Buying a 7 Superlight Twenty

[Stoco]

Hey all,

Hopefully first time cat owner soon, considering pulling the trigger on a beautiful Superlight Twenty with bare metal ali body.

Before I pull the trigger, has anyone got any advice on keeping the body as corrosion free as possible.

Seen plenty of threads with all sorts on how to protect the chassis, but little on the bare metal body…

Anyone know if the bodies are treated with any protection at the factory? If not is there anything outside of meticulous cleaning & drying that will keep it corrosion free for a couple of decades?

Thinking any type of treatment, coating or a clear coat? Or is it better to just stick to cleaning and hand polishing?

Thanks

[slime bomb]

Hey Stoco,

I had a Super Seven for 15 years, with 5 of those years bare alloy. There was nothing apart from hard work polishing by hand or a wheel. Once done it looked stunning, but it doesn't last long before it's back to polishing again.

I would have it painted and a clear coat every time!

[mickrick]

Use aircraft polish. (See my Nuvite thread)

[Eugene7]

This may help if, like me, you prefer a non-polished finish.

https://www.7-dna.com/spannering-2/keeping-eugene-...

[Stoco]

Eugene7 said:

This may help if, like me, you prefer a non-polished finish.

https://www.7-dna.com/spannering-2/keeping-eugene-...

Really appreciate this link! I definitely prefer the “drive it not polish it” approach & actually much prefer the look of a brushed finish personally! Eugene looks beautiful!

So how often do you need to perform each step in your list of cleaning & polishing for Eugene & do you still manage to get out and use it frequently or is there som element of being careful with the conditions you’re going out in?

Would also be interested to hear how you’re getting on with everbrite too?

Thanks!
Stoco

[Stoco]

Also just a thought a friend just shared with me… has anyone ever tried ceramic coating their bare aluminium caterham? Either on raw/brushed aluminium or on polished aluminium….

Just a thought as decent ceramic coats can last years, or is it asking for trouble on a bare ali caterham body?

[Rob747]

Had my S20 for nearly five years now, keeping it shiny is a nightmare and basically stopped me from using it as intended.

So I got I painted and now it gets driven and enjoyed a lot more… pm me for details if you like.

[carphotographer]

Often seen posts of people saying it's a real nightmare to keep ally polished. What I want to know is how did they keep old aircraft like the DC3 polished or tankers seen on the road.

I had a bare ally '98 Superlight and didn't find it an issue to keep it shiny.

[haddock]

Good to know your tips.

[Stoco]

carphotographer said:

Often seen posts of people saying it's a real nightmare to keep ally polished. What I want to know is how did they keep old aircraft like the DC3 polished or tankers seen on the road.

I had a bare ally '98 Superlight and didn't find it an issue to keep it shiny.

Be interested to hear your routine and how much work you put in to keep your SL in good condition!

The car I’m looking at looking at a more “raw” brushed aluminium finish rather than polished. Which I hear makes it more difficult to keep corrosion out, as polish adds protection.

Biggest issue is saltier roads rather than anything else…