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Chipped paint on my Carbon frame help

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Discussion starter · #22 ·
Here's the end result. I applied clear nail polish and it got all clumpy and dried fast. After that, I tried to wet sand it with 150 grit. Did the best that I can do without damaging any coating on the bike already. Didn't want to keep sanding away and past through the clear coat. So if you shine light above, you can see slight bumps from the clear nail polish. Otherwise, it looks perfect head on or if sun hits it. I'm happy with the results. The chipped paint didn't get fixed, but the edging is a bit smoother. My problem is... either I have OCD or I just need to accept the fact it's a MTB and it's meant to get dinged up.

Product used was Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. After using it, I wiped it clean and applied 3 layers of wax.
 
#23 ·
Ok, so despite what most others have suggested to just leave it alone and ride you continued to pursue fixing the minuscule paint chip. That tells a lot about your OCD symptoms. In the end you must ask yourself what did I really achieve? The bike still rides the same and integrity of the carbon is no different. Likely no one gives a Sh-t about the little scar and it's your own conscience that's cont to bug you. If your OCD is severe enough the little imperfection will always haunt you no matter how much you try to fix it. The only solution would be to abandon and get a new flawless frame - until that gets another nick and then the vicious cycle repeats itself. Stay healthy, ride your bike, the mind is a powerful thing and the OCD is not your own fault but treat yourself good and don't let the anxieties and worries take over - put all that energy over the pedals instead. 😄
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
funnyjr said:
Ok, so despite what most others have suggested to just leave it alone and ride you continued to pursue fixing the minuscule paint chip. That tells a lot about your OCD symptoms. In the end you must ask yourself what did I really achieve? The bike still rides the same and integrity of the carbon is no different. Likely no one gives a Sh-t about the little scar and it's your own conscience that's cont to bug you. If your OCD is severe enough the little imperfection will always haunt you no matter how much you try to fix it. The only solution would be to abandon and get a new flawless frame - until that gets another nick and then the vicious cycle repeats itself. Stay healthy, ride your bike, the mind is a powerful thing and the OCD is not your own fault but treat yourself good and don't let the anxieties and worries take over - put all that energy over the pedals instead. 😄
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm trying to move forward and accept the fact the bike is going to get beat up and what not. It's so hard though! lolll... After I fixed it and shined light on it. That's when I saw the bumps from the clear nail polish which wasn't sanded down smoothly. So I ask myself... who is going to shine light that close to see that. I'm just going crazy in my own mind lol. I did have thoughts to reach out for the sand paper and sand away again to fix those minor bumps left from the clear nail polish. I held myself back from ruining the work I did to it earlier. Didn't want to go through the process getting the shine back again. Personally, I think this bike has allowed me to discover that I do have OCD and I need to find a way to treat it. Maybe worry less or something I dunno lol. Anyhow, it looks fine now so I'm happy. I'll leave it and ride it :). I swear, I must look crazy hahaa
 
#26 ·
Well, I probably would have tried a minor repair like you did - and the results look great. What I don't see from the pics you have posted is any sign you have ridden it in the dirt!
 
#29 ·
After riding my new carbon MTB for a few weeks, and scared the paint would chip in no time, I decided to put shelter tape on the underside of the down tube, underside of the stays, and the back of the seat tube.
Three weeks later, while ripping down some single track, a decent size stone flicked up from the front tire, clipped my crank arm, and then bounced around on top of the swing arm between the seat tube and rear tire. It put three reasonable size chips there.

Lesson: No matter where you tape, the chips will happen elsewhere.

I view chips on carbon bikes as a kind of badge: "I ride this thing where it is supposed to be ridden" :)
 
#30 · (Edited)
cabralkev said:
Here's the end result. I applied clear nail polish and it got all clumpy and dried fast. After that, I tried to wet sand it with 150 grit. Did the best that I can do without damaging any coating on the bike already. Didn't want to keep sanding away and past through the clear coat. So if you shine light above, you can see slight bumps from the clear nail polish. Otherwise, it looks perfect head on or if sun hits it. I'm happy with the results. The chipped paint didn't get fixed, but the edging is a bit smoother. My problem is... either I have OCD or I just need to accept the fact it's a MTB and it's meant to get dinged up.

Product used was Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. After using it, I wiped it clean and applied 3 layers of wax.
Click to expand...
I don't mean to feed the flame of your apparent OCD, but 150 grit is not even close to a fine grit paper.

Next time to get that showroom finish after the clear nail polish is applied, you can start with 220, wet sanding it very lightly, then move to 320 wet, then 400 wet, then 600 wet, then #0 steel wool, #00 steel wool, #000 steel wool and finally #0000 steel wool. After that it is ready for a rubbing compound or two or three. Be sure not to use one that will react with the remaining layer of clear. Then get some paste wax and work it in for a few hours.

After it dries and hazes up evenly. Go to your local home center and get a 7" grinder with a buffing wheel on it. Go to town with this, but keep a close eye on the finish because very soon your repaired/restored chainstay will be asymmetrically better looking than the other. If this does indeed happen, repeat steps 3-23 on the other side. But don't make both stays more awesome than the remaining sections of the frame because aside from the inconsistent level of beauty, it will also be a lot harder to manual due to the now, relatively heavier front triangle of the bike.

If and when you finally get it perfect, then the thing to do is strip the frame down, mount it on Mahogany plaque, and assuming it does not clash with your sofa covers, hang it above your fireplace or perhaps in the drawing room or even in the dining room next to your fine china.

Wherever you decide to hang it is up to you and your family, but don't dare ever ride it again, because this caretaking of the material plane takes over your entire life. And we sure don't want that, do we?
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
oaklandish said:
I don't mean to feed the flame of your apparent OCD, but 150 grit is not even close to a fine grit paper.

Next time to get that showroom finish after the clear nail polish is applied, you can start with 220, wet sanding it very lightly, then move to 400 wet, then 600 wet then #0 steel wool, #00 steel wool, #000 steel wool and finally #0000 steel wool. After that it is ready for a rubbing compound or two or three. Be sure not to use one that will react with the remaining layer of clear. Then get some paste wax and work it in for a few hours.

After it dries and hazes up evenly. Go to you local home center and get a 7" grinder with a buffing wheel on it. Go to town with this, but keep a close eye on the finish because very soon your repaired/restored chainstay will be asymmetrically better looking than the other. If this does indeed happen, repeat steps 3-23 on the other side. But don't make both stays more awesome than the remaining sections of the frame because aside from the inconsistent level of beauty, it will also be a lot harder to manual due to the now, relatively heavier front triangle of the bike.

If and when you finally get it perfect, then the thing to do is strip the frame down, mount it on Mahogany plaque, and assuming it does not clash with your sofa covers, hang it above your fireplace or perhaps in the drawing room or even in the dining room next to your fine china.

Wherever you decide to hang it is up to you and your family, but don't dare ever ride it again, because this caretaking of the material plane takes over your entire life. And we sure don't want that, do we?
Click to expand...
LMAO!! You made my day lmaoooo
 
#33 ·
I'm also OCD with my bikes finish and currently doing a repair job on one of my bikes as well. The challenge with most bike repair is matching finish colors accurately and that just takes experience , but with a little practice you can come close. The steps I use are the following:

1. Clean and degrease the area needing repair.
2. If the damage is only finish, I move on to the following steps. If the damage is deep, I can use auto bondo to fill the chip and follow with a sandable primer.
3. Prepare the area by scuffing the surface with a med sandpaper to level any filler/primer.
4. Lay initial flash coat of base color. Lay 2-3 med. wet coats.
5. Lightly sand with fine wet paper to prep for clear.
6. A 2-part urethane clear will give a durable finish, but you can also use an acrylic enamel as well if you'd like a more forgiving medium. Lay initial flash coat, followed by 2 med. wet coats.

I feel that by using the right gun for the job helps significantly. I personally use Iwata guns for all my finish work. With adequate blending, the repair will be unnoticeable.

Good job on your fix. It's a mountain bike and it's going to get a few nicks but if you're anything like me, you try to keep them as pristine as possible. Crank skins are great for protecting your frame and are easily applied to all areas with ease.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#35 ·
I used some automotive clear coat and dabbed some on. Once dry, you can use some 1500 or 2000 grit wet sand to blend it in. Then use rubbing compound and finally a wax or polish to shine it up.
 
#37 ·
About the procedure:
My brand new bike fell on a rock while I was takin a leak and now it has a flaking spot on the top tube.
Not that I was so OCD with scrathes but that spot has flaked laquer that's come off the carbon still sitting there. So I was wondering if it will continue to flake if not fixed.
Is it ok if I just dab a bit of nail polish on it or should the loose flaked areas be cut off first?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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