Originally Posted by Aus_MTB
I was reading this months issue of AMB (australian mountain bike magazine) and there is a small section on protecting your bikes frame from scratches and just general protection. They used a product by 3m called "Abrasive resistant film" which basically looks like a clear plastic (looks invisible once it is on) and will stop and sort of scratching to the frame. Since i will be getting a new bike soon i was considering doing something like this, but they warned that it has been known to strip decals off if they havent been clear coated.
Has anyone here done anything like this to their bike? Any suggestions?
I get teased for waxing my bikes and using touch up paint but I like them to look (reasonably) nice and it gets me taking a close look at the bike for other problems. I considered using clear tapes and extra clear coat paint at one time but decided not to based on weight (hold a small can of clear coat or roll of tape; it's surprisingly heavy!), durability (looks great now but what will it look like after six months?), and 'simplest approach' (least hassle, now and future). If my frame got so trashed it bothered me and I wasn't looking for a new bike, I'd have the frame painted and put on new factory decals.
I find almost every cable scuff or other surface mars can be rubbed out with common rubbing compound. Places where the cable might actually 'cut' through the paint can use a little patch of the 1" wide 3m adhesive-backed heavy-duty rubber grippy stuff you buy by the foot at the hardware store to make stair and walkway grip strips (a horrible description, I know
- btw, that stuff makes outstanding chainstay protectors!). I run a soft chainstay protector to protect the chainstay but also so I don't have to listen to chainslap.
The clear tape might work great; if you try it, please let us know how it turned out.