Hi all, now i know this is going to come across as a stupid question but i simply don’t know the answer.

Whoever posted the pic of their Orange Five in raw the other day inspired me with this choice.

I am the proud new owner of a 2012 Santa Cruz Heckler in raw, i’ve never owned a raw bike so i assume (its not been delivered yet) it is raw aluminium with a clear coat?

Do i need to do anything different with a raw frame or is it simply the the same as any paint job?

Oh and post some pics of you raw bikes, Santa Cruz if possible, so i can see how they look.

Same as any other paint finish

Ah ok brilliant. It was one of those ‘i know the answer but do i? situations’.

The clear coat just goes straight on top of the raw aluminium then?

I had visions of constantly polishing the finish to keep it looking smart.

Pretty much. You’ll notice flat spots where the clear coat gets dings and scratches in the noraml places, cable rub, down tube BB shell and so on, but it’s ali, so it won’t rust it’ll just oxidise.

Cheers mate, really helped.

Ill helicopter tape up all the normal spots.

Can’t wait now.

If it’s true ‘raw’ then there shouldn’t be any clear coat on it. Im not entirely sure how SC raws their frames but my Turner is completely raw. No coat.

Personally I prefer it this way. Metal in it’s rawest form is really nice, I think aluminium particularly looks great dull. Coated or polished is just a little too bling for me.

The best part is I don’t need to worry a bit over dinks, scratches or rubs. Forget helitape, from now on I’ll never buy a painted or coated alu frame again.

I had a raw 2008 heckler and it had no clear coat. Brasso once a year made it look bling. Buy a dremmel and make it a quicker job.

I really like the matte finish so I hope it comes like that.

From the look on these pics it’s not particularly shiny.

Not my pic by the way so apologies if its yours (it’s off google images). Oh and that Turner looks stunning. Raw suits the 5 Spot down to a tee.