Ok, from what I undrestand on the web the best/most convenient way of fixing lacqeur chips on CF is to use clear nail varnish, that bit is cool.

What I want to know is once you’ve built it up to the required height (flush with existing CF) what’s the best way of polishing it without damaging the surrounding clearcoat ?

I suspect you pass on the polishing and just live with a small spot that isn’t as shiny as the rest. Either that or find some high gloss clear nail varnish 😉

Do you just want to conceal or do you want to ‘fix it’.

Forget nail polish, if you ever intend flattening it off you have two options. You can either build it up in layers using something like SP-system Ultravar 2000 2 pack polyester, , or you could repair it with a decent epoxy resin, SP-system, West marine.

You could use DIY store shit if you wanted, but they don’t set as hard as the stuff your bike is made of, they have no UV inhibitors in them and you won’t be able to flatten them off properly using rubbing/polishing compound.

if you want a perfect job you need to use decent stuff.

You could of course just try using some polishing compound and a reasonable hard plastic/rubber buff, but it’ll never get smooth if you build up with nail varnish.

I’d expect it’s not worth the £30 to do it right.

Personally I wouldnt bother, as sq says in order to do a “proper” job you will spend a lot*. However I would say you can sand down nail polish fairly well with a solid rubber block and W&D in wet form, but you have to be uber-careful if your underlying finish is not gloss etc.

*being relative, if its a chip in a £1500 frame and you want it to be a show bike then £30 isnt much. If you are talking a chip in a seatpost its a different matter.

Is it possible to fix CF? I have a lever blade that has cracked but hasn’t / doesn’t flex open (if that makes sense).

it’s a few chips in a CF stem I just got off someone in Italy through ebay – not in the condition I was promised but sending it back’ll cost more than it’s worth.

Mk1fan, yeh you can repair anything, but is it cost effective, not unless you have a freezer full of uni-tape and resin..

Cheers.

Happy trails,
mk1fan