Bike paint care

boycee73

Hi there,

Does anyone have any recommendatons about looking after your bike frame ie preventing paint stone chips.

I have heard of certain paint protectors but do you have any recomendations??

Also during the winter months should I be hoseing down my bike after every ride?

Regards

Mark

Monty Dog

Helicopter tape and a decent wax car polish. Some people wash their bikes after every ride - depends on how dirty it gets really

Scrumple

heli tape is great, but unsightly.

reality is - paint chips.

wax will deter grime and dust and help washing.

I think a rinse is essential, and then make sure it is DRY.

There is no magic to be had here... the laquer is supposed to be the protection. Care, and a degree of luck is all that is left.

chunkytfg

Monty Dog wrote:

Helicopter tape and a decent wax car polish. Some people wash their bikes after every ride - depends on how dirty it gets really

This may come across as a bit pedantic but this is one of my pet hates.

Polish and wax are completely different things for different purposes!

Polish is and abrasive compound/liquid used for removing a very fine(microns) layer of paint to enhance the finish whereas a Wax is a sacraficial layer put on top of the paint to provide a protective layer for dirt and grime to sit on to prevent it damaging the paint

dodgy

I've said it loads of times, but go to Homebase or similar and buy some fablon (or whatever own make they provide). It's a fraction of the cost of heli tape and easily up to protecting a road bike. I bought a wallpaper sized roll of it for much less than a fiver, reckon I could protect about 30 bikes with it (not much exaggeration).

But you can always buy heli tape if you want to empty your wallet

At the end of every year I remove it and put some new stuff on, dead easy to take off and replace.

Scrumple

heli tape is expensive for a reason. It is better - wont discolour, and is UV protective.

Berk Bonebonce

I like frames that don't have any paint on.

dodgy

Scrumple wrote:

heli tape is expensive for a reason. It is better - wont discolour, and is UV protective.

Mine hasn't discoloured.

On my carbon road bike I have had the same pieces of fablon on for 12 months and it's just starting to get dirty under the leading edge. Time to replace, at a cost of about 0.1p

On my MTB, same thing, only on the leading edges I have a sacrificial piece of fablon over the seam of the leading edge which gets replaced every few months, 10 second (literally) job and costs about 0.0001p

Just trying to help people save a few quid. Heli tape isn't better enough than fablon to justify the price difference.

May as well give it a try for what it costs.

father_jack

Leave it in the box and never ride it..

Scrumple

Berk Bonebonce wrote:

I like frames that don't have any paint on.

It does make it easier. I was advised to clean my ti bike with a scouring pad if it got scratched. Worry free!
On the other hand, I have already scuffed the red paint on my top tube on the Wilier - these things are inevitable.

father_jack

Or just buy a new bike every ride and throw your old one away. That's what I do.

Scrumple

Bit like your wit free, throwaway comments...

father_jack

much like this thread.

Vehicles get scratched. People should deal with it not expecting it to stay scratch and dust free. :roll:

LeicesterLad

Have to agree with Father Jack really, nobody likes their paintwork getting chipped, but its a bike, its an occupational hazard of riding on roads. I have OCD so usually worry about things like this quite a lot, like to keep everything pristine, but if your bike looks like you have ever ridden on it, then you may aswell just hang it on your wall and look at it. The bike is there to do a job, not to look pretty, looking pretty is just a bonus.

father_jack

I can understand using chainstay and outer cable frame protectors as you get constant brushing/rubbing from chain and outer though.

As to washing down your bike every ride nah not unless the roads are salted. Used my bike a lot over last winter got some surface rust on the bolts, and the chrome QR skewers surface has corroded, but it's just cosmetic.

If you have a steel frame, I'd paint over any chips though.

Lillywhite

boycee73 wrote:

..... but do you have any recomendations??

Avoid recently gritted roads and/or gravel paths. Otherwise, just accept that from time to time your frame might pick up the odd chip.

dodgy

I ride my bikes just about every day, they're also mostly pristine (well the paintwork is anyway). You can have it both ways. I'm fairly good at looking after my kit, but last winter I bought a Ti PlanetX sportive for bad weather so that helps and obviously I haven't bothered with the fablon on that, and it has mudguards anyway!

Berk Bonebonce

Can't understand why they paint aluminium utility bikes. I guess polishing the stuff is more costly than painting. You can't scratch paint that ain't there.

qwerty1982

Me personally I do like to give my bike a little polish and then wax to help try and protect it. You will get stone chips, thats a given, but no probs in trying to help reduce them!
Riding in winter, as others have said, if the road is salty then is an idea to give a little wash or at least a wipe... although it can be difficult.. if like me you bike home from work @ 0300hrs in the morning, cant be getting the hose out!! So i used to give it a good wipe down and then a good clean first chance i got.