# chain stay damage



## bleckb (Jun 13, 2005)

I just discovered the inside of my chainstay on my KG 381 Jalabert has experienced enough rubbing to rub away at least some of the clear coat or whatever it is that covers the carbon. My LBS said that I would likely notice the carbon fiber shredding and weakening over time rather than experiencing a catastrophic failure. This damage could be somewhat recent (I had a bad wheel that kept going out of true a couple years back--since replaced) or less recent, such as coming with it when I bought the bike off ebay about four or five years ago. 

I'm going to keep riding until I see it start to fall apart, if it even gets there. My wife won't go for a preventative frame replacement. My question is this: what might I use to cover that rub space so as to deter further/potential breakdown. I don't see evidence of the carbon fiber being damaged, but who knows. I'd like to prevent any possibililty of further damage. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## Forrest Root (Dec 22, 2006)

bleckb said:


> My question is this: what might I use to cover that rub space so as to deter further/potential breakdown. I don't see evidence of the carbon fiber being damaged, but who knows. I'd like to prevent any possibililty of further damage. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


Apply a clear coat over the area. Then once that's done, 3M makes a film--that a lot of LBSs sell--that can be applied over the area. Of course, putting a clear coat on involves more than just spraying or summat.


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## oily666 (Apr 7, 2007)

*Clear Coat*

The best clear coat to use is a urethane automotive clear coat after smoothing the damage with #600 wet sand paper. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may want to hit it with #400 first. If you have a custom Harley painter nearby of know someone at a body shop, this is a no brainer got them. If not, DuPont makes a single componet urethane that will suffice. Then, with the clear chain stay 3M protector that Forest recommended, you'll be set because the 3M material is both chain resistant and UV resistant.


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## Forrest Root (Dec 22, 2006)

A Harley painter won't be able to work on a Look, because Look's use metric fasteners and are able to go around corners.


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