Can this Serotta Fork be refinished? Bubbles under clear coat.

2manybikes · #1 10-07-2012, 02:14 PM

Bought this F3 fork online, but noticed bubbling under the clear coat and cloudy gray areas as well. Found water dripping out of the weep holes. Talked to the prior owner and he said he cleaned it by setting in a bucked of water / soap while he wiped it down. Likely took in water into the weep holes from the bucket.

Any chance Serotta can refinish this?

Do you think the carbon is damaged?

By they way, I noticed something similar while I was color sanding a scratch off my Seat Stay. Water from the sand paper got under the clear coat where the scratch was and created a small gray streak under the clear coat. Be careful about getting your Serotta carbon wet!

Louis · #2 10-07-2012, 02:35 PM

I have several of those on my daily-driver CF fork. They are small areas where the clear-coat is disbonded from the underlying material. It's not a structural issue - purely cosmetic. I wouldn't worry about it, unless the look bothers you enough that you feel like spending the $$$ to do something.

Regarding the water, it's unlikely to have done any damage. IMO dunking in a bucket is not how I would have done it, but it's not the end of the world. If you really want to investigate you could remove the fork from the frame and shake it to see if there is any more water in there, and if there is stick twisted bits of paper-towel into the drain hole to see if you can wick it out. (Assuming that's the only access you have to the interior, which is sometimes the case.)

Neither of these problems is a big deal.

Good Luck

2manybikes · #3 10-07-2012, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Louis

I have several of those on my daily-driver CF fork. They are small areas where the clear-coat is disbonded from the underlying material. It's not a structural issue - purely cosmetic. I wouldn't worry about it, unless the look bothers you enough that you feel like spending the $$$ to do something.

Regarding the water, it's unlikely to have done any damage. IMO dunking in a bucket is not how I would have done it, but it's not the end of the world. If you really want to investigate you could remove the fork from the frame and shake it to see if there is any more water in there, and if there is stick twisted bits of paper-towel into the drain hole to see if you can wick it out. (Assuming that's the only access you have to the interior, which is sometimes the case.)

Neither of these problems is a big deal.

Good Luck

Definitely still getting water out. Hard to drain it from the two weep holes. I wonder how much Serotta would charge to sand it down, re clear coat it and put the decals back on.

Louis · #4 10-07-2012, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2manybikes

Definitely still getting water out. Hard to drain it from the two weep holes. I wonder how much Serotta would charge to sand it down, re clear coat it and put the decals back on.

Looking at your picture, it's now obvious to me that the fork is not in a frame. That should make it a bit easier to remove the water. I'd be patient and remove what's left then just use it - but that's me. Do what you think is best.

Charles M · #5 10-07-2012, 04:13 PM

If that's just standard (non tinted) clear coat, any local auto place can do it for you in the case you dont want to do it yourself...

Peter P. · #6 10-07-2012, 05:21 PM

Put the fork in an oven set to 150 degrees for a couple hours. The water will evaporate, wherever it is.

And no; it won't damage the fork. That temp is quite possibly reached inside a car in a Texas summer and I've never seen warnings to not leave your carbon bike inside a hot car.

Serotta can refinish anything if you're willing to pay. For a faster turnaround, I'd suggest you contact any of the firms that repair carbon frames such as Calfee Designs.

2manybikes · #7 10-08-2012, 07:04 PM

Authorized Serotta refinisher quoted $100 plus decal cost. Seems reasonable. Waiting to hear back from Serotta after sending the pics.

Tony T · #8 10-08-2012, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter P.

I've never seen warnings to not leave your carbon bike inside a hot car

For their cranks, Campy warns:

Do not expose the carbon crankset to high temperatures. Do not store bike parts in vehicles parked in the sun, and do not store near radiators or other heat sources. Do not store carbon fiber products in direct sunlight.

2manybikes · #9 10-09-2012, 09:12 PM

I guess no surprise. Serotta was way higher to refinish. I'll give the local guy a try.

ultraman6970 · #10 10-09-2012, 11:44 PM

The picture is too far to know what is going on but i'll assume that the clearcoat bubbled. Who ever clearcoated the fork prepared the surface wrong or my best guess is that the fork was clearcoated with too much humidity and basically water starts drying out and you get those bubbles after a few years, 3rd option is that they used really bad clear.

As for refinish it, that needs to be sanded to get rid off of the bubbles and then clear coated again, sand the finish and polish to finish it really well.

If you want to do this at home you can get 2k car grade polyurethane in a spray can in basically in any car paint supplies store. It is sold for 15 bucks or so.

Hope this helps