Hi, I wanted to have a heavy duty street ride, mostly for commuting 2-3x a week (20ish miles rnd trp) and was very attracted to the stealth look sooo I went for a Leader 725 in matte blk.

I finished it yesterday and still waiting for a maiden voyage. Now, there's some residual grease fingerprints around bb and headset (wore gloves) which I tried to wipe off but no luck there.
This is my very first flat paint build-up, had no idea this type of paint is very porous and prone to etching. How do u guys clean that up? Is there any *special* flat paint cleaner?

Another related question is: I used a FSA ZS-3 headset, there's a leftover seal ring that I'm not exactly sure where it goes. It appears that may belong in bottom but if I place it on top of crown, it causes lots of friction to turn, same thing if I install it on top end
Is it maybe a "adapter" for some models?? TIA

isopropyl alcohol

is the it the same diameter as the crown race? Is there a lip on the crown race that looks like the ring may fit into?

No, it has the same outer diameter than the press-in cups but the thing is there is a huge gap, maybe 3/16" between fork and frame.

Crown race is properly seated onto fork, so there may be another issue at play here: cups in this model are not shallow enough by at least 1/16", is actually possible to see the bearings during a "upskirt" look.

Seal actually fits there and closes the gap but is wide enough to act as a "brake" and inhibit rotation.





Proof that crown race (sprayed matte black to match) and lower bearing cup are properly seated. The shiny sliver seen in there is an actual bearing.



Even more noticeable.



Seal in question.



Full view. Rat eyeballing me, quite possibly planning to steal my new bikey. I may need to disassemble everything and take a hard look but not right now. I just got back from slave work and feel a little dense. Anyhow, thanks for your comments

The seal goes on the bottom - in between the crown race and the bottom bearing and won't affect rotation. You didn't need to paint your crown race, as the seal will completely cover it.

Washing your bike with water and dish soap will remove the fingerprints.

Umm you have a rabbid albino raccoon standing on your bike.

That's the confirmation i wanted to hear! Damn I should give me an F, usually I am a B+ home mechanic haha.

Get some Simple Green all purpose degreaser for those greasy fingerprints. Mix it with some water and wet a rag with it, they will come off easy.

+1 on the Simple Green. Works great on grease - I love it

Simple Green is great - however - it failed to remove greasy fingerprints from Angie's flat black Leader.

very nice looking bicycle.

lol at the dog on the top tube!