Hi all, bought a secondhand bike for my 12yo 6 months back. Been ridden about 10 times. It’s got a SR Suntour Raidon fork fitted. Currently servicing it. It works with grease only for lubrication (no oil). I’ve removed the stanchions from the fork and they have a black ring around the stanchion just below the wiper seal and at the bottom of the leg. I’d say this is the original grease that has completely dried our and feels like it’s baked to the stanchions.

I’ve tried WD40, white spirits, Isopropyl alcohol, washing up liquid, detergent, Autosol, each applied with a lot of elbow grease and various slightly abrasive cleaning pads. Had minimal impact. Does anyone know anything that will help remove this or are the stanchions borked?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Twigged when putting the fork back together post service that the black areas are below the seals at all times and don’t contact any surface so while cosmetically awful it can only be seen when dissembled and has zero impact on performance. Potential expenditure avoided 🙂