Possibility to repair a carbon frame?

[Steffen Hauser]

Hi,

the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear
lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired? How? And who could
do it?

Regards,
-Steffen-

 

[dabac]

the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired?

If it's only cosmetic, sure. If it's cosmetic AND structural, probably.

? How?

If it's only cosmetic it's fairly simple. The afflicted part(or the whole frame) needs to be sanded down lightly, cleaned and then resprayed with a clearcoat.
I suggest that you contact the manufacturer to make sure that you're using a clearcoat that's compatible with whatever that's already on the frame.

And who could do it?

If it's only cosmetic pretty much anybody. If you're looking for professionals a car painter would be my first suggestion. You can always try asking the LBS if there's someone in the 'hood who does frames.

If it's structural it'll be harder to track down professionals, but you might find them through the boating/yachting industry. Can't hurt to ask your LBS about that as well.

There are a couple of frame builders that does repairs too, you'll have to ship them the frame, but they'll take it from there.

 

[jim beam]

Steffen Hauser wrote:
> Hi,
>
> the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear
> lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired? How? And who could
> do it?
>
> Regards,
> -Steffen-

cosmetic is easy. if it's structural, attempted repair is not a good
idea as you have no idea about success or integrity until it starts to
fail again. test the frame by loading it and seeing if it makes any
creaking or cracking noises. if so, buy a new frame - this one will
need to be retired as wall art.

 

[bfd]

On Feb 5, 2:16 am, Steffen Hauser
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear
> lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired? How? And who could
> do it?
>
If its just the clearcoat, then try applying clear nail polish. It
works well.

If the damage is greater, it might be repairable. The only builder who
actually does repair on carbon fiber frames is Craig Calfee. Not only
can he repair his own frames, he can do others. Here's a list of
frames (and apparently carbon wheels!) that he has repaired:

Brands of frame (or wheel) we have successfully repaired: Trek,
Kestrel, Giant, Colnago, Look, Cervelo, Ridley, Scott, Bianchi, Time,
Orbea, Corima, LeMond, Cannondale, Fondriest, Merckx, DeRosa, Quintana
Roo, Wilier, Aegis, Specialized, CarBent, Zipp, Softride, Hed,
Nimble.

http://www.calfeedesign.com/howtosendrepair.htm

 

[A Muzi]

Steffen Hauser wrote:
> the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear
> lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired? How? And who could
> do it?

Clear nail polish, $5 at Walgreens
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Leo Lichtman]

"dabac" wrote: If it's only cosmetic it's fairly simple. The afflicted
part(or the
> whole frame) needs to be sanded down lightly, cleaned and then resprayed
> with a clearcoat. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lacquer redissolves in its own solvent, so even sanding is not necessary. I
suggest spraying with clear lacquer that has been thinned with about 50%
thinner. Lots of light coats. This, of course, is for cosmetic damage
only.

 

[Chalo]

Steffen Hauser wrote:
>
> the carbon frame of my racing bike was damaged, especially the clear
> lacquer. Does anybody know if this can be repaired? How? And who could
> do it?

You can do it!

https://secure.roycemedical.com/db/roycedb.fm$FIND?GroupID=CASTING_TFI&layout=detail&html=htmlDetail.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/22c2af

People will ask if they can sign your bike.

Chalo

 

[dabac]

Lacquer redissolves in its own solvent, so even sanding is not necessary.

...if it actually is lacquer that's already on there..
Personally I have, as needs would have it, at one time or another, used just about every household (and garage) chemical with any kind of cleaning/ degreasing ability available on a bike and I have yet to come across one capable of reacting with the clear coat/paint job already on the bike.

 

[Peter Cole]

dabac wrote:
> Leo Lichtman Wrote:
>> Lacquer redissolves in its own solvent, so even sanding is not
>> necessary. ...if it actually is lacquer that's already on there..
> Personally I have, as needs would have it, at one time or another, used
> just about every household (and garage) chemical with any kind of
> cleaning/ degreasing ability available on a bike and I have yet to come
> across one capable of reacting with the clear coat/paint job already on
> the bike.
>
>

Acetone comes to mind.

 

[dabac]

dabac wrote:
> Leo Lichtman Wrote:
>> Lacquer redissolves in its own solvent, so even sanding is not
>> necessary. ...if it actually is lacquer that's already on there..
> Personally I have, as needs would have it, at one time or another, used
> just about every household (and garage) chemical with any kind of
> cleaning/ degreasing ability available on a bike and I have yet to come
> across one capable of reacting with the clear coat/paint job already on
> the bike.
>
>

Acetone comes to mind.

I have tried acetone on the last residual gunk after stickers removal once. And although not the substance of choice I didn't notice any impact on the paint. No transfer of paint to the rag, no shift in color, no stickiness or dulling of the surface or anything.