How to "black out" decals on clear coated carbon?
04-10-15, 03:10 PM
#1
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How to "black out" decals on clear coated carbon?
Hi! I apologize if this has been asked and answered before (as I'm sure it has); I wasn't able to turn up anything in a search.
I have an S-Works SL seatpost (essentially this guy but an older model) with some white striping that runs up the side. It's my understanding that it's a decal on top of the carbon but under a clearcoat, so I can't just scrape it off. I've tried coloring over it with a sharpie (fine tip, which may be an issue), but it just seems to rub off.
Does anybody have any tips or ideas about how to cover up these white sections with black?
Thanks!
I have an S-Works SL seatpost (essentially this guy but an older model) with some white striping that runs up the side. It's my understanding that it's a decal on top of the carbon but under a clearcoat, so I can't just scrape it off. I've tried coloring over it with a sharpie (fine tip, which may be an issue), but it just seems to rub off.
Does anybody have any tips or ideas about how to cover up these white sections with black?
Thanks!
04-10-15, 03:18 PM
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04-10-15, 03:22 PM
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Electrical tape.
You can sand it but might damage the carbon and then have to refinish it.
You can sand it but might damage the carbon and then have to refinish it.
04-10-15, 03:24 PM
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If you paint it be careful not to build the paint too thick or you may be unable to get it to go into the tube. Or just paint the exposed portion. Let the paint dry very thoroughly so that it does not glue the post into the tube.
04-10-15, 03:29 PM
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Hire it Professionally repainted or stop obsessing and Ignore It.
it may be a painted on by silk screen by automated machines
it may be a painted on by silk screen by automated machines
Last edited by fietsbob; 04-10-15 at 03:32 PM.
04-10-15, 03:41 PM
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I'd personally just live with it, but if you must, mask off the portion below the seat post collar and scuff sand then paint the upper portion only.
04-11-15, 10:43 PM
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04-11-15, 11:28 PM
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Non omnino gravis
Duracoat isn't super cheap, but it does work remarkably well, and is extremely tough. Turned a pretty beat-up eBay find from scuffed up sadness to nice and new. This is HK416 Black, which is a virtually flat black (tiniest bit of sheen.) Duracoat makes about 30 different blacks, from full gloss to full matte, so I'm sure you could find one to suit you. You can get it in a rattle can for about $35 and one can would paint an entire frame-- so if you have any other parts you want to match/refresh, this is the ticket. Works on pretty much every surface, from carbon to metals to plastics. I use the bottled + hardener through a small gravity-feed HVLP ***, but I've used the spray can in the past and the results are identical.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
04-11-15, 11:33 PM
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Black Plasti-Dip in a spray can should be an inexpensive solution. Lots of people use it to "black out" car rims. And if you don't like the results, peel it off.
04-13-15, 01:06 PM
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Ask your grandfather...
04-13-15, 02:08 PM
#12
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There's only one correct way and that involves sanding down to the carbon material and reclearing it. New clear needs to be very thinly applied or it'll flake and chip when you try wedging it into the frame - this is where experience comes in (plus the factory used a HVLP sprayer not a rattle can). The amount of labor involved would probably not be worth your time.
04-13-15, 03:13 PM
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Sharpie
04-13-15, 03:16 PM
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Electrical tape.
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