Is this RC10L chassis NOS or refurbished?

[azone]

bought an RC10L chassis. Listed as new. Came in its original bag but it's obvious the bag was opened and re-stapled at some point. I have several RC10L chassis, and was buying this for a project. From having two RC10L's I purchased new back way back when I know the carbon fiber stock on the early RC10L's wasn't great. The sheet used for the early ones was generally dull in appearance and inconsistent - skimped on epoxy so all the crevices aren't always leveled and never had a nice, shiny finish. However, this chassis I received looks particularly bad. It even has tool marks from rotary and linear sanding patterns. Doesn't carbon fiber stock come in a nice flat sheet? Would there be any reason for the manufacturer to be doing secondary sanding or polishing? Lastly, this chassis measures .075" thick instead of 0.100" thick like the other two. So... opinions? Does it look like a legitimate factory part? could it have been sanded to make look newer & hence thinner?

[Dangeruss]

All the sudden picturing someone running their 10L chassis through a planer... who wouldn't wanna see the RCCA Pit Tips drawing for that one!

[JosephS]

There is never going to be a reason to sand a new carbon fiber plate. Everything you noted indicates this was a used parts rebadged.

[azone]

All the sudden picturing someone running their 10L chassis through a planer... who wouldn't wanna see the RCCA Pit Tips drawing for that one!

That's too funny. I didn't even think a planer, was imagining just doing it manually..

There is never going to be a reason to sand a new carbon fiber plate. Everything's you noted indicates this was a used parts rebadged.

Thanks. That's what I'm thinking but the CF used in the 10L is aesthetically atrocious to begin with so figured I would get a few opinions...

[JosephS]

All the sudden picturing someone running their 10L chassis through a planer... who wouldn't wanna see the RCCA Pit Tips drawing for that one!

That's too funny. I didn't even think a planer, was imagining just doing it manually..

There is never going to be a reason to sand a new carbon fiber plate. Everything's you noted indicates this was a used parts rebadged.

Thanks. That's what I'm thinking but the CF used in the 10L is aesthetically atrocious to begin with so figured I would get a few opinions...

Looking at the picture of how your plate looks makes me feel better about my own carbon fiber projects. I wonder if they were trying to make their own sheets, or if they just outsourced this to the wrong company.

[Dangeruss]

Planer jokes aside... it looks to have been used, like someone took it off a car, replaced it with a NIP chassis then put this chassis in the package to make more money selling it. The striations towards the front could be from anything as simple as a painted curb to storage damage. And the circular marks in the rear look like they're from a sanding disk, which, given the flat finish they probably tried to sand off something that was stuck to the chassis. A far as the thickness, could be Associated attempting to save a buck, or playing around with chassis tuning, could be aftermarket... don't know if I'd call it refurbished though.

[azone]

Planer jokes aside... it looks to have been used, like someone took it off a car, replaced it with a NIP chassis then put this chassis in the package to make more money selling it. The striations towards the front could be from anything as simple as a painted curb to storage damage. And the circular marks in the rear look like they're from a sanding disk, which, given the flat finish they probably tried to sand off something that was stuck to the chassis. A far as the thickness, could be Associated attempting to save a buck, or playing around with chassis tuning, could be aftermarket... don't know if I'd call it refurbished though.

thanks. yes I'm very cautious to claim it's refurbished. I overpaid for it so it stings a little more. Thing is I couldn't in good conscience resell it again myself as unused NOS so basically I just got shafted.

[Frankentruck]

There are definitely people on eBay that call nice used things new, and also call mediocre used things new. My standards for what is new might be a bit high? I would expect it to not be used.

[GoMachV]

There are definitely people on eBay that call nice used things new, and also call mediocre used things new. My standards for what is new might be a bit high? I would expect it to not be used.

It's like when people post "brand new in box" and it's been built but it's in the original box. That's not brand new. Ugh.

[Frankentruck]

Exactly. Mint condition used? Maybe. New? Nope.

[Lowgear]

What's the most discouraging for me is when I spend the extra money to buy something that's actually new in the package, and it ends up looking like the used equivalent. It seems to happen far too often these days with the age of some of this stuff.

[azone]

ok going down the rabbit hole a little more. I bought another RC10L NOS chassis. Lol. This one I also paid a lot for - fortunately it is excellent.

I have found that Associated changed vendors or carbon fiber stock at least once on the original 10L chassis as the material and quality are different on some. The early chassis are really choppy w/ pits and divots and not much epoxy... no smoothness or shine. My 1989 chassis pictured below is even different w/ a bit of a tighter weave with a very dull ripply cardboardish look (hard to get a good pic).

My 1991 chassis and the latest one I just bought are a more typical, very smooth shiny graphite w/ no defects. It seems to me these are later ones. Also on these the front-most set of slots is wider than the earlier chassis..