Carbon frame sticky or tacky

benjamin.e.grass
benjamin.e.grass Posts: 3
edited October 2015 in Road beginners
Hi everyone im new to cycling this season was my first season on the road. I bought a Argon 18 platinum used from a trusted local rider. I love the bike but no matter how many times I wash it my whole frame is sticky. To the point where if you touch it with a paper towel it clings. Any idea what it could be or what I could use to clean it off without damaging my frame Thanks in advance

Comments

  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    Soap and water.
    Ben

    Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
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  • Ive used soap and water numerous times to clean my bike this season when its wet its not sticky but as soon as it dries its weird almost like someone sprayed something on my frame
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    You mean the whole frame is sticky or just parts?

    Use isoproponol alcohol and a rag to wipe it down
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    Hi everyone im new to cycling this season was my first season on the road. I bought a Argon 18 platinum used from a trusted local rider. I love the bike but no matter how many times I wash it my whole frame is sticky. To the point where if you touch it with a paper towel it clings. Any idea what it could be or what I could use to clean it off without damaging my frame Thanks in advance

    Maybe the previous owner burst a gel or something over it and never bothered cleaning it properly? Alco wipes or WD40 on a cloth should remove it with a bit of effort.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • bbrap
    bbrap Posts: 610
    I find methylated spirits gets most stuff off without damaging what is underneath. Once clean then used a bit of car wax or sealant (I use Topaz sealant) to give a smooth finish which does not attract dirt.
    Rose Xeon CDX 3100, Ultegra Di2 disc (nice weather)
    Ribble Gran Fondo, Campagnolo Centaur (winter bike)
    Van Raam 'O' Pair
    Land Rover (really nasty weather :lol: )
  • DKay
    DKay Posts: 1,652
    Another safe alternative you could use is ethanol.
  • Hope the lacquer hasn't been damaged by someone using a chemical. ... Whole frame?

    Unless something has been sprayed or wiped on the frame.


    I bought a mini HiFi years ago of someone and they cleaned it down before sale... Trouble ius whatever they used "melted" the rubberlike/plastic froint of the whole system and it was permanently stickjy. The polymers juyst broke down.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    One of our CF tennis rackets has gone like that. From new it had a kind of thin rubberised coating, but after several years sitting in it's case it has become sticky all over. Going to see if white spirit will shift it; if not it's headed for the skip because it's so unpleasant to handle it's effectively unusable.

    Your bike is likely one of 2 things:

    Either the clear-coat has been affected by some kind of solvent, in which case it needs stripping off and spraying again, and that could be expensive.

    Or a surface coating has been applied (in an attempt to protect or clean it??) and it's now gone sticky.

    If you can easily remove it using a mild solvent like ethanol, and the resulting finish looks and feels normal (find another, similar bike for comparison?) you should be OK