Fork slight scratch and lube??

[OldBean]

Noticed some slight scratches on my fork tubes ,possibly as a result of crashes. Can feel them very slightly raised ....should I dress them out with crocus paper?.?
Also should I lube/grease the area?
Have fun

 

[Slowroller]

Sand them down with the finest grit you can get your hands on, 600-800 or so, they'll be ok. If you leave them like that, they'll wear the wiper seals faster

 

[Jeff McD]

I have had several of these and it is absolutely fixable. I use a very small file set and select one of the files with a semi-rounded surface to very carefully grind off what you can feel but nothing else. File is better than sandpaper because it only takes a few swipes to get it off and less chance of removing excess anodized coating with sandpaper which takes longer. Every swipe runs the risk of removing more anodized coating than you want to.

Then the real cool tip is to put a single tiny dab of color matched fingernail polish on the bare aluminum and give it a good 24 hours to set up. Don't worry if the color is not a perfect match because eventually it will be barely noticeable anyway. I once used a bright red fingernail polish on a black stanchion, ha ha.

I always prep with mineral spirits followed by rubbing alcohol before painting. The paint must get a good seal to the metal.

Yes it will be a bit lumpy but the rubber seals coming up over it repeatedly when riding will wear off the excess paint rather quickly (Well several months anyway) and you're left with a perfectly smooth stanchion for the life of the fork. There is so little paint remaining that you can hardly find the spot without good light but you don't see any bare metal.

However you must get after it quickly before it scratches the rubber seals and you have a leak.
Hope this helps.

 

[OldBean]

Thanks all for the suggestions .....will tackle it now.
Have fun
By the way. Should I put any lube/treatment on the tubes ?

 

[OldBean]

Worked out well.....now no trace to the feel.
Re fork lube.......deffo not silicone grease......came back after farm track ride with fork covered in greasy crud........guess “nothing” is the answer.
Have fun

 

[Gary]

You can spray a little silicone spray (not grease) on your stanchions after cleaning and cycle the stanchions up and down. but don't ride the bike with the stanchions wet from it as it'll only attract dirt.
There are 2 trains of thought on this procedure. some think it will introduce tiny particles of dirt into the seals and possibly contaminate the oil/grease inside the fork.
I don't personally see spraying tiny amount on a dry clean stanchion with clean seals as a bad thing to do.
The real thing most of us should all be doing with our forks is lower leg servicing them more often.