Brompton Paint Touch Up - How to handle scratches on your Brompton

January 24, 2025

How to handle scratches and damage to the paint job on your Brompton Bicycle 

https://highachievers.com.sg/pages/how-to-apply-brompton-touch-up-paint

Your Brompton bicycle's pristine appearance is an essential for both its aesthetics and longevity. Over time, even with meticulous care, minor chips and scratches can occur due to regular wear and tear, and folding mechanisms. Addressing these imperfections promptly not only preserves the bike's look but also protects it from potential corrosion, however expectations do have to be set.

Understanding Brompton's Paint Finish

Brompton bikes are finished with a durable powder coating, which is akin to a plastic layer melted onto the frame. This coating is resilient against impacts but can wear off at contact points, especially around hinges and areas where cables rub. Regular folding and unfolding can accelerate this wear.

Steps for Touching Up Paint Chips

1. Assess the Damage: Examine the chipped area to ensure there's no structural damage. Small chips on aluminum or steel frames are usually harmless, but if you have a carbon frame, ensure the area isn't compromised.
   Clean the Area: Thoroughly clean the affected spot to remove dirt, grease, and loose paint particles. For metal frames, using isopropyl alcohol is effective. For carbon frames, opt for isopropyl alcohol to prevent any degradation.

2. Sand the Surface: Gently sand the chipped area to create a smooth surface for the new paint to adhere. Start with a coarser grit (around 80) and progress to finer grits (up to 1000) for a polished finish.

3. Select the Right Paint: Identify the exact color of your Brompton. Brompton provides a list of colors per model year and their corresponding color codes. Once identified, you can purchase the appropriate touch-up paint.

4. Apply the Paint: Shake the touch-up paint thoroughly. Using a fine brush, apply a thin layer to the chipped area. Allow it to dry completely before applying subsequent layers. Building up the paint gradually ensures a more seamless repair. 2k paint touch up may require up to 3 hours in a sunny environment to properly dry . 

5. Smooth the Repaired Area: Once the paint sits slightly above the surrounding surface, use fine-grade sandpaper (1400 grit or higher) to gently level it. Work slowly to avoid damaging the surrounding paint.

6. Polish for a Finished Look: After sanding, apply a wax polish to the area to restore its shine and blend the repair with the rest of the frame.

Expectations :

We offer a touch up service which helps to address scratches that leave the bike frame exposed and prone to rusting . For certain colors we can achieve a high level of matching however for unique and limited edition colors there will be noticeable patches or difference in tones . 

Color Matching : 

It is our experience that even with the specific pantone color it is still difficult to achieve an exact match with paints purchased in the store. 

This is why the paints which we use are developed together with our paint specialist Spray Smiths located at  SPRAYSMITHS PTE LTD , Website Link . 

We worked together to develop and test the paints on actual Brompton bicycles watching the matching process after the paint has dried and hardened and not when it is applied.  (Insert Video) 

This is our experience with riders who wish to restore their Brompton through the touch up process and they relate specifically to the type of paint jobs that their bikes have. 

• Pre 2019 Colours
  

  matte based without the gloss finish . It is possible to achieve a very close match to the original color of the matt colored Brompton’s while at the same time removing any onset of rust and corrosion.

 

• Lacquer Series 

The lacquer series of Bromptons which include Black Lacquer , Flame Lacquer and the more current lacquers are very difficult to touch up using 2K based paints as each bike has its own unique pattern as part of the powder coating process. 

We can address the rusting and damage however we have thus far not been able to mimic the patterns of the lacquer series. Please see some examples of pastworks as to what is achievable. 

• Limited Edition Colors 

Limited edition colors in particular rare models which are glossy are a challenge to match perfectly and to achieve the gloss. We may not have these paints available in store as well as they are rare in nature , however if the owner is not pressed for time and is willing to allow us the time to match the paint and can accept that the restoration process may not be a 100% match then they can consider the touch up route instead of a full respray . 

Preventative Measures

To minimize future paint chips:.

• Regular Maintenance: Keep your bike clean and inspect it regularly for early signs of wear.

• Cable Management: Ensure cables are properly adjusted to prevent excessive rubbing against the frame.

• Watch your Pedal : A fair number of touch up projects were due to pedal strikes when the Brompton is unfolded whilst the folding pedal is still folded. This can easily be avoided if you remember to open you pedal first before unfolding your Brompton. 

• Watch your Bottle Holder : Some bottle holders have fasteners which are metal screws which burrow into the main frame , please avoid using such bottle cages , opt instead for rubber fasteners or velcro straps . If you do notice metal screws protect your frame by using cut out pieces of rubber tubing or protective tape when installing your bottle cage. 

Ultimately a Brompton is to be ridden and in all rides we will pick up nicks and scratches, however for those who wish to have a go at maintaining the sheen of their Bromptons, there are many solutions available. 

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