Rejuvenating Paintwork

[Bristolian]

I reserve T-cut for basket cases, it's that aggressive. I'd start with a 'polish' like AutoGlym that has a bit of bite and maybe progress to polishing compounds like G3 or Autoglym's pre-cleaner, that one seems to dissolve grime with little if any abrasion needed. A power mop's best with a light touch as the small contact area concentrates the force.

I have plenty of experience with T-cut having been an off-road driver for many years. No real experience with AutoGlym products though.

 

[Bristolian]

Thanks for the tips above. I have some off-white T-cut so will give that a go somewhere that won't notice

 

[KuroSan]

Interesting, I assumed they were stickers and Spcialized customer services certainly didn't say anything about them being painted. Maybe they didn't know - the bike is probably older than the guy I was talking to

I would be surprised if they were painted, that's usually something reserved more for custom paint jobs and super high end production bikes because of it being quite time consuming, they could be a waterslide type of decal as they're very thin, I've not owned a Specialized yet so not familiar with their paint methods.

 

[fossyant]

To check, run your finger over them - if it's a transfer you can feel it slightly. My 'cheap' Colnago is painted (Taiwan aluminium cross bike).

If you opt to respray/powder coat, ebay is a good source for vinyl stickers - won't be quite the same but they will match close enough. I've used Ribble and Diamondback replacements off ebay. Certainly worth a good bit of elbow grease and some touchup paint.

 

[Bristolian]

Something I forgot to mention at the start is that the paint is coming off the aluminium steerer tube spacers. It looks like corrosion as the paint is lifting from behind. Is that likely to be caused by me not wiping the sweat off sufficiently after a turbo session?

I'm planning to remove the paint completely and re-paint them. Do I need to kill the corrosion after stripping the paint or can I just use an aluminium primer, spray paint and clear lacquer?