# Advice on bent steel dropout repair



## CBookman (Sep 9, 2008)

Hey all, 

New to this forum, pretty much gathering info for when I finally dive into building a bike for myself. Some sick work and highly respectable craftsmen in here for sure. 

Anyways, I bent the crap out of my hanger/drop out on my steel road bike. It's an old Trek made of Reynolds 531, with horizontal dropouts.

The derailleur was sucked up into the rear wheel, it spread the dropout and twisted it, and the hanger is bent. 

Frame was powdercoated last year, and I'd like to not have to have it redone if at all possible. 

Basically, I'm wondering if there is a way to get it back to normal without using heat?

If not, should I remove the powder coat prior to heating it, and how far down the stays should I go?


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## Clockwork Bikes (Jun 17, 2006)

Just go slow and bend it back.


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## j-ro (Feb 21, 2009)

If you can get ahold of the same powder that was used you might be able to do a spot repair by turning it into 'paint' with a little acetone.

That said, a rattlecan color that is close would do the trick just fine once it's straight.

If you do end up heating it (which you can probabally avoid), wrap some cold, wet rags around the stays a few inches away from the dropout and just clean the dropout area that you are working on.
If you only heat the area you want to bend and you do it fast there will be surprisingly little damage to the powdercoat once it cools.


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## CBookman (Sep 9, 2008)

j-ro said:


> If you can get ahold of the same powder that was used you might be able to do a spot repair by turning it into 'paint' with a little acetone.
> 
> That said, a rattlecan color that is close would do the trick just fine once it's straight.
> 
> ...


The color was a custom mixed black chrome, mixed by the guy who powder coated it. No 2 mixes of his have been the same, as referenced by the sample panels I looked at of things he'd done in the past with that color. I picked one and said "I want it darker than that".

Could just rattle can it I guess, or I'll likely send it back out (eventually) if I have to heat it up.

If I have to heat it, I'm guessing oxyactylene is the way to go right?

Do you have any good ways of keeping the rear triangle square and rigid other than possibly using all thread and a bunch of washers/bolts?


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

CBookman said:


> The color was a custom mixed black chrome, mixed by the guy who powder coated it. No 2 mixes of his have been the same, as referenced by the sample panels I looked at of things he'd done in the past with that color. I picked one and said "I want it darker than that".
> 
> Could just rattle can it I guess, or I'll likely send it back out (eventually) if I have to heat it up.
> 
> ...


You probably don't need to heat it, bend it back slowly as suggested by Clockwork Bikes. An adjustable wrench usually works nicely.


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## unterhausen (Sep 28, 2008)

don't heat it, quit asking questions and just bend it back. Once you have bent it back, you will know the condition and ask better questions.

I would think that powdercoating can be re-heated for spot repairs, but I'd ask a powdercoater


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