Exposed frame - what next?

Gasperoni

I just found out that riding with a bike lock cable attached can damage your frame. I thought the plastic coated cable posed no risk at all - I was wrong. The cable has received no damage at all, but it managed to wear through the paintwork to the bare metal (aluminium alloy).



Having done some reading around one suggestion is to leave it, as the natural oxidisation process for aluminium produces its own protective layer. What I'm not so clear on, is how true this is for aluminium alloy? Ideally I'd like it to look nice, but I suspect my efforts at respraying might make it worse, especially as its a metallic finish, and I'm guessing the cost of getting it done professionally might be a bit steep?

So, do I leave it to oxidise or do I need to patch it up? If I do need to patch it up, what is the best way to go about it?

Its a 2005 Trek 1000SL if that makes any difference

napoleond

Sand it and touch up like you would a car. No biggie.

Matthewfalle

NapoleonD wrote:

Sand it and touch up like you would a car. No biggie.

Yup - exactly right.

mr_evil

Gasperoni wrote:

...the natural oxidisation process for aluminium produces its own protective layer...

Aluminium (including the alloys used for bicycle frames) is pretty resistant to the elements because of this. However, aluminium oxide takes up more space than aluminium metal, so it will cause the surrounding paint to slowly peel off if left exposed.

Gasperoni

Thanks for the replies, especially the caveat about the oxidisation process effectively creating more damage. Off to Halfords then.