DIY stanchion repair experiences?

Serviced my fork and found this lurking beneath the seal:

Anyone got any experiences of using epoxy repair kits like the one below to deal with this sort of damage?

Scratch Cover – Fork Stanchion Repair

Got to be worth a try, awaiting the report already.

I’ve used black nail polish with decent success several times. This one seems to work well:

Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint | Black Forest

SWMBO tells me there’s a difference between brands in terms of how hard & durable they are after curing.

I did good slow prep using 800 grit, painted on, left to air harden indoors for 48 hours then very, very gently wet sanded back with 1200 grit, water & washing up liquid.

Happy to post you the scratch cover kit if you’re willing to send it back when done northwind.

I’ve a pair I’ve been meaning to do and yet to get round to.

I’ve tired of on a tiny scuff on a shock and worked well enough – I think it would be better on a bigger scratch to be honest.

@dangeourbrain That’s really generous of you, thanks. Would be very happy to do that and compensate you for what I use, postage, etc. I’m reluctant to do anything with it before the Naughty Northumbrian in a couple of weeks, if that works ok for you?

@andyrm I keep a bottle of clear nail varnish in the garage for touching up scrapes on frames, and I did wonder whether that would do as good a job…

I’m reluctant to do anything with it before the Naughty Northumbrian in a couple of weeks, if that works ok for you?

I’ll bring it with me then. Remind me!

Ah, great! Will do, thanks!

Seems kinda expensive for a few ml of epoxy and some wet n dry.

https://www.epodex.com/en/product/clear-epoxy-resin-transparent-drop-ins/?1=Transparent-colourless-(clear)

Seems kinda expensive for a few ml of epoxy and some wet n dry.

But its bike specific!

I mean, I did wonder if we were getting screwed because bikes… I’ve got various epoxies in the garage, but no idea if they’re any good for this application.

That was pretty much where I got to to be honest.

Car body filler on a fork just seems wrong. Then again…

I’ve used the repair kit linked to above. It was fairly useless TBH.

I’d use fine wet and dry to smooth it off. I’ve not found Epoxy to hold well enough to make a difference.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>So dangeourbrain did indeed kindly lend me his kit. I had to put more epoxy than was ideal on to cover the wear because it wrapped nearly the whole way round the stanchion and I had to keep rotating it to stop it pooling underneath before it dried. But once cured, it was pretty quick and easy to file most of it back (I used a slightly wider needle for than the one in the kit, seemed easier to keep flat), then sanded with 320 and 600 wet and dry, and a little polishing.</p>

Pretty happy with the results. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely better than it was. It still looks quite obvious, but it’s below the seal, so as long as the surface is a smooth cylinder it doesn’t really matter. The before and after pictures don’t look that much different so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Did a couple of tiny chips higher up while I was at it, now practically invisible.

👌

Let us know what’s its like after a few months riding

I mean, I did wonder if we were getting screwed because bikes… I’ve got various epoxies in the garage, but no idea if they’re any good for this application.

The slower drying ones are best from experience… I also take a week doing a scratch… let each layer go properly hard before sanding down and don’t try and do too much in one layer.

Let us know what’s its like after a few months riding

That’s the acid test. Will find out at next service.

Many years ago I managed to catch my fork stanchion against a rock as I came off.

I cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol and then rubbed it down with very fine wet and dry to remove any possibility of sharp edges.

Three coats of clear lacquer, rubbing it down when it dried and I was able to obtain a smooth finish.  Well worth the patience and effort.

I had a decent result using IPA, very fine sandpaper, some jewellers diamond files and nail varnish. It just needed a bit of diligence and care – not things I am renowned for, but well worth the effort.