Thought I’d separate this from the “worn stanchions/fox warranty” thread.

I scratched my fox float stanchions yesterday. But just how big is a problem is this?
Spoke to mojo and they were keen to tell me it’ll be certain death for my forks due to dust and grime getting in and so buy some new stanchions from us!
Can see the theory but in reality will that much more muck get in just from a few scratches? Also Mojo said it may cause air /oil loss? Which I can’t see how myself.

a)Does anyone have actual experience of whether scratches on stanchions causes performance/longevity issues?

b)Does the sandpaper and nail varnish work?

thanks

b) does work yes. There’s an easier fix though. Get some body repair stuff from the local Auto shop. Step 1 is a compound that fills in the scratches. Step 2 is a polishing fluid that you rub onto the filler and it slowly dissolves it down.

thanks trailmonkey.
Anybody have experience of whether scratched stanchions are that big a deal and cause performance problems long term?

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12543653

here you go, did this on an old fork.

depends on the stratch
depends on the specifics of the forks (i dont know anything about foxes)
have you removed the “burr” before compressing the fork again.
sharp burrs can rip up seals

but whats it going to do at the end of the day?

wear your seals out quicker perhaps,
it shouldnt affect the bushings

very slowly introduce dust into the oil.

as far as i can tell, even if you ride them for months and months and months with a scratch, there will be no damage that isnt solved by a seal change, a good clean of the internals and new oil?

I’m hypothisiesing here

A scratch can open up the stanchion to corrosion, depending on what its made of!!! so you have to make sure you keep it lubed!!! but apart from that i agree with the above too!

nothing wrong with hypothesising, Olly. I’d been coming around to that way of thinking. They’re bound to get more scratches, so replacing stanchions doesn’t make sense (unless you wotk for Mojo). It shouldn’t cause oil or air leaks as far as I can work out (despite what Mojo say).
Just a case of “maybe” more dirt getting than usually would. This I suppose will depend on the depth of scratches.

I’ve scratched my float 32 r and grazed my Van 36 rc2. Both have been rubbed down with fine wet and dry and have caused no issue. Really depends on the size and depth of your scratch though.

why dont we just go back to fork boots….

Allegedly they compound the problem as grit gets trapped inside them.
I think its a fashion thing myself, although personally i like how fork boots look.

If it’s the spring side and is small and smooth enough that it won’t damage the seal, it should be ok, as long as you’re sure to keep the lubrication oil topped up. If it’s damper side you could have problems if the scratch is big enough to cause oil loss.

adstick, how will some scuffs/scratches on the outside of stanchions cause oil loss?

because the damper side is full of oil right up to the stanchion seal. when the fork compresses the pressure on the oil increases and will try and squeeze out of the gap where the scratch is…