Paint flaking off 2010 Stumpjumper FSR Elite

robu

Is this normal? I've got a 2010 Stumpjumper FSR Elite which has an anodised aluminium finish. After less than 300 miles, the paint is peeling off the frame. It appears to be some kind of varnish used to create the appearance of an anodised finish and it's blistering, mostly around the Specialized and Stumpjumper decals, but also elsewhere on the frame.

Due to bad health, too much work and crap weather, the Stumpy has hardly been used and there've been no crashes or falls, but the paint finish looks crap only eight months after I bought it. I've had two other MTBs and the paint on neither of them flaked in this way, so I expected better from Specialized, but am I being too picky? Is this normal wear and tear?

Images:
http://tinyurl.com/6aba5pp
http://tinyurl.com/6hfcudv
http://tinyurl.com/63ofd9m

ride_whenever

It's just chips in the lacquer and the edges around lifting up. Not a lot you can do and they almost certainly wont warranty it.

Helitape is good for preventing this though :?

pastey_boy

so is it anodised or anodised effect ? seems odd to lacquer an anodised finish.

Pinner

It does look like that frame has been pretty beat up from what I can see, I have a 2010 M5 pro frame and it doesn't appear to have the lacquer finish, not sure why yours does, it should be anodized.

robu

It looks a lot more beaten up than it should. The bike's been treated very well.

And strangely all the flaking is on the left side of the bike. The right side is completely clean, which might fit with a friend's theory that the flaking is caused by a chemical reaction. Who knows?

MountainMonster

Where do you store your bike? Has maybe anything fallen onto it that could cause that kind of flaking, some solvents or something?

robu

It's stored in a shed that contains nothing but two bikes and a ladder, so no chance of solvents landing on it. It's washed after every ride with soapy water. It's been in a bike shop once for the free service about two months after purchase - maybe it got splashed with something there?

Thewaylander

What soaps are using to clean it mate? but i'd definately contact Specialised about it, send them some piccies and see what is said.

robu

I use a car soap. It's very gentle and I've never had any problems using it on any other bikes.

It appears flaking and blistering paint on the 2010 Stumpy Expert is not an uncommon problem. I've posted on a few other MTB forums this morning and received replies from several people who've had the same experience.

One of them, a paint specialist, suggested that the pre-laquer stage in the painting process had been omitted or contaminated. He said the flaking could be the result of bad preparation, or contamination, or the lacquer having been mixed incorrectly, or a reaction between the paint and lacquer. He said the usual form of contamination was the handling of parts after de-greasing or during the painting process. If the operator was not wearing gloves, the amount of sweat and grease that would be imparted on the frame would be enough to cause subsequent paint layers, such as a laquer or varnish, to flake off eventually.

If contamination has taken place, it might explain why the varnish is flaking primarily around the decals (and only on the left hand side) as contamination might have occurred when the decals were attached to the frame.

I've emailed Specialized to get their reaction, but it appears that I'm not alone in having this problem.

benpinnick

Specialized are very good for this kind of thing.... hopefully they'll offer a replacement.

Devastazione

I've heard Specy does not cover bad paint jobs but it happened multiple times that the dealer sent the bike in with "frame issue" thing and got a new frame back.

Sorry about your Elite,I'll give mine a good wash and wax treatment after this post

robu

Here's the latest on the paint flaking: I contacted Specialized customer services and received an email reply within 24 hours saying that a "reaction has occurred on some frames due to the ano type finish reacting with the lacquer" and asking me to return the bike to the dealer with proof of purchase for a warranty claim.

So it seems it's a genuine fault. Don't know what will happen now, but I'll let you know in due course.

Thanks to everyone who posted replies. It was a great help to get support that didn't imply I was bonkers or pedantic for thinking paint flaking off the frame was in any way unusual.