OK, so I’ve read a few threads on the subject (from here as well as Bike Radar etc), any advances on nail varnish as the filler? Trailmonkey posted re using a car bodywork filler and a solvent to buff it smooth rather than wet and dry. This appeals to me as I’m sure I’d make a mess of trying to sand only the varnish without adding further damage/scratches. Someone else mentioned the shop he works in regularly do repairs and use wet 1200 grit wet ‘n’ dry glass-paper. He said it’s ok to rub down the stanchion to get a good finish without damaging the surrounding finish, scares me though! Others mention windscreen repair kits or araldite. Help!

Old thread on the subject

and another

TIA

Actually, it was 1500 grit he claimed is ok to slide up and down the stanchions. Anyone back this up?

dirtrag thread, see the last post

I’ve seen someone use 1200 grit to polish metal railings on a boat, and was very supprised that it actually did “polish” it and bring up a shine! Having seen that and read your post, I’d probably agree that it’s ok.

Morning it depends on the type of scratch, if it’s just a stone chip, you just need to take any sharp edges off of the chip so it doesn’t damage the seal, larger wear from dirt ingress smoothing won’t make much difference.
Have heard of a number of people using nail varnish but haven’t tried myself.
I would be careful of removing any more material than is necessary to smooth the edges of the scratch.

Did this yesterday, slowly remove any burrs or rough edges with 1200 grit wet n dry, dab a bit of araldyte in the scratches and leave for 5 minutes then carefully remove excess with a sharp blade. When it’s dry after about an hour carefully buff with the 1200 grit. This was a realigned scratch and if I really rub it with my nail i can still feel a slight dent but there are no rough edges and with a small scratch you can make it pretty much disappear.

I was pretty nervous the first time I did it though!

I’ve done it on a smallish scratch caused by the bike falling over and the stanchion sliding down a brick wall. Used nail varnish and relatively coarse wet and dry (it was all I had). Was careful and it was fine. It’s lasted well, too. Tbh I think taking the burr off the scratch was probably the most important thing.

if it’s a deep wear due to wear and tear (and bad maintenance) you could smooth it first and then use epoxy (araldite slow drying) to refill and work carefully with 1200 to rework the surface.

I toppled sideways on to some rocks this morning. Couple of deeper scratches, say 0.5mm deep and a handfull just enough to reveal silver beneath the “gold” (Rockshox), all on the air side. Been pretty successful in removing the burrs, so do I need to worry too much, as not on the damping side? I admit I know little of what the internals look like, but presumably the air is inside a cartridge? Bushings might wear more quickly, but otherwise left leg is the lesser of two evils?

Thinking I’ll still attempt something to try to stop the deeper ones getting worse/flaking.

You’re only going to loose the lubricating oil ou the lowers as the oil/grease in the damper and air units is sealed in the uppers.
As above smooth edghes with 1200/1500 grit wet a dry and maybe try filling with nail varish and then flat it down after 24 hours.
As long as the surface the seals seal onto is smooth you shouldn’t get too many issues, maybe just need to change the wipers more often due to a possible increase in dirt ingress.

dont panic!!!

its easy peasy.

use a fine emery paper/wet and dry to take of the burrs.
if there are any notable gouges, nail polish does indeed work fine.

you MUST wait for the nail varnish to harden before smoothing it off.
if not it clogs up the emery and pulls it out of the hole again.

if you do its rock hard enamel

sand again.

fresh stantions 🙂

note the lack of colour change in the stantions, and how the black writing hasn’t worn out/off.

they are harder than you think, just not harder than rocks 😉

now assess whether the burr has torn the seals, if so, new seals please!

but if your not leaking,i wouldnt worry.

Excellent, thanks for that and to everyone. Had a quick look at the servicing movies on you tube, cheered me up that the air seal is inside the stanchion so won’t be affected 🙂

Edit
Thanks to LoCo for cheering me up!