Scratched paintwork! aaargh!

[Vo2]

I scratched the paintwork on my bike!

I'm considering taking it to a automotive spray shop and having them mix the colours for me (Bianchi mustard yellow and navy blue) so I can patch it up at home. I also heard that hobbyist model paint works fine.
Anyone got some better ideas for me on how I should go about it?

 

[Guest]

You could get it mixed for you or you could try the Bianchi dealer because they may have touch up paint available or can get some from overseas. I'm not sure though.

Is it a large scratch? How did it happen?

 

[Vo2]

I remove the front wheels from our bikes and turn the handlebars facing inwards when I rack them to the car. On the way back from Durban the hadlebar of the one bike somehow managed to dig itself into the rear upper fork, scratching away the paint and exposing the metal. It's about a 2 x 0.5 cm scratch.

 

[Guest]

Sounds like quite a bad scratch.
If you don't paint it soon then better borrow some clear nail varnish from the wifey and apply to the affected area to seal it.

"Rear upper fork?"
Do you mean the top of the rear triangle on the seat stays? i.e. the tubing between the rear hub and seat.

 

[Vo2]

Yip ;D Couldn't think of the correct name for them.

I've done the nail varnish thingy as a temporary measure.

 

[Guest]

Vo2,
Have you found out about the touch up paint? Bianchi have very distinctive colours and they're not metallic so shouldn't be a problem.

My friend sells Bianchis in his shop. I can ask him about the paint if you like...

 

[Vo2]

That would be cool, Sean, thanks
I saw on TV that they advertise a product that one can do touch-up jobs on cars with. Don't know what it's called, but it's a Verimark product, I think.

 

[Guest]

Don't touch that. It's just an abrasive that sort of dissolves the surrounding paintwork to fill the scratch.

I'll see what i can find.

 

[Vo2]

schweet

 

[Guest]

You could have your bike epoxy powdercoated. Gives a very durable finish and can be done with all the decals sacanned printed cut and replaced. Be carefull though you could invalidate your lifetime guarantee on you frame (with Trek bikes) Contact me off line for more details. (I do not do it myself)

 

[Vo2]

Big_H, does this mean the whole bike is stripped and sprayed? The bike is only a year old, and from what I understand, the frame comes with a 5 year guarantee.

 

[Guest]

Vo2, I spoke to my buddy and he says he needs to know which model your Bianchi is to get the correct colour. He says there is touch up paint available for most of Bianchi's colours but not all unfortunately.

 

[Vo2]

2000/2001 model. Bought it last year December.
I've only seen this particular colour scheme twice or thrice on the road - could even be the same dude I see everytime?

 

[Guest]

Has the frame got any other model designation besides the year. I don't know much about Bianchi's but they must have some sort of system to differentiate their frames...

The model ranges on their website don't seem to have your frame colour.

 

[Vo2]

Sean, I've found some hobbyist enamel paint that matches the colour of the frame almost exactly. Gonna try that for now. I don't think that my frame colours will be easy to find, probably a once off from Bianchi.

 

[Vo2]

Did my little piece of 'art work' last night. The colour matches exactly. Few more layers and were there

 

[Guest]

Great, i'm glad it worked