Carbon fibre.....sure it's light, but frankly, I've seen a lot of very tatty looking CF as unless it's been varnished or had a good thick coat of clear gelcoat first into the mould, it's simply not going to be weatherproof.

Once the weather has got into the weave it may not be possible to rectify it with clearcoat either. of course, CF which has had either clear gelcoat thick enough to protect it properly, or clearcoat applied later, will be heavier than the proper lighweight stuff which has almost zero protection.

I've known people spend a fortune on CF bodywork only to see it go grey and patchy at the first sign of bad weather, and ending up having to paint it.

I recently decided I didn't want to re-fit the stainless stone guards on the newly painted rear wings, as they were dinged and pitted after only 20k miles. I also don't much like slabs of chromelike steel visible there.

I decided not to follow the CF trend, as I don't think CF is at all suitable for a stoneguard, as the matrix is epoxy resin which isn't known for its resistance to stone attack.
I'd be interested to see how the CF guards stand up to the constant barrage of pebbles, sand and larger stones which the front tyres throw up unless long front mudflaps are fitted.

Anyone got any pix? Note the miles the CF guards have done if you have!

So I decided to make a set out of 3mm thick black rubber. I ordered smooth material, with no patterning on either side. This is then rivetted on in the usual way, using the original beading. Best to smear a bit of neoprene glue on the back of the rubber as it can tend to stand off the surface a bit otherwise.

The guards are impervious to stones, and easy to wipe clean. They look good being a satin effect black, and are less than two thirds the weight of the OE stainless pieces.

Test fit here, still needs the neoprene glue tomorrow.





Anyone wants a set drop me a line as I have material to spare. All rivet holes correctly positioned and punched for 4mm rivets.

I have CF stone guards on Eugene.
They are not lacquered - just plain CF.



They are actually cut from original CF rear wings from a damaged 7...
Have been on Eugene for some 8 years or more, and have done some 50K miles (or more!)

A bit of 'back to black' applied every now and again, and they look great.
Perfect protection from stones!

I like the black rubber idea, it sounds more likely to protect the wings from impacts of larger stones too

However, I prefer the stainless look, and don't mind the dents at all. Am I crazy?

I'm surprised the CF stoneguards seem more weather resistant than some of the bodywork I've seen.

A buddy in the UK has had the OE Caterham ones on for 70k miles and claims they are showing no signs of damage.
I wonder why the body panels would be affected worse?

I've found that riveting the rubber on isn't a great idea, as it compresses it and leaves a bulge between the rivets, so I'm using black plastic scrivets instead, which have a larger head area and can be tensioned perfectly to suit.