[konifere]

Hi all,

just looking for your advice here for people familiar with suspension rebuilds (paging @bullcrew). I just received a brand new RockShox Domain and after applying my ppf, I noticed two perpendicular scratches on the stanchions. It looks like they passed QC and they don't appear that deep since I don't see any anodizing taken off, but the one close to the wiper seal can be felt with a nail. It's not protruding from the stanchion, more like a nick into it. The other one higher up on the stanchion is more subtle and hard to show in pictures.

I don't want to be over cautious, but I don't want to ride it and wreck it or send it for warranty check if I don't need to.

Here are the best pics I could take to make it obvious :

 

[Bikael Molton]

That's annoying to be sure, but if you can't feel it with your finger, it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't bother warrantying it myself.

 

[konifere]

The one close to the seal can be felt with a nail, but it's not that deep. I am waiting for the canadian SRAM warranty centre's reply, but without seeing the pictures, the tech said to send it back to the store where I bought it so hat they could send it to SRAM for warranty check. I don't feel like paying 70$ of shipping just to get it checked, plus I just finished wrapping it in PPF. Hopefully he says just ride it like that.

 

[bullcrew]

Agreed if it's not catching a nail I wouldn't sweat it...

I wouldn't think twice on that one...run it..I'd ride the shit out of that and not even question it...

If you get one that's pretty bad, lightly sand it 1000 grit just in tips of damage..
Black gel coat nail polish will match damn near perfect...I repair reverb posts like this too when the internally bushings go belly up and it drags on the metal sides...works perfect...

Everything is internal now like cartridges and air side seals internally no open bath on most stuff.

Scratches are a lot less of a issue than in the past, a little dirt, possibly some lower lube comes out of its bad enough...but most stuff comes up and out and pressure pushes it up...

Repaired this one...

 

[konifere]

The SRAM tech just replied me that it's pretty minor and shouldn't affect sealing or performance and he wouldn't bother either, but I could show them if it bothers me. It's on the damper side anyway. I was more worried about scoring the bushings, but since the scratch doesn't protrude out, it shouldn't matter.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[toodles]

Agreed if it's not catching a nail I wouldn't sweat it...

I wouldn't think twice on that one...run it..I'd ride the shit out of that and not even question it...

If you get one that's pretty bad, lightly same it 1000 grit just in tips of damage..
Black gel coat nail polish will match damn near perfect...I repair reverb posts like this too when the internally bushings go belly up and it drags on the metal sides...works perfect...

Everything is internal now like cartridges and air side seals internally no open bath on most stuff.

Scratches are a lot less of a issue than in the past, a little dirt, possibly some lower lube comes out of its bad enough...but most stuff comes up and out and pressure pushes it up...

Repaired this one...
View attachment 209824

Thats a bloody good repair job!

 

[chuffer]

Fwiw, my dayjob is to help companies measure damage like that - except on seals that go on all sorts of stuff like cars, jets, nuclear reactor coolers…you know; boring shit. Sometimes bikes too.

Looking at it two things come to mind: 1) visually it isn’t that bad and i’d guess probably less than 1 um deep and 2) the direction of the scratch is the “good direction.” Scratches that run perpendicular to shaft seals are the ones that cause problems.

 

[Kanye West]

Remember, you don't have "seals", you have dust wipers. That's their only job. The fact they end up trapping some pressure so the fork has to be queefed (by way of a bleeder or using a zip tie in the dust wiper) is purely coincidental. The only real risk is if there is protruding material that will score the bushings as it passes. If not, have at it.

As shown above, you can knock down high points and be perfectly fine. On inverted motorcycle forks (street and dirt) where there IS an oil seal in addition to a dust wiper, along with a good volume of oil sitting on top of the seal, repairing stanchions by knocking down high points only (without any filling in) is actually really effective. Fresh rubber in a wiper or seal is surprisingly tolerant of surface variations as long as they aren't sharp.

 

[two-one]

Agreed if it's not catching a nail I wouldn't sweat it...

I wouldn't think twice on that one...run it..I'd ride the shit out of that and not even question it...

If you get one that's pretty bad, lightly same it 1000 grit just in tips of damage..
Black gel coat nail polish will match damn near perfect...I repair reverb posts like this too when the internally bushings go belly up and it drags on the metal sides...works perfect...

Everything is internal now like cartridges and air side seals internally no open bath on most stuff.

Scratches are a lot less of a issue than in the past, a little dirt, possibly some lower lube comes out of its bad enough...but most stuff comes up and out and pressure pushes it up...

Repaired this one...
View attachment 209824

I am curious about the whole 'gel coat nail polish' thing. Don't you need UV light to cure that stuff? You need to degrease the scratch thoroughly i can imagine.

 

[sethimus]

i used that stuff last time:

SCRATCH COVER - FORK REPAIR KIT

Developed specifically for mountain bikes, Scratch Cover © is the only DIY fork repair kit that allows you to remove any scratch on any suspension stanchion : mtb fork, air shock or dropper post. It restores the fork stanchion’s smooth appearance and thus keeps your suspension working properly.

www.sendhit.net

comes in clear or black

 

[Jm_]

I am curious about the whole 'gel coat nail polish' thing. Don't you need UV light to cure that stuff? You need to degrease the scratch thoroughly i can imagine.

That is not a permanent repair IME. It lasts for a few rides, but just like nails, it doesnt last forever. Epoxy that bonds to metal on the other hand, can be a permanent repair.

 

[Andeh]

i used that stuff last time:

SCRATCH COVER - FORK REPAIR KIT

Developed specifically for mountain bikes, Scratch Cover © is the only DIY fork repair kit that allows you to remove any scratch on any suspension stanchion : mtb fork, air shock or dropper post. It restores the fork stanchion’s smooth appearance and thus keeps your suspension working properly.

www.sendhit.net

comes in clear or black

I used this to repair a dropper, worked pretty well but the scratch/original anodizing was so shallow that after polishing it down it's sort of a translucent black.

 

[sethimus]

only used it on some kashima so far

 

[bullcrew]

I am curious about the whole 'gel coat nail polish' thing. Don't you need UV light to cure that stuff? You need to degrease the scratch thoroughly i can imagine.

No...you can use UV or put it in the sun...it's typical cure ..some gel coats are anaerobic and cure im absence of oxygen...typical gel polish is not ..it has a certain amount of kick from evaporation and sun as well...
It's stronger and not hard so doesn't flake like polycrtlic or Cyanoacrylate..(super glue)...

 

[bullcrew]

That is not a permanent repair IME. It lasts for a few rides, but just like nails, it doesnt last forever. Epoxy that bonds to metal on the other hand, can be a permanent repair.

BTW this is common on the SRAM AXS droppers..Ive repaired 4 now last season all identical damage...

Nail polish and super glue will flake they are hard not strong . I have a repair on dropper that's still going strong almost a year later...
Hard flakes and comes off not playable and doesn't hold up well .fractures...gel coat is opposite and will allow some damping and hold well... preparation is key ..

Any yes if you can find a epoxy or self etching version it'll bite hard .

Here's a pic of one of the droppers

 

[englertracing]

Baking soda and super glue work well on a single scratch.. works even better if you can throw the part in a lathe to polish it up

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Rustoleum.

 

[mykel]