@creadinger 115422 wrote:
While cleaning my chain on Saturday I noticed that the paint on the chainstay has been chipped and gouged off the frame in a couple of spots. Probably 2 spots about the size of a dime, so not tiny. The frame is steel, so I need some help figuring out what to do!
First I’ll probably contact IF to see about getting a small bottle of touch up paint. What else can I do? I’d also need a sealant right? I know virtually nothing about bike paint jobs.
Indy Fab does not sell touch up paints, however, can look up the PPG code for your bike and will provide that to you. Then you can get cans mixed just about any good auto shop. I have two ten year old plus IFs. Both are covered in chips, scrapes and so on. At most, I have just always covered them up with close matching paint from an art store. But I have really let most go, and have had no problems with the rust spreading, getting bubbly, etc. And I treat these two bike harsh, they spend good portions of the year covered with salt spray, are stored damp, and other thinhsd most would not do. Indy Fab steel is pretty tough. The only thing I do it frame saver the seat tube and headtube once per year. Both frames are over 10 years old and still fine.
If you are really concerned, the only solution is to have it powered coated. I have a frame that was powdered coated without a top coat in 1996 and it has only one chip in it. That p[aint chip is from a fall that broke off the front derailleur and used the broken sharp band to cut into the paint. That bike has bounced down rock gardens, hit cars, been locked up in college bike racks for weeks, …. and not one chip is in it.
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