Lynskey Ti Finish Options and Decal Options

[duffeymt]

Can any Lynskey owners comment on the satin finish and whether or not they recommend the bright brushed upgrade? Are fingerprints, small scratches really that noticeable on the satin?

I like to aesthetics of a Moots satin with the white decals, but not sure if all satin finish is made equal.

Also, how about the etched decals? Do the white or black decals peel off easily?

[gavingould]

i occasionally work in a shop that does Lynskey -

my opinion, the satin of Lynskey is not the same as Moots satin. the Moots seems a lot more matte to me; that said i haven't ever gotten the two side by side. fingerprints (to me) seem less of an issue on satin, but scratches are more noticeable.

the black/white decals are fairly fragile, but easily replaced or removed entirely if you wanna go stealth.

[mvrider]

Mootses are bead blasted
Lynskeys are brushed (most likely with Scotchbrite)

Both need regular applications of Lemon Pledge to keep the fingerprints at bay (the silicone oils appear to be the key active ingredient). I love the Moots/Eriksen industrial look, but the brushed look is easier to maintain: in case of scratches, just whip out the Scotchbrite. For the bead blasted finish, you'd have to send the frame to the builder or a finishing shop with the right glass bead media, after disassembling your bike.

Scotchbrite comes in different grits, so I suspect the upgrade satin finish entails more labor with finer grit material.

[tuscanyswe]

I think satin is lynskeys budget finish no? Should be less work if so..

Atleast it used to look like below or something similar for lynskeys.

satin / industrial mill / brushed / polished

Moots finish is wonderful imo. Its not like any satin ive seen on other frames even tho the shade/darkness may appear similar in photos.

As said, brushed is the easiest to maintain.

[bthornt]

I have a Lynskey R220 frame, unbuilt, that I purchased on ebay in new condition for a great price. It's just been hanging around in my closet since I purchased it - about 3 years ago. The decals are in pretty bad shape, in spite of the fact that it's just been sitting there. I don't notice anything unique or particular about the titanium's finish (matte), and I also own a Litespeed Classic - they look about the same.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by duffeymt

Can any Lynskey owners comment on the satin finish and whether or not they recommend the bright brushed upgrade? Are fingerprints, small scratches really that noticeable on the satin?

I like to aesthetics of a Moots satin with the white decals, but not sure if all satin finish is made equal.

Also, how about the etched decals? Do the white or black decals peel off easily?

I have the brushed finish on my custom lynskey 420, with the bead-blasted logo on the downtube, my name on the toptube, and a flame motif around the head tube. It is fairy subtle. I love this bike!

Fingerprints aren't a problem, and as the logo is bead blasted, there are no decals to peel.

[rnhood]

Somehow Moots manages their finish much like their welds, in that they exude a quality that other builders seem to find elusive. I've seen quite few Lynskeys and they can look very nice, but not quite Moots nice. They are all good bikes though. The Lynskey above is particularly nice.

[duffeymt]

Going stealth sounds good...maybe save the etch upcharge and plan on having the shop take the logos off.

Either etched for life or no logo at all?

[irideti]

My R320 has brushed finish and decal deletion on the top tube. I really like how clean it turned out. However I have to say Lynskey's brushed finish isn't on the same league as Seven's (I have both) but both bikes are able to survive daily wear and tear just fine.

[Tony T]

Originally Posted by djg21

...flame motif around the head tube.

Excellent! (Wish I thought of that!)

[ty7180]

I have a Lynskey in satin. Initially I was disappointed as it looked really dull compared to the Moots finish. I read somewhere that Moots waxes their frames to get the unique matte finish. I tried it on my Lynskey using basic car wax and have been very pleased with the results. It also seems to cut down on finger print smudges too. I also wipe the frame down with a pledge wipe periodically to refresh things.

[Tony T]

Pedro's Bike Lust give a nice finish to Ti and Carbon.

[pcxmbfj]

I just removed the decals on my Lynskeys top and downtube using a heat gun, alcohol, and fingernails. Used heat gun just enough to warm the decal so my fingernail could peel into clunks to remove.
Required multiple alcohol cleans to remove residue followed by application of Pledge.
Also used Goobegone on resistant spots but mineral spirits should work just as well.
It's stock so probably has the satin or whatever the cheapest finish is and had good luck with Scotchbrite red used dry.
Bought the Scotchbrite from an automotive store in sheets that I cut into strips, wrapped around tubes and lightly pulled bidirectionly (side to side and forward at the same time).
Had to experiment to determine the strip movement that makes the finish match, pulling the strip back and forth or too hard left scratches.
Used the same technique on a Moots ti seatpost to remove insertion marks with acceptable results.
Large proponent of stealth ti over gaudy or disintergrating decals.