Satin matte frame finish

slowmart
slowmart Posts: 4,474
edited April 2017 in Road general
Looking at a deal on a bike with a satin matte finish and not having any experience of the robustness and longetevity means I would be grateful if anyone can share their experience?

It looks fine in the shop but my concern is it will be an absolute PIA to keep looking mint.

BTW I ride all year with an annual mileage of 5000 miles in all weathers.
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”

Desmond Tutu

Comments

  • gweeds
    gweeds Posts: 2,550
    Baby wipes are your friend here....
    Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  • AK_jnr
    AK_jnr Posts: 717
    WD40/GT whatever its called brings it up nice after cleaning as well
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Gweeds wrote:
    Baby wipes are your friend here....

    Baby wipes do clean bikes well.

    Matte finishes are lovely BUT are bloody hard to maintain the beautiful surface & prevent scratches.

    Personally I would avoid using GT85 or similar. Might bring it up nice & clean but can also remove the matte finish & creates a shiny surface (at least it did with my canyon ultimate CF :evil: ).
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    what do you expect using an oil on a matt finish?

    a tiny bit of normal car shampoo with no added wax to wash it was fine on my old matt black cube. or even just plain water

    baby wipes are also very good, so i would agree on that one.

    its matt, so dont rub it too hard or you will polish it and make it shiny.

    i remember a photo shoot many years ago where the owner of a matt black and orange escort cosworth decided to polish the car.
    the fool was up till 4am then having to polish all the matt black paint for the photoshoot. the matt black was one of the reasons we featured it... (used to work for a car mag)
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Fudgey wrote:
    what do you expect using an oil on a matt finish?

    Exactly! :oops:
    Shortly after getting my canyon back in 2013 I found an annoying mark inside the fork. A 'guru' from the bike club advised me that gt85 was the answer.
    Naively I trusted his advice but within a second or so realised it was s*** advice!
    Luckily it was in an unnoticeable place on the bike, although I always knew it was there which really p***ed me off (ocd).

    Live & learn though.
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Ah.

    isopropyl alcohol then, and dont rub much.
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    I use Decathlon's bike cleaner, or Muc-Off, and microfibre cloths. So far my (2011) frame still looks like new. Just be careful to wet the frame thoroughly, spray on the cleaner and let it work, then hose it off and lightly go over it with a clean cloth. The trick is never to rub grit into the finish, and to try and keep the bike clean - so wash after every ride if you can.
  • Flâneur
    Flâneur Posts: 3,081
    Hire a bike maid, MF can point you in the right direction
    Stevo 666 wrote: Come on you Scousers! 20/12/2014
    Crudder
    CX
    Toy
  • DKay
    DKay Posts: 1,652
    Had my matt finish Cayo since 2012 and it's not needed anything particularly fussy in terms of upkeep when compared to glass-painted bikes I've owned. Once a year, I'll give it a coat of a car wax (containing no polishing compound) and then just clean it using a bucket and sponge as and when it needs it.
  • ba68
    ba68 Posts: 156
    I have a Matt and raw carbon Orbea Orca, although for this year they have now said it's 'satin', anyway, I use Red Ant cleaner and finisher, not cheap but works a treat, a bottle of each lasts about a year but I am quite fastidious about having a clean bike so you could well find it lasts longer. Don't use car shampoo, fairly liquid etc or it will affect the finish, I find the red ant cleaner followed by a rinse with water works fine.
  • DKay
    DKay Posts: 1,652
    I use car shampoo (Meguires Gold Class) on my Cayo and it's done nothing to harm the matt finish and nor should it. They shouldn't contain any abrasives and are designed to be mild, so as not to strip off any wax you'd applied previously.
  • gdf
    gdf Posts: 26
    I've got a matte black Ultimate SLX and have used Red Ant matt bike cleaner and then matt polish on it since first getting the bike and it still looks great. Definitely recommend the stuff.

    http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/accessories ... p=view-all
  • dazz_ni45
    dazz_ni45 Posts: 468
    I use the Morgan Blue matt carbon cleaner and it always leaves a good finish
  • reds99
    reds99 Posts: 46
    Id use autoglym car bodywork shampoo
  • gdf wrote:
    I've got a matte black Ultimate SLX and have used Red Ant matt bike cleaner and then matt polish on it since first getting the bike and it still looks great. Definitely recommend the stuff.

    http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/accessories ... p=view-all

    This...Red Ant is an excellent cleaner for matt frames and leaves a nice, as new finish.
    “Faster, Faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.” Hunter S Thompson
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    gdf wrote:
    I've got a matte black Ultimate SLX and have used Red Ant matt bike cleaner and then matt polish on it since first getting the bike and it still looks great. Definitely recommend the stuff.

    http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/accessories ... p=view-all

    This...Red Ant is an excellent cleaner for matt frames and leaves a nice, as new finish.

    Agreed. Use it on my Matt finish R3. It's the business. Look no further
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • You'd all kind of sold me on the Red Ant stuff for my new sadly matt frame until I also then read the blurb on their product for non-matt i.e. normal frames (below). Why on Earth do you need a special cleaner for gloss carbon frames? I've been cleaning my 2009 carbon frame with washing up liquid (rinsing off with tap water) and it still looks new.

    Mind you, I had noticed it hadn't been effectively repelling water so I may have been missing out!


    CARBON FIBRE BICYCLE FRAME CLEANER
    • Frame friendly, fast, effective and safe all over carbon fibre bike cleaner
    • Unique PH Neutral formulation is effective at cleaning heavy dirt whilst protecting your frame and other surfaces
    • Unique carbon fibre frame dirt release and degreasing technology
    • New bio-degradable cleaning technology

    CARBON FIBRE BICYCLE FRAME PROTECTOR
    • Protects and adds shine with gloss enhancer technology
    • Designed to slow down dirt build up between washes
    • Effectively repels water
    • Up to 4 week all over surface protection technology
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    Washing up liquid contains a lot of salt, which is why I don't use it.
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • IC. wrote:
    Washing up liquid contains a lot of salt, which is why I don't use it.

    Which is why I rinse off with tap water. Having said that, it's going to be baby wipes all the way with my nice new bike :D
  • Don't waste your money on all these specialist products. Its only paint for crying out loud. Baby wipes and bathroom wipes cost peanuts and do a great job of cleaning matte frames.
    argon 18 e116 2013 Vision Metron 80
    Bianchi Oltre XR Sram Red E-tap, Fulcrum racing speed xlr
    De Rosa SK pininfarina disc
    S Works Tarmac e-tap 2017
    Rose pro sl disc
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    Just had a look at the Red Ant range. What can possibly be in their "Titanium frame protector"? Enquiring minds want to know...
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    IC. wrote:
    Washing up liquid contains a lot of salt, which is why I don't use it.

    Which is why I rinse off with tap water. Having said that, it's going to be baby wipes all the way with my nice new bike :D

    I use car shampoo on my CR1 if I can ever be arsed to wash it. Occasionally I'll run out and use Fairy liquid instead. If I'm washing my bike there's a good chance it's already plastered in road salt; I doubt the tiny amount in a squirt of detergent would do any damage to a bike even if it wasn't rinsed off.

    First world problems when you're worrying about what to wash your bike with...
  • DKay
    DKay Posts: 1,652
    I really don't understand all of these specialist products for matt frames either.
  • redvision wrote:
    Gweeds wrote:
    Baby wipes are your friend here....

    Baby wipes do clean bikes well.

    Matte finishes are lovely BUT are bloody hard to maintain the beautiful surface & prevent scratches.

    Personally I would avoid using GT85 or similar. Might bring it up nice & clean but can also remove the matte finish & creates a shiny surface (at least it did with my canyon ultimate CF :evil: ).

    On my Canyon Ultimate SLX I use Atlantic Matt-Care 150ml spray, it does an amazing job. The bike is now 6 months old and haven't seen any "damage" it looks like day one.
  • mikpem
    mikpem Posts: 139
    I use this: https://www.crankalicious.com/collectio ... boniferous
    I also use their Endura stuff on everything I have to clean because I like the smell.
  • imafatman
    imafatman Posts: 351
    Wow some road bikers seem pretty obsessive about the cleanliness of their bikes.... I've owned expensive mtb's all my life and never given two shits about how the frame looks. Apart from spraying down mud they live a tough and dirty life.

    I just got a road bike which had a lovely pearlescent shimmer. You can't see it now, after 400km it's covered in dust. I'll probably give it a wipe with a damp cloth but that's about it.

    Now a clean chainset.... that's something I'm obsessive about because it actually has a practical effect on my riding.
  • grenw
    grenw Posts: 803
    imafatman wrote:
    Wow some road bikers seem pretty obsessive about the cleanliness of their bikes.... I've owned expensive mtb's all my life and never given two shits about how the frame looks. Apart from spraying down mud they live a tough and dirty life.

    Ahh but an mtb only looks right when it's filthy. That's what I tell myself anyway.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    When I got my first proper road bike I kept it clean. For the first couple of weeks anyway, then the novelty wore off. Now I've got 2 of them I wash them properly maybe once a year. I prefer to spend my bike time on riding, maintenance and occasional lubrication.
  • slowmart
    slowmart Posts: 4,474
    I'm pleased to say the Matt frame has been fine with nothing other than a clean when it's dirty regime.
    “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”

    Desmond Tutu
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 51,196
    Slowmart wrote:
    ...a clean when it's dirty regime.

    That's revolutionary.

    Bikes used to be shiny and have chrome. You could spend hours cleaning them and really make an impact.

    If ICanBA to clean my bike, I wash it with washing up liquid and then car shampoo. Though I do keep the transmission as clean as possible. The invloves chucking more lube on it and wiping it off. :D
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!