# Polishing powder coat - what to use?



## awai04 (Jul 29, 2004)

...Not the most essential question I have ever asked, but the most current one. I recently decided to tweak an imperfection in my frame's finish. At the seat post near the bottom bracket, the clear coat got pressed uneven by a derailleur clamp that is no longer used. So, I decided to gently sand smooth again the small area with really fine sandpaper, i.e. the grit used one step before buffing. That part -and the buffing with car scratch remover -work okay, but the "scratch remover" part is taking a while. Anyone have any suggestions to achieve the original shine a bit faster? Or, if anybody has ideas on a different approach, then I'm all ears. Thanks much!


----------



## bikeindustrydude (Nov 30, 2010)

hit it with a shot of clear coat. done.


----------



## awai04 (Jul 29, 2004)

Would be ideal, but the bike is otherwise already assembled and ready to go. I did think about applying "wet" clear coat with an airbrush to the area, and then buffing smooth, but I'm not bothered enough to go through the effort. I have been hoping that someone will have handy some polish recommendation, which is slightly more effective on powder coat than automobile scratch remover. Thanks though.


----------



## SuspectDevice (Apr 12, 2004)

I'd get a teeny bit of powder, pour some Methyl Ethyl Ketone on it and lightly apply it with a fine brush and hit the whole thing with a heat gun.
That's not feasible unless you have a bag of powder and some solvents though...
Your local autobody shop should be able to mix you a little touch up paint.

Seems like a lot of work for a bicycle frame though.


----------



## Clockwork Bikes (Jun 17, 2006)

3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish use with a buffer or polisher to revitalize old, dull, abused or neglected paint finishes-in no time!

This works for small flaws in wet clear. Maybe it'll work for powder. Let me know--I'm curious.

-Joel


----------



## awai04 (Jul 29, 2004)

Ah, that's interesting. Along the same lines, would treatment with a heat gun -sans new powder -cause the fine lines from sanding on the *existing* clear coat to adhere back together? If so, then I wonder at what temperature (and for how long) is best.

Yeah, seems like a lot of work for a bicycle frame. Then again, this forum is filled with mostly enthusiasts, so we are talking about a labor of love, no? 



SuspectDevice said:


> I'd get a teeny bit of powder, pour some Methyl Ethyl Ketone on it and lightly apply it with a fine brush and hit the whole thing with a heat gun.
> That's not feasible unless you have a bag of powder and some solvents though...
> Your local autobody shop should be able to mix you a little touch up paint.
> 
> Seems like a lot of work for a bicycle frame though.


----------



## Clockwork Bikes (Jun 17, 2006)

awai04 said:


> Ah, that's interesting. Along the same lines, would treatment with a heat gun -sans new powder -cause the fine lines from sanding on the *existing* clear coat to adhere back together? If so, then I wonder at what temperature (and for how long) is best.
> 
> Yeah, seems like a lot of work for a bicycle frame. Then again, this forum is filled with mostly enthusiasts, so we are talking about a labor of love, no?


Don't try the heat gun thing. I've experimented with fixing flaws like this and it didn't work at all. The original powder won't wet-out like the new powder.

-Joel


----------



## awai04 (Jul 29, 2004)

Glad I asked & good to know - thanks for the heads up!


----------



## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

awai04 said:


> Would be ideal, but the bike is otherwise already assembled and ready to go. I did think about applying "wet" clear coat with an airbrush to the area, and then buffing smooth, but I'm not bothered enough to go through the effort.


Just use a hard auto wax and polish it up


----------



## abatayo66 (Jul 2, 2011)

how about those powder coat over spray on the BB and the seat post area . I got an SC blur and for some reason got some over spray on couple of areas. I guess was not properly taped and I found out when I about to build it back together. It is done in California before I moved.


----------

