Hi everyone,

unfortunately yesterday i hit the deck with my brand new bike.

I was wondering if there is a way to find out the colour code (maybe in RAL) of the parts of shimano or if somebody else already found a good solution or colour code.

I wanted to buy a paint pen or nail polish and some sand paper to try to conceal/hide the scratches a bit.

In this case its a R8170 STI, the grey hydraulic brake leaver is damaged . (unfortunately i cannot post a foto yet since rules of this forum)

What would u guys recommend?

Thanks forehand

Live with it as evidence of use. Lever rash is common.
If this is your level of attention to scratches, that you will sand and paint a lever, you are going to lose it when you get a rock chip in the frame.
Best to adjust perspective now.
I don't know of a paint pen(sold at auto stores) that matches that color black. Just buy one and try though

The eye is drawn to bright things, like the shiny metal under the paint on your STI lever. You might just try filling it in with a black sharpie, or with some nail polish in a close shade. It’ll be fine.

I do understand being upset by dinging a brand new item… But ditto mstateglfr ’s sentiment.

Just take a sharpie or other felt tip pen of the appropriate color and lessen it's affect on YOUR appreciation of your bike. None of us are going to notice it or even care if we happen to see it.

If you want a museum piece, then buy two bikes. One bike to ride and the other to remain unridden.

Learn to tell fisherman tales. Then you can concoct a tale to tell about those scratches when you are socializing with others.

Welcome to BF!

If it bugs you that much, go ahead and sell the damaged lever and buy a new one. Not cost effective, but if you're picky and bothered by imperfections (I can be accused of this), this is the way...

Don't be so hard on the new person. You make it sound like we do figure 8 racing or demolition derby* on our bikes all day. Their bike is brand new, as they said, and I can understand the desire to keep it spiffy (said by the guy who rides a near 30-year-old cruiser wrapped in electrician's tape). But I remember my first new bike, and how sad I was when I wasn't paying attention to parked cars and turned my new Sakae Road Champion handlebars into half-Randnners - and what was worse, I hadn't even paid it off yet.

*Then again, I remember citizens class racing did resemble those, with a whole lot of horizontal bikes and flailing bodies. Cat 4 was slightly better, but much metal and blood was still shed.

I get the angst. Not long after getting my current bike, I hit something and broke spokes and scratched up the fork. Not only did I buy new spokes, but I even bought a new fork. Call me crazy, but that’s how I roll.

I also put PPF on my cars. Anal fool I might be.

My wife had a tree limb come off a yard mowing truck and ding her door as she was driving home right after we picked up her brand new car once. She was not happy and she hounded them until that door was fixed and she could not see it. I knew better than to even discuss it as it was a losing argument.

I thought I was compulsive. I used a black Sharpie.




About 1 year into ownership, the rubber cover (hood) no longer held on to the lever properly. I put up with that for years before finally breaking down and spending $12 on a new one. A few weeks later, I finally hit the deck in such a way that I scratched up the lever (but not the hood). I decided to live with it. Maybe I used a grey Sharpie.

I feel for you on that. I had similar with my wife and her new car recently!

However long ago in the previous century when bed liners were becoming all the rage, I bought a new pickup truck without a bed liner. I went to pick up some equipment from a rental agency and the guy loading the truck was afraid to push it up in the bed because he didn't want to scratch the "pretty" paint on the bed floor.

I told him to move back, it's just a pickup. I gave a good shove and left a big scratch. He got a horrified look on his face and I laughed with amusement. It's a work truck not a museum piece!

One month after I bought the Mighty Truckasaurus brand-new, friends & I took it for a weekend trip. We pulled over by the side of the road for some reason, and I scratched the heck out of the passenger side when I encountered an unseen metal delineator.

My friend and I got out, surveyed the gouge, and:

"It's got character now."
"Yup, it's a truck."
"Things happen."

We got in and that was that. And only 7-8 years later, the GM Flake-Away® OEM paint had deteriorated to the point you couldn't see the scratch amid all the other surface deterioration. And now it's on its 3rd repaint, as the Arizona sun is where even the most advanced exterior finishes go to die.

This dry yet destructive environment is also why our bikes are stored in an enclosed area, bringing the discussion back to cycling.

I've had no success finding the code for anything I had that I wanted to touch up.
took the frame to the paint store & they mixed up the colors I needed. Was 99% accurate.

A sign of a well used bike.

I've found that in general, if I need to match paint like that, often a hobby shop is the place to go. Lots of them have small vials of an amazing number of colors. But I also agree with the sentiment that you won't like how the paint touch up looks either.

That would be my suggestion, look at one for sale nos on ebay

Testors paint [MENTION=563697]djfetti[/MENTION] . Try mixing two colors until you get close. Then if needed ad a touch of a third if that is what it takes. I use popsicle sticks to dip into the paint jar and mix the paint in a water or soda bottle cap since I use small quantities. Those small coffee stirrers could work if you have them.

It is best to do your mixing and painting outside even if it is cloudy to get a better color match. I usually paint inside at night since I often don't have the time to do hobbies in the daytime.