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I am on the verge of submitting a warranty claim for a frame and need the serial no. It is stamped on the BB shell as expected, but the paint is so thick, it has effectively obscured the numbers. All I can see are very faint indentations in the paint. I have tried the old tracing paper trick to no avail and have even tried rubbing in powdered graphite (soft pencil lead) to give the numbers some definition. I have had a result but nothing conclusive. Shining a light from an oblique angle isn't very effective either.
Any ideas how to get round this problem? It can't be the first time it has happened.
Did you buy it new? Any paperwork still with it? Frame numbers can be written on the paperwork...is that any use?
Bit of nitromors? Apply with a small modelling brush? Then cover the cleared area with some lacquer?
Tell the company who are honouring the warranty (frame mfr I assume) that you can't read it because their paint is crap? Can't be the first time they've had the problem.
Who is the serial number for? The bike shop/manufacturer?
I'd explain the problem to them & ask how they want you to proceed.
It's not really your problem to solve if the manufacturer can't make a legible serial number.
Could you take a photo of it & send that to them?
I had a similar issue with both my Orange FS bikes, but found that if you shone a light on them (phone torch) from different angles they became a lot clearer.
I bought the frame new but it was in 2015. Any paperwork is long gone but....it did have a lifetime warranty.
The serial no is for the manufacturer. The LBS is handling the warranty claim for me and if the details I have tried to read thus far are no good, I'll take the frame to them. It is however almost a couple of hours round trip so I'd like to avoid that if possible.
Did you buy it from your (not local) LBS?
Is it not possible they have records?
They have records but not the serial no. I'll have another go working out the number and get someone else to look and see if they get the same result I did. If not, it looks like I'll be getting in the car.
Cracked your 'ball John? 😮
Yup.....
It's all the power I put through it. :o)
Can you not take pics of the obscured serial number and send them to the shop so that the manufacturer can sort out their own problem?
post a picture here so we can play "guess the serial number"?
In all honesty, a few photos correctly focused (not too close and tap the area you want to focus on) and flash on/flash off are often more legible than by eye. I've used it to read old part numbers on vehicle components.
We records frame number on orders and it's often quite hard work, the ones I enjoy most are where they clamp a cable guide over the top and you have to undo both gear cables to move it.