carbon bike paint missing

kkzfish

Hi i have a stupid question.
My carbon bike has a 1cmx1cm paint missing...i can see the carbon directly so i believe the coating is gone too.
Can i still use bike cleaner and water to wash that part? Is there anything i can do for that?
thx

andy46

Put a thin layer of clear nail varnish over it or get some heli-tape just to give it a bit of protection. If it's just paint I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Bordersroadie

Put it this way, I've been using the same 100% carbon masts for windsurfing for years, in salt and fresh water. They are not coated with anything, just the bare outer face of the carbon/epoxy weave. The section where the boom attaches has been abraded to a matt surface but this makes no difference because the structure is bulletproof and waterproof right through its thickness. Carbon forks are essentially the same material as these high end masts.

I have a bit of paint missing on my carbon fork and have not bothered treating it with anything. Epoxy is the toughest, most waterproof resin you can get, hence its use in yacht building and watersports of all types.

Just do nothing and don't worry about it.

racingcondor

It's fine, the clear coat is just a nice even glossy finish. Yes it helps to protect the paint job and the frame but only because it takes the initial impact and chips (as yours has) first.

Clear nail varnish is a good option for a couple of reasons. If the clear coat is slighly debonded from the carbon then you can seal it again (stops water getting in and more clear coat/paint flaking off later) and becuase you can give the area a gloss finish again to make the chip less noticable.