Originally Posted by phastlane
LBS just installed my new ultegra crank and I bought some clipless pedals for the upcoming season. As I was unscrewing the older pedals off the crank arms, my wrench slipped and left a really nice gash on the arm body. Steam came out of my ears at that instant, and I feel as if the shiny new crankset is ruined. Am I overreacting? Maybe some similiar stories will ease the pain.....
You can probably repair the damage. If it the gouge isn't deep, you can carefully sand it out with ever decreasing levels of sandpaper, finishing up with some superfine stuff, then automotive rubbing compound, then polishing compound. If the gouge is deep, you'll need to file the edges down a bit with a file or dremel tool first. You may not get it completely repaired, but you'll improve it enough that you won't notice it at all after a season of riding. Go slow and you'll be fine.
No, I've never done anything like that before.
No need to talk about the beautiful rifle I knocked off the bench while sighting it in. No need to mention how the barrel flexed against the very thin forend, cracking it, or how the muzzle end got gouged up (used the repair tips above), or how a leftover 45acp casing acted as a cookie cutter on the side of the stock. I repaired all the damage to where the average person wouldn't notice, but *I* notice it still.
Chris