I have a “rawed” alloy frame and after removing the chain stay protector I have found some light corrosion beneath it and I’m considering what to do next. I would rather not paint the frame so as far as I can see I have a few other options but I’m not sure which would be best.

A:Paint just the chainstay as it will be covered by the protector
B:Duct tape the chainstay and then cover with the protector
C:Ignore it (probably a bad idea)

I could also clear lacquer the whole frame but this would take a lot more effort.
Opinions and other options welcome.

Corrosion will probably be from trapped moisture/salts (dirt/mud) kept in contact with the frame.

Raw aluminium has to be prepared properly for paint/lacquer to stick to it (etched) so you may find going this route may not help much but if it’s going to be covered it could be fine.

Another route would be to stick some PU tape over the area then the chainstay protector over that. Or wrap something like self amalgamating silicone tape around first and then the protector for cosmetics.

PS you often get problems with lacquered aluminium frames when the lacquer gets damaged and allows water to get in between the lacquer and the frame. Lacquer/paint is porous but when well bonded to aluminium it seems a lot less of a problem for bikes than steel where you can get rust showing through paint.

You could try a hard car wax, I used to volunteer as a plane cleaner/polisher at a charity that has a number of old aeroplanes in flying condition, and the exposed aluminium was polished with autosol wiped with degreaser and then waxed