Hey folks ! I just bought a new bike but the frame is very scratched. What would you recommend to make it look cleaner?
Stickers, repaint… any recommendations appreciated 🙂
by freego_atw
Hey folks ! I just bought a new bike but the frame is very scratched. What would you recommend to make it look cleaner?
Stickers, repaint… any recommendations appreciated 🙂
by freego_atw
15 Comments
Ride it
patina. keep it as is.
Ride on, brotha!
If you’re not thrashing it, you’re not progressing
Maintain your moving components so you’ve got a fucking rad bike that is just a little scratched.
I’ve got a gorgeous Look KG243 frame, cromovelato paint and it’s all chrome underneath, the paint on these frames is notorious for just falling apart with time for no reason, I just decided it fuck it, it’s part of the process.
Im 50/50 on whether or not i appreciate a patina. I think the weathered/scuffed paint looks good on some builds, but thats totally subjective.
Oddly enough, wd-40 does a great job cleaning up paint without damaging or discoloring it. I successfully cleaned th my Masi with a mr clean magic eraser, wd/40 and some elbow grease. Hope that helps!
someone once said a bike gets faster after each scratch on the frame
I personally don’t reckon it’s worth half-measures. Either strip it back full and repaint it or just leave it as it is.
For deep scratches maybe touch it up with some matching finger nail polish . Iv had luck removing scuffs and gunk with a pickle surf wax remover.
Super clean bikes without any patina like that look weird because they look unloved, if I saw that bike in the wild I’d be happy to see a Bianchi Pista that’s getting shredded and think it looks great as is. If I saw the same bike but no patina however, I’d think it was being ridden by a beginner or in the worst case scenario a bit of a poser. It’s just my two cents and it doesn’t really matter, but yeah a bike like that looks best when it looks like it’s cared for and maintained but has also had a long and interesting life.
Use an automotive paint polish/cut compound and a microfiber towel (Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze as an example) to see what can be cleaned out of it. Compounds will come in varied weights/grits to help meet the demands of the current job. I’ve used them to polish various materials successfully.
Buy a new bike, you’ll be the laughing stock out there with those scratches.
Lot of that will wipe off with ordinary rubbing compound followed by a polish. Embrace whatever doesn’t.
There is nothing wrong with scratched frames. Especially cheap ones like this. Ride it and be proud of the use. Or spend a whole lot of time and money stripping and repainting it.
Either keep it, repaint or sticker/put some grafitti on it