[Closed] scratched fork stanchions..... is there a fix?

i was gonna say dont buy fox but as they are rs that doesnt apply!

if it's a light scratch nail polish should do .
If it's bigger some slow drying araldite, some sandpaper and some patience should do.

thanks Juan, sounds like a bit of all three is needed then....

cheers

you are welcome
You need to strip the fork and get the stanchions (or whatever you spell that stuff) as dry and grease free as possible.
Then with the finest wet (or better oiled) sand paper you can find give it a very gentle rub, just to increase the contact area for the araldite.
Then apply the araldite and let it dry 48hours.
Then work your way down to "polishness" going down in sandpaper coarse doing one dry one wet each time.

Good luck with that.

I've done this with a pair of Marzocchis. Juan's advice is spot on, but I want to add one thing - the slower and more patient you are with the sanding, the better the result. Don't go mad. Sand a little, check with your fingertip, sand a little more etc. Be patient, and the results are easy to get and make a huge difference!

Just done the same thing fix a couple of days ago. I used 1200 wet/dry (soaked for 10 mins first)to remove the edges. I then used clear nail varnish to fill in the scratches and left to dry overnight.I then sanded down the varnish with dry 1200 so that the only varnish left was in the cracks. I repeated the process the next day.
Works a treat and when you rub your fingers over the stanchions they are totally smooth and you cannot feel the scratches.

Folk seem so paranoid about this. Surely it needs to be a BIG scratch before significant dirt will get anywhere it can cause harm?

Cynic-al,
you're probably right, but it's such a simple job to fix it that you may aswell do it and be on the safe side.

Thanks *feels smug*

Hey peeps old post i know, but had a off up on nut cracker ( dartmoor ) weekend got tiny scuff on forks, after you do this process is the work noticeble?

al - open bath like old zochiis will be a bit different - damping oil will be forced out thru the scratch and any burrs will rip the seals on any fork

Cartidge forks is less critical as the top seal is not taking the same pressure

I meant after repair work has been done can you notice its been sanded and repaired?

Superglue and clingwrap was the go when I was riding motorbikes (in Oz).

and any burrs will rip the seals on any fork

I guess I'd say that's overstated and you would disagree.

as I said al - cartidge forks and open bath are different. Blown seals on open bath forks will soon lead to oil everywhare and no damping.

@ nath86:

if you follow the advice above, the repair's barely noticeable, depending on the size / depth of damage... There are a few other threads on this if you use the search button above - [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/scratch-on-lyriks-stanchion-rockshox-advice ]Here, for example, with some pics.[/url]
One good tip was to use stanchion-coloured nail varnish for an even less conspicuous repair.

Thanks robgarrioch thats exactly what i wanted to know