I was cleaning my new CX carbon frame recently and noticed that there are a lot of scratches on the painted surfaces of the frame. There's a few from cable housing rub, bike rack, leaning against poles etc. It seems that the paint they use on carbon frames are thinner then those used on steel frames, thus, scratches more easily.

Is it just me or is this normal? I wish there were a thick clear coat to prevent this. It could be that my particular bike is just made this way...

added paint adds weight , they sell by how little they Weigh ... Add more clear coat or Gaffers tape, If you wish


Using the wrong Bike ? maybe you need a metal bike with powder coat on it for finish for your use patterns.?

It's probably not so much the thickness of the paint, as the lack of robustness of the molecular bond that various paints have with the non-porous plastic surface of most carbon fiber frames. Paint simply doesn't adhere to most engineered plastics as well as it does to most metals.

Also, no primer is needed when painted CF, so you lose that layer. A good epoxy primer helps add strength to the layers above.

I have a 2000 Trek that basically delaminated like a 80s Chevy. I could scrape big chunks of paint off with my thumbnail.

Interesting the comments about bonding to carbon fiber, lack of primer, etc. affecting durability of the paint. My knee jerk response was going to be - "Paint is Paint" and why would the frame material matter when the same type of paint is used on them all. I guess I might be wrong. My own experience is "paint is paint" and I don't see any durability difference between my CF, aluminum and steel bikes.

I am on my fifth carbon Trek, and have never had a problem with the paint.