4 days Old - 9 inches of Scratches

8bit Barry

8bit Barry

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I was washing the loose mud off my Cube Stereo 160 Actionteam this afternoon, leant the bike against a low garden wall, unlocked the back door, and the bike fell onto the wall sliding along the top tube. - you have no idea how wounded I feel. I am not used to the weight of an ebike and look what I have done :(

Can this be retouched?

IMG_4339.JPG


If this was an older bike I wouldn't bother, but I feel so hurt right now. I look after my bikes / all kit in my life. I have never done such a stupid thing.... errgh

Is this something a car paint shop could do (for example)?
 
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8bit Barry said:
I was washing the loose mud off my bike this afternoon, leant the bike against a low garden wall, unlocked the back door, and the bike fell onto the wall sliding along the top tube. - you have no idea how wounded I feel. I am not used to the weight of an ebike and look what I have done :(

Can this be retouched?

View attachment 132489

If this was an older bike I wouldn't bother, but I feel so hurt right now. I look after my bikes / all kit in my life. I have never done such a stupid thing.... errgh

Is this something a car paint shop could do (for example)?
Click to expand...
Congratulations …I think 🤔
There must be some paint experts lurking in here that could help.
Or maybe some professional help 😉.
That sucks!
 
What would you do if it was your car? Some body coloured polish and a bit of T-Cut maybe! How about touch up paint?
Yes, with a bit of luck you can fix it yourself. Maybe so that you can only tell close up. See here:

Paint chip 1.jpg

Paint chip 2.jpg


Paint chip 3.jpg


I could have done a better job, taken more time, filled it first done losts of rubbing down etc, but I was happy with the result. No 1 tip: Use the fine nib and not the brush, take your time.

The key thing is to find the best paint match. If the bike manufacturer does not supply paint, then you need to get yourself down to Halfords (a motor parts and other stuff retailer). They have a very wide range of car paints both in touch up and spray. I took a photo for comparison, but I have also taken the whole bike in to the shop on occasions. Beware of the odd lighting in shops, it is nothing like normal outdoor light, ask to take the paint sample and the bike outside to check. (Or pay for it and get a refund if they are being an arse).

I thought with a German bike (the blue bike above was a Focus Jam2) that German car brands would be the answer, but it turned out to be a French (Peugot) colour that was a perfect match.

By the time you have applied some helicopter tape (stable doors etc) you will not be able to tell!

Good luck with the search! :)
 
8bit Barry said:
I was washing the loose mud off my bike this afternoon, leant the bike against a low garden wall, unlocked the back door, and the bike fell onto the wall sliding along the top tube. - you have no idea how wounded I feel. I am not used to the weight of an ebike and look what I have done :(

Can this be retouched?

View attachment 132489

If this was an older bike I wouldn't bother, but I feel so hurt right now. I look after my bikes / all kit in my life. I have never done such a stupid thing.... errgh

Is this something a car paint shop could do (for example)?
Click to expand...
Yes its possible.
this is a video of how its done
 
simples!...........carry on and show us your results:p
 
For a quick fix I use fingernail paint. I have black and gray. It’s not perfect but it did the job …and it’s still there.

The beauty salon has a decent selection. The small brush applicator is not that great but it works.
 
MrPeaski said:
There's a PDF of Cubes 2023 paint codes here
https://file.cube.eu/azwesc1xfg346/..._Lackstift-Touch-Up_Pen_06.09.23_Longtail.pdf

For the 140/160 Action Team it lists 2 (Page5)
CUBE Touch-Up Pen Set BLUE glossy 2293
CUBE Touch-Up Pen Set GREY matt 2295

Just need to ask your dealer if they can order for you
Click to expand...
That's fabulous - I had no idea there was a touch up pen.

My issue is that as the bike fell onto top tube, they are pretty nasty gashes and could do with being filled first. I am going to head out to a car body shop tomorrow and ask what they would do now I can get a paint match, as they're usually miracle workers.
 
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the problem with colout matching is that virtually all paints change colour slightly due to UV and even due to use of shampoo and polish. A pro car repair shop will usually use a spectrophotometer to get an exact colour match.....and even then will usually only respray a complete panel/section. So not a cheap option albeit probably the best if you want perfection.
Personally I would just use stickers to mask the damage...and move on!
 
Mikerb said:
the problem with colout matching is that virtually all paints change colour slightly due to UV and even due to use of shampoo and polish. A pro car repair shop will usually use a spectrophotometer to get an exact colour match.....and even then will usually only respray a complete panel/section. So not a cheap option albeit probably the best if you want perfection.
Personally I would just use stickers to mask the damage...and move on!
Click to expand...
Do you think matching with the Cube Paint Pen would stand me in chance of a better result? I guess its the process that makes me slightly edgy. I have no knowledge of retouching a carbon frame and would rather get some help.
 
8bit Barry said:
Do you think matching with the Cube Paint Pen would stand me in chance of a better result? I guess its the process that makes me slightly edgy. I have no knowledge of retouching a carbon frame and would rather get some help.
Click to expand...
There is a list with the colorcode of your bike wich makes it easy.
Any Professional paint repair shop can touch it up and polish it out.
The only thing that you would need to see is if the scratch is to deep. Then you would need multiple layers of paint or a filler to fill it up
 
Could put some dark Invisiframe on it on both sides then it'd look like it's meant to be like that.
 
Sander23 said:
There is a list with the colorcode of your bike wich makes it easy.
Any Professional paint repair shop can touch it up and polish it out.
The only thing that you would need to see is if the scratch is to deep. Then you would need multiple layers of paint or a filler to fill it up
Click to expand...
Thank you I feel a slight sense or relief. What a day... :(
When you say 'any professional paint shop' do you mean car shop or something bike specific (if there is such a thing?) - sorry I am new to all this..
 
Dax said:
Once you’ve got it fixed, consider getting your bike invisiframed.
Click to expand...
I will. I don't know much about this. Does it really protect it that much? Would you recommend it?
 
I've got more scratches on my 200km Mondy than I had on my 8000km Merida! Obviously painful to see but the scratches add character! Where I ride is all rocks that are very unforgiving- I must be changing as in the olden days I'd be devastated , now not so much. Obviously I'll take a bath with resale but I had the Merida for 5 years, so it'll be worthless when I sell the Mondy!
 
I bought some paint protection film off Amazon for pretty cheap. 2inch (50mm) and 4 inch (100mm) would work for most bikes, it's pretty easy to apply as well. This would add some protection from scrapes and scuffs, and doesn't look too bad either.

Attached is a picture from me applying it, next time I get to the shop I'll add some finished pictures as well. I would have preferred matte finish, but this was cheap and will help the bike look good until it's old enough I don't care anymore 😂.

PXL_20240108_020726045.jpg
 
gibbo66 said:
I've got more scratches on my 200km Mondy than I had on my 8000km Merida! Obviously painful to see but the scratches add character! Where I ride is all rocks that are very unforgiving- I must be changing as in the olden days I'd be devastated , now not so much. Obviously I'll take a bath with resale but I had the Merida for 5 years, so it'll be worthless when I sell the Mondy!
Click to expand...
Yeah today I’m not feeling so bad. It really has been a hard lesson, but I’m now being positive to get it sorted, which is itself another lesson.

Im very grateful to everyone for the responses here.
 
Live with it. It’s a mountain bike, it’s going to get scratched anyway. Just make up an outrageous lie to tell your mates how you did it . Something involving massive vertical rocky drops. Job done😀
 
8bit Barry said:
Yeah today I’m not feeling so bad. It really has been a hard lesson, but I’m now being positive to get it sorted, which is itself another lesson.

Im very grateful to everyone for the responses here.
Click to expand...

The first scratch or dink is painful, but there will be more!

It’s done now, you can move on. 👍🙂

I’ve got one of these on my top tube on the Levo, a dyed bro sticker/protector. The right design/colour would cover 90% of those scratches, and protect from more? Mine is covering a tiny chip on the top tube, but I didn’t want any more.

IMG_6154.jpeg


I’ve got this protection set on the top tube of one of my other bikes, it wraps around the edges and would cover your top tube.

Luxshield E-Bike Paint Protection Film for Ebike, Electric Bike, MTB etc. - 20-piece Frame Set Against Stone Chipping - Transparent matt & self-adhesive https://amzn.eu/d/anNOFvu
 
There is a small auto body shop a few miles from me that I have been using for over 30 years. They have all the tech and are good enough for the main dealer workshops to use them for their overflow work. As a favour to me he painted a bike frame for a bike that I was building up for my grandson. I had already rubbed it down and masked it. He did a fantastic job for £100 in Audi Laser Red. He told me that he would never do another one because the spray nozzles he used were designed for car panels, not narrow tubes, so he wasted a lot of paint.

I said that if he bought some smaller spray nozzles, he could have another line of work. He replied that he already had all the work he could handle. :)
 
Growmac said:
This is a strong argument for getting a bike in a colour you don't like. My Enduro is hearing aid beige. I don't care if it gets scratched.
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That’s a good idea. Then I could leave my bike unattended outside of the 7-11 while I run in for my daily Slurpy.

Please don’t post pics😉
 
Growmac said:
This is a strong argument for getting a bike in a colour you don't like. My Enduro is hearing aid beige. I don't care if it gets scratched.
Click to expand...
My hearing aids are a natty silver and black colour rather like a Panansonic TV. I like them. :) I wouldn't mind a bike in those colours.
Phonak hearing aids.jpg



To be honest, if they had still been like the huge Elastoplast pink ones the NHS used to give out when I was a kid, I'd still be asking people to speak up all the time! :giggle:
 
UPDATE - Ok I just cycled to a reputable body shop near me (who understood my pain) and they reckon I would be looking at respraying the entire top tube as it’s gone right through to the carbon fibre.

“Touch up paint will look like you’ve used touch up paint”, he said, but I’m thinking I don’t have much of an option.

The frame top tube has decals on it, so it would mean removing all those. Errgh…

I’m thinking a sticker would be the answer - what would anyone recommend I get to make it look in keeping with the bike?

Please forgive me, I’m not asking you all to do the work for me, it’s just I’m totally new to all this and everyone is so knowledgeable these days…
 
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