Stanchion repair - ...
 

  You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more

Stanchion repair - owt better than nail varnish?

12 Posts
11 Users
6 Reactions
817 Views
Posts: 4213
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Just back from an exceptional week's riding in the Queyras. Sadly a bit of overenthusiasm on some gnadgery trialsy tech ended in me dragging a lovely Kashima covered stanchion down a sharp rock, which left a couple of marks.

I filed the burrs off immediately and I've had no signs of oil escape on the remaining couple of days riding, so I guess my seals are intact. 

Normally I'd touch this up with nail varnish to fill the divot, then buff back to flush - just wondering if there's been any better solutions developed?

Thanks...

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:29 am
Posts: 30093
Full Member
 

I've used the "Sendhit" kit on black Fox stanchions... takes a while, but great results.

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:37 am
Posts: 10761
Full Member
 

Maybe controversial but I've become less bothered about small marks since getting rid of my last open bath fork. I stay on top of lower leg services so as long as the stanchion feels smooth and there's no sign of oil escape I leave it alone figuring it's going to be hard to get a perfect repair and I might mess it up more with nail varnish, wet and dry etc.

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:47 am
nuke reacted
 nuke
Posts: 5763
Full Member
 

Yep, I'm with the purist on this one: may look aesthetically better if done well but, if deburred,  doubt itll really make any difference to long term reliability/ performance. Just keep on top of the lower leg servicing

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:53 am
Posts: 40225
Free Member
 

I gouged my Zeb stanchions quite badly a couple of years ago.

Nail varnish has worked a treat and my usual suspension service guy said he'd recommend continuing with that rather than one of the more fancy repair kits.

If you're using a clear one, you won't even end up with murky black oil like me 😀

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:55 am
Posts: 8652
Full Member
 

I’ve also used the Sendhit kit (I think it uses epoxy but could be wrong) and it worked well but I think the purist has the pragmatic answer.

 
Posted : 22/09/2025 10:57 am
Posts: 5153
Free Member
 

Agree that the deburring is the most important part.

 
Posted : 23/09/2025 8:34 pm
zerocool reacted
Posts: 12507
Free Member
 

It sounds like you need a new bike,

 
Posted : 24/09/2025 5:10 am
zerocool and toby reacted
Posts: 21461
Full Member
 

It all depends on the depth of the scratch. I had similar on a pair of not very of kashima 38s.

First I used several new Stanley blades held perpendicular to the surface to remove the high spots. Then some Brasso wadding to smooth things out. After that, it was hardly noticeable so I left it. Had there still been visible canyons at that point, I might have looked to fill it but if it's really shallow, nothing will stick that well.

 
Posted : 24/09/2025 5:37 am
Posts: 1428
Free Member
 

I have used car touch up clear coat before. It seemed to set and sand down better than nail varnish

 
Posted : 26/09/2025 7:31 am
Posts: 27
Free Member
 

I found a reference to Humbrol No. 16 Gold being the correct match for Kasmina on another forum and at £6 it seemed worth a shot.  Thankfully didn't have to test it as a good clean of the stanchion revealed it was just rock dust and not a scratch (phew).

 
Posted : 26/09/2025 12:40 pm
Posts: 40225
Free Member
 

I found a reference to Humbrol No. 16 Gold being the correct match for Kasmina on another forum and at £6 it seemed worth a shot. 

Sounds like an economical way to convert lower-end forks to Kashima though 😉

 
Posted : 26/09/2025 12:53 pm

6 DAYS LEFT
We are currently at 95% of our target!