several other related threads which I hadn't come across yet (Despite spending quite a bit of time searching before posting).

While it seems to be a massive PITA to remove the Beat Link residue it , at least anecdotally, can be done successfully without damage to the paint and/or spoiler.

I agree that the refinishing of the spoiler will not be a hassle if done with the correct products and procedures - I will speak to FSU Developments in this regard (Unfortuantely not in JHB to make use of his services directly).

That peeling would drive me pretty insane...Looks like you will have to remove it and re-epoxy it properly. Use a heat gun or cigar lighter to get all the bubbles out and to get the resin to get into all the corners. Then you'll have to sand it down to get it all level the clearcoat it for durability. Probably not a weekend job excluding the youtube tutorial time

It is less than ideal and does bug me every time I look at it 😤 The prospect of the repair and potential risk involved has had me putting it off far too long.

 

[QikNish]

Even if you could remove it cleanly, don't think you can patch repair that to a level that won't continue to bother you. If the gel coat is giving up, the whole piece would need to be prepped and a new coat applied then gloss clear.

The cost would be around 50% of a brand new spoiler. I'd just get a new one and sell the old one onto someone who's prepared to fill in the gel coat and respray the entire thing gloss black. Atleast you'd recover some costs.

 

[Spanky]

Okay, so I've managed to find who I believe to be the right guys locally - A bike shop which specializes in carbon fibre bicycle repair.

They'll repair and refinish the spoiler for R1k. Very reasonable IMO.

The next trick is to find myself some 3M VHB double-sided tape - seemingly the 5952 variant is the one to get. Availablity on these 3M products seems iffy, so still looking where to get.

Once that's in place I'll attempt the spoiler removal with some fishing line

To be continued...

 

[Riaad]

Okay, so I've managed to find who I believe to be the right guys locally - A bike shop which specializes in carbon fibre bicycle repair.

They'll repair and refinish the spoiler for R1k. Very reasonable IMO.

The next trick is to find myself some 3M VHB double-sided tape - seemingly the 5952 variant is the one to get. Availablity on these 3M products seems iffy, so still looking where to get.

Once that's in place I'll attempt the spoiler removal with some fishing line

To be continued...

You can purchase the correct 3m tape from BMW...

 

[Spanky]

Progress update...

Wasn't able to get 3M tape at BMW dealership (Can you even get a BMW at these places?)

For those wondering, one can source 3M VHB tape from RS Components or Legg & Wessel. We don't have access to all variants, widths and thicknesses here in SA, but these two vendors have a few options to choose from. I went with a 33m length since I think the use of this tape could augment my 3D printing hobby quite nicely.

For the cleanup job I have sourced Goo Gone (Builders) and TarX (Auto-DNA).

Now to wait for some free time and the Cape weather to chill...

 

[KPM3_30]

I can't remember the part number but I purchased 2 way tape from BMW for the E46 spoiler.. Not sure if its maybe been discontinued.

At least you sorted with enough tape to last a while..

 

[PaKiMoNSTeR]

Coastland Sales are the 3M guys in SA for anything automotive with branches in most metro's. We used 3M automotive grade tape to fit all of the plastic trim bit's manufactured on the Cross Polo.

 

[Spanky]

My worst fears were realised this weekend.

The spoiler was indeed Betalinked to the boot lid. FML.

I was able to cut through the concrete-like adhesive (with effort) but after a while noticed that I was inducing some marring on the paint with the nylon gut. Not ideal but too late to turn back. The marring was under the spoiler's footprint in any case.

After a significant portion was cut, things got way worse - the betalink had pulled actual chunks of the paint straight off.

By the look of the markings, and the fact that there was no perpendicular force applied to the spoiler, I am led to believe that the paint has been separated for some time. Perhaps by repeated thermal cycling.

In any case. Not the outcome I was hoping for.

The Pros
-The spoiler survived the surgery

The Cons
-The boot will need a respray
-Removing the residual Betalink from the spoiler is going to be interesting
-Taping the spoiler to the car doesn't seem to be an option - it'll stand too proud

So, the scope of this little project just grew considerably.

RIP Me.

 

[///M Individual]

Ouch sorry bud

 

[JoziNick]

Sorry to hear that man! At least the spoiler survived!


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[jayaynikkal]

This is a real bleak one.

At least on the bright side the rear end going to look fresher once all the work is done mate.

 

[Spanky]

Spent a bit of time working on the cleanup of the spoiler - The adhesive used is an absolute bastard! The best approach so far has been gentle and systematic use of a box cutter blade.

It's cool to see the original BMW label on the underside of the part though. Dated 2011 so, as expected, this car was factory-fitted.

Upon further inspection of the boot (in better light) one can see evidence of chemical interaction between paint and adhesive. This is probably the more likely cause of paint failure (rather than the thermal cycling as previously speculated).

The almost 10 years of interaction has taken its toll...