Large scratches on carbon frame

shmo
shmo Posts: 321
edited May 2008 in Workshop
Had some freakish bad luck today. Just got home from work and saw that somehow a full length wall mirror had fallen off the wall and landed on my specialized tarmac which is barely a month old. Mirror was shattered into pieces and the bike had a flat tyre and couple of chunky scratches in the down tube.

They don't look particularly deep but I'm still quite upset. Is there anything I can do or should I just leave them? Guess contents insurance wouldn't be any good for something minor like that.

Never did like that stupid mirror.

scratch1.JPG

scratch2.JPG

Comments

  • thexvw
    thexvw Posts: 135
    One of the tricks I have learnt in repairing damage on guitar finishes is using superglue. Basically you fill in the marks with it, allow to dry, then flat it back with a very fine wet & dry (1500-2000 grit) and then polish out (something like t-cut or similar). Other people have used nail varnish (inc coloured ones) to the same affect.

    So if you ever see someone at the makeup counter in Boots with their guitar you know what they are doing !
  • Lysander
    Lysander Posts: 349
    Thats awful luck you must be heart broken. As thexvw says touch them up, if you do a good job it will be very hard to tell.
  • SteveR_100Milers
    SteveR_100Milers Posts: 5,987
    Hey I had a similar accident last weekend. I touched up the scratches with clear nail varnish, and are almost invisible.
    http://www.pontypoolrcc.co.uk/
    www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44397853765
  • shmo
    shmo Posts: 321
    Thanks guys. Glad no one has said I need to bin the frame (yet). I'm not to proud too say that I nearly cried when I saw my bike in the hallway in a pile of glass shards. Bright side is that I'll be less bothered about riding it in case I damage it as I've already done that now.
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    Oooh, no. That's a carbon frame isn't it? Those things are incredibly fragile and you really should bin it if you just get a stonechip in the finish. I can't believe you're contemplating riding it after such critical damage. I recommend you get something nice and robust made out of titanium instead - I'm sure one of those would have actually repelled the mirror and made it smash over your wife's favourite figurine instead.
  • over-the-hill
    over-the-hill Posts: 144
    thexvw wrote:
    One of the tricks I have learnt in repairing damage on guitar finishes is using superglue. Basically you fill in the marks with it, allow to dry, then flat it back with a very fine wet & dry (1500-2000 grit) and then polish out (something like t-cut or similar). Other people have used nail varnish (inc coloured ones) to the same affect.

    So if you ever see someone at the makeup counter in Boots with their guitar you know what they are doing !

    When you rub back the super glue doesn't the surrounding area get knackered?
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    aracer wrote:
    Oooh, no. That's a carbon frame isn't it? Those things are incredibly fragile and you really should bin it if you just get a stonechip in the finish. I can't believe you're contemplating riding it after such critical damage. I recommend you get something nice and robust made out of titanium instead - I'm sure one of those would have actually repelled the mirror and made it smash over your wife's favourite figurine instead.

    8) I think I can guess what's going through your mind from other threads, but I fear some people on here might take you literally and believe this...
    (I happen to agree with you that carbon isn't some sort of eggshell-fragile material which would only be chosen by some sort of idiot who'd never heard of titanium)


    SHMO - look at Steve_100milers thread from last week re other carbon scratches.
    http://www.bikeradar.com/road/forums/vi ... t=12568629

    Steve - pleased to hear you're reassured and riding happily.
  • thexvw
    thexvw Posts: 135
    over-the-hill wrote:
    thexvw wrote:
    One of the tricks I have learnt in repairing damage on guitar finishes is using superglue. Basically you fill in the marks with it, allow to dry, then flat it back with a very fine wet & dry (1500-2000 grit) and then polish out (something like t-cut or similar). Other people have used nail varnish (inc coloured ones) to the same affect.

    So if you ever see someone at the makeup counter in Boots with their guitar you know what they are doing !

    When you rub back the super glue doesn't the surrounding area get knackered?

    Only if you rub too hard. You need to use very fine wet and dry (1000+) You also need a very small sanding block (I wrap the wet and dry around one half of an wooden clothes peg ! but anything small and flat will do. Use plenty of water with a bit of soap (I use washing up liquid). The key here is patience, take it slow and keep checking you don't break through the surrounding laquer. You could also mask around the repair area if your a bit hamfisted.
  • shmo
    shmo Posts: 321
    Well before I tried filling in the scratches I decided to call my insurance company on advice from a couple of people just to see if they'd cover repair really. Gave the details over the phone and sent the photos to the insurance company's bike specialists. A few hours later to my surprise they called to arrange a complete bike replacement which should happen next week sometime.

    I'm rather surprised by the whole situation really, emotions are stuck somewhere between pleasure of having a pristine bike again and fear of what my next insurance renewal quote will look like.
  • davelakers
    davelakers Posts: 762
    Shmo wrote:
    Well before I tried filling in the scratches I decided to call my insurance company on advice from a couple of people just to see if they'd cover repair really. Gave the details over the phone and sent the photos to the insurance company's bike specialists. A few hours later to my surprise they called to arrange a complete bike replacement which should happen next week sometime.

    I'm rather surprised by the whole situation really, emotions are stuck somewhere between pleasure of having a pristine bike again and fear of what my next insurance renewal quote will look like.

    A new bike for those scratches? Seriously?

    Quids in if thats the case.................
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Mate of mine got a new set of wheels after a taxi knocked him off. The wheel was buckled and insurance bought him a new set. It took me about 20 secs to true the damaged wheels.
  • shmo
    shmo Posts: 321
    Yeah I'm not joking. Certainly haven't made anything out of it though as it's just a straight swap. I'm just wondering if they looked at the pictures wrong somehow and will be expecting to pick up a bike in several pieces but oh well, we will see.

    Nice bike by the way dave :)

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