Carbon Clearcoat Repair?

[BU Racer]

Has anyone ever fixed scratches in the clearcoat of their carbon? I have a few completely superficial blemishes on the ST stay of my Ottrott and Coeur d'Acier that I would love to polish out. I have read about nail polish, clear lacquer, 1200 grit sand paper, and Simichrome polish(?) among other things. Before I touch my frame with any of these, I was wondering if any other Serotta owner has or knows of a safe, effective method for cleaning up these minor scratches. It's not worth getting the bike refinished, because the paint and polished Ti are both in excellent shape. If I could just get rid of these minor scratches in the top coat the bikes would look new again! Thanks for your help!

[znfdl]

I use clear nail polish.

[92degrees]

i fixed a nice nick last summer with sally hansen's (sp?) hard as nails, and a little elbow grease. the nick was white, which i fixed with a sharpie. you couldn't find the nick if i showed it to you now...

[Kevin]

I use Plexus. Here is a paragraph from their website:

Plexus® was developed for use in the aviation industry - specifically, for cleaning and protecting aircraft windshields and painted surfaces. As Plexus became more and more popular, people quickly discovered it could be used on a limitless variety of plastic surfaces. Since then, Plexus has continued to grow in popularity, and today it is recognized as the most effective plastic cleaner, protectant and polisher on the market.

It works great on the carbon clear coat and the varnished wood in the car. Here is the website http://www.plexusplasticcleaner.com/frames.html

Kevin

[Kevan]

he's wearing pink.

[92degrees]

plexus is excellent polish. i've used it often on damaged rear car windows (convertible tops). you may need to fill a deep scratch first, though.

[stevep]

i concur w. znfdl.
quick, easy, effective, cheap, probably lying around.
funny, my wife has been looking for her clear nail polish for months...has not yet thought of my workbench in my tool box.
hmmmm.

[catulle]

i fixed a nice nick last summer with sally hansen's (sp?) hard as nails, and a little elbow grease. the nick was white, which i fixed with a sharpie. you couldn't find the nick if i showed it to you now...

Would you elaborate on the elbow grease part, please? That is, once you fill the nick with nail polish, what do you do? How do you polish it? Thank you.

[KevinK]

I've used medium viscosity CA glue (superglue) to fix the clearcoat nicks on my fork. It fills well, cures hard and sands/polishes to a glass finish.

Kevin

[catulle]

I've used medium viscosity CA glue (superglue) to fix the clearcoat nicks on my fork. It fills well, cures hard and sands/polishes to a glass finish.

Kevin

Er, excuse me, but how do you polish it? Thank you.

[92degrees]

Would you elaborate on the elbow grease part, please? That is, once you fill the nick with nail polish, what do you do? How do you polish it? Thank you.


I used sandpaper from the auto supply store -- 600 and 1000 grit wrapped around a small block of wood, kept the paper wet, until the nailpolish was perfectly flush (you may need to do several applications to build the nailpolish up until it's "proud" of the surface), then buffed lightly with white rubbing compound, then good car wax.

[catulle]

I used sandpaper from the auto supply store -- 600 and 1000 grit wrapped around a small block of wood, kept the paper wet, until the nailpolish was perfectly flush (you may need to do several applications to build the nailpolish up until it's "proud" of the surface), then buffed lightly with white rubbing compound, then good car wax.

Thank you, Steve.

[BoulderGeek]

I have used 2000 grit sandpaper (left around from lapping CPU heat sinks) and polished with meguiar's plastic polish.

The plastic polish liquid is great on my motorcycle windscreen and helmets and such. And it makes my Nove sparkle.

[KevinK]

Er, excuse me, but how do you polish it? Thank you.

Wet sand to level using 1200-2000 grit paper, then polish with 3M fine cut automotive polish. Just be careful, as the CA glue is harder than the original finish.

Kevin

[lemondsteel]

I go to the local beauty supply store and buy the nail polishing tools that the nail techs use. It is two sided and has three different area. One side has 2 grits that are very fine and the other side has one complete side of a polishing grit. It will polish to a high gloss. The big plus is that they usually have a stiff foam base and can be curved to fit irregular surfaces. The 3 grits colors are pink, white and gray in order of grade with gray being the polishing full length side. I usually buy six at a time. Very cheap.

[Archibald]

clear nail polish, let set until tacky, then press and wipe with wax paper.

[znfdl]

clear nail polish, let set until tacky, then press and wipe with wax paper.

Archibald:

Interesting process, I will try next time I have to break out the nail polish.