I fitted some inner tube on the lower tube on my spesh enduro to prevent rock strikes as I had plenty on last years Ard Rock and to prevent the frame getting damaged when I fit it to the thule rack

I fitted about 10 inches worth on the lower tube for about 4 months and recently removed the inner tube and were its been fitted all the carbon has gone white in colour and the lacquer has flaked away as exposing the bare carbon !

This can’t be right surely ?

Can this be a warranty claim ?

These pictures don’t do it any justice as its flaking like hell now and going really white

Whats the big long gouge?

I cant see anything in your pictures, the mud isn’t helping.

These pictures don’t do it any justice…

Correct.

Can’t see a gouge tho.

I’ll wipe off the mud and re takes some more pics

Looks like the Specialized logo has been covered with helicopter tape, which is bubbling a little. Is that what’s worrying you?

Probably reacted to something, like bike cleaner, that may have seeped under the tube and not been washed off. Or even retained water in prolonged contact can be absorbed and degrade lacquer. Only way you’ll know if you have a warranty is to be very nice to your shop and hope they help you go through the process with Spesh, always best to go through LBS than direct though.

ChunkyMTB – Member

Whats the big long gouge?
It is actually a sticker.

I suspect the marking is due to the inner tube holding mosture or similar, which has upset the paint. I cant see any bare CF though, so I assume its mostly cosmetic.
Warrantly claim though? Really? because of something you’ve caused? I don’t think so.

The only flaking I can see is a little point impact which has caused the paint to come away, probably a rock impact.

I can see a white patch ending around the Z of Specialized. It does look like you’ve had water/cleaner/contaminant trapped betwixt inner tube and frame.

Not a warranty claim as its your fault.

Nope, still not seeing any bare carbon there apart from the oval patch stuck on it. Purely cosmetic.

So me protecting my frame with some inner tube is my fault ? the sticker is on there to stop the lacquer from falling off !

its an expensive frame so I’ll go out my way to protect it and because of that this happens ….. total shite

all small sections of the carbon lacquer has gone white in colour and the lacquer has flaked away as exposing the bare carbon paint underneath !

Looks like something (water/product) has compromised the clear coat and reacted causing it to degrade. I wouldn’t worry about it, a bit unsightly maybe but I wouldn’t have thought it’ do any harm. if you’re really worried then you could maybe rub it down and apply another topcoat of lacquer .

Either way I’d say this is a good lesson about making sure you don’t trap moisture and ‘stuff’ under anything protective you put on the frame. Could have been way worse on a steel frame if you’d trapped a load of moisture against a bit of downtube with a few chips or scrapes through the paint 😉

If the rest of the frame had done this too (ie: where you hadn’t put something over it) then you might have a cause for complaint, but putting a non-breathable covering over the tube, trapping water, muck and god-knows what against the lacquer for months at a time is asking for trouble. I’ve seen people do all kinds of damage to finishes with aggressive cleaners and things in very short time periods, let alone trapping stuff there under a rubber tube for a while.

Even if you didn’t use cleaners and stuff, water isn’t just water, think about all the crap in road muck, and how acidic/alkaline mud and whatever else gets flicked up from the trail can be.

If you feel the need to add protection then Helitape is the best option, it’s not that expensive, lasts ages, is self-healing to some degree and you can add extra layers if you feel you need more protection, it also sticks pretty well and doesn’t let moisture in behind until the edges start to peel (which takes ages) and then it’s pretty visibly obvious so you can keep an eye on things too.

So me protecting my frame with some inner tube is my fault ?

was there something in the maintanence and care notes to suggest this what to do

Sometimes lacquer fails/cracks/etc.. Nothing to worry about just ride it 8)

If you’re still worried about it call Neil at Atlantic Boulevard, he’s pretty dammned good on paints and lacquers.

Maybe talk to a paint finisher. They may be able to sort it, mention it to your dealer too and you never know, they may approach Spesh and help out.

Failing that, cover it with inner tube. 🙂

same thing happens to my cats sh1t when it is left in thea shingle by the flower beds for a long time…

Cheers guys, I’ll look at getting to professionally done, any recommendations for the north east england area ?

Purely cosmetic, non-structural – is this a bike you bought to ride or a garage-queen?

Garage queen -FFS

I know a very good frame painter in York.

See ‘custom paint’ tab on my LBS’s page

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Carbon repairs places best idea, most would be able to redo the lacquer and paint and youd not know the difference. My mate had 2 frames done by a place near Durham and you cant tell its been repaired or painted.

Thanks Yorkshire89 and STATO, that’ll be the way to go

Possibly chemicals in the decal adhesive, reacting with the lacquer. Could also be a combination of UV light through the decal, exacerbating the issue. Having seen the damage some sticker/decal adhesives can do, I wouldn’t rule it out.

Rubber in inner tube has reacted with the top coat. This will have been helped by trapped moisture

just a moisture reaction with the lacquer. Same as when people put bonnet bras or leave car covers on cars in wet/humid environments to protect them but when they take them off after an extended period the lacquer is knackered more so than if they hadn’t bothered. A piece of PU/heli tape under anything attached will help by forming a barrier (not perfect as it is slightly permeable but much better than nothing).

Bare epoxy (carbon fibre) can do the same too.