How to Touch-Up Cannondale Paint

Cannondale bikes have a signature white paint.

Cannondale is an upscale bicycle manufacturer. The company began with road bikes, which is still its forte, but now manufactures mountain bikes as well. Cannondale uses a multitude of colors, but always retains a signature white paint for its upper-end road bikes. It is a heavy enamel auto-body type paint. If you get dings or scratches on your bike frame, it's a good idea to touch them up to prevent them from getting worse.

Things You'll Need

• Masking tape
• Auto body paint to match bike
• Cotton swab
• 400-grit sandpaper
• Rubbing compound (optional)

Instructions

1. Tape around the scratch or chip with masking tape. Place the tape as close as possible around the perimeter of the chip or scratch.

2. Remove the cap from the paint can and spray a short burst of paint into the cap. Dip the end of a cotton swab into the paint.

3. Touch the cotton swab to the defect. Surgically paint the chip or scratch with the cotton swab until it's gone. Wait 30 minutes and paint it again.

4. Remove the tape. Sand the new paint lightly by hand with 400-grit sandpaper until smooth.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're worried about gloss, you can go over the defect with auto body polishing or rubbing compound, particularly if you want to bring up more gloss, but it's usually not necessary unless your repairs are major.

• Don't breathe fumes from paint. If you're using large quantities, wear breathing protection.