Does anybody know if reverb fluid (2.5wt Suspension oil?) will dissolve nail vanish?

While trying a full service on my reverb using a not tight enough vice and not so soft soft-jaws I’v got some nice scatches in the main inner piston.
I was going to try a nail varnish repair first before I shell out nearly £40 on a new inner shaft, if I can even get one I waited months for the service kit.

Shouldn’t dissolve it. Presume you know to apply a few thin layers, rather than one big dollop? Then sand down with 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper.

Also, keep the scratch you’re filling horizontal and facing up, otherwise the varnish can run out.

Bit late now but wrapping an inner tube around the piston is an easy way to avoid the problem…..

RicB have you done this sort of repair before? I was going to use red nail varnish not just because I’m a whore but thought it would be easier to see when just the scratch is filled and no excess round it.

Just done my forks, never done a reverb piston. I presume it’s the same principle though.

I used the best quality (clear) nail varnish i could find. I kept the stanchions horizontal and blobbed some varnish on, then used a piece of electrical insulation tape under tension; dragging it across the area. This wiped off any excess but left the scratch filled with varnish.

The varnish shrinks a bit as the solvent evaporates so i did a second coat and now it’s perfect.

In some ways you might as well try it – worst case is you damage the seals.

J-tech said they could do the same but with a better compound (probably JB weld) for £10, obviously plus postage.

Edit – I like your reasoning for using the red varnish. Obviously not on fork stanchions though!

Other thought – can you get the piston in a drill chuck? Will make it easy to sand & then Brasso any scratches away…

I never thought about using tape to wipe off I was going to use the old seal and hope it would wipe off any excess as it’s getting replaced anyway.
The scratches are pretty small but the old seal still catches on them even after sanding down the rough edges.
I’ll try this tomorrow at work and get under the scopes to make sure it’s properly smooth.

Cheers for the help

edit, yeah probably would fit in a drill might try that to speed things up