I had an awfully embarrassing parking lot tip-over the other day and fell onto someone’s brand new Black Inc Sixty Two rear wheel. My shoe hit the wheel, and there was no structural damage but I scratched the finish and decals (photos below). He’s contacted Black Inc and they say that no replacement rims are available, and they will not sell a single wheel, only the set. I have never heard of such a policy, and it definitely turns me off purchasing any Black Inc products (maybe this is common with high-end wheelsets?).
Anyway, it looks like I will be purchasing him a new wheelset through my insurance with a 30% crash replacement discount. I’ll then probably get the wheels myself. I don’t need them and I’m not really interested in owning an un-repairable wheelset, so I’ll likely end up selling them.
Finally to the question: is a repair to this sort of cosmetic damage possible, and would it be worth it if I’m just going to sell the wheels anyway? Of course I would disclose to the buyer regardless that the wheels were repaired.
Thanks!
Uff, thats a string of bad luck. Sorry about that.
I feel like if a wheel set is at this price point, the service should be premium as well. It really bums me out if companies behave this way.
Don’t know about repairs. Sometimes you can get some way with a polish.
To the second part of your question: it comes down to the difference for the sale price. I can imagine this taking off a couple of hundred bucks of the resale value. If you can fix it for less, then go for it.
One thought: Can you get the receipt of the person who bought them? In case he bought them locally, I would ask for the shop to reach out to the company. they sometimes have more leverage.
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Ooh, that’s some bad luck.
From the looks of it, it looks purely cosmetic, since I can’t detect any exposed plies (but I could be wrong, failing eyesight and all that). Not to be snarky, but I really think that if it’s purely cosmetic, that it’ll buff out.
Depending on where you’re based, I’d give this guys a call and see what they’d come up with.
Australia: Luescher Teknik
USA: Ruckus Composites
One more thing. A wheelset that lovely, wouldn’t you consider keeping it, since it’ll be paid for anyway?
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Since the finish is gloss and the damage is very minor it should be an easy fix any car detailer should be able to do. Or bring it to some proper bike shop, we would polish this out for like half an hour worth of labor.
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Yeah I have seen “wheel refresh” options at some carbon repair specialists, so this might be possible as it appears cosmetic.
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Thanks all!
@Jannik_Graefen he did reach out through the shop to Black Inc, so unfortunately no dice there.
@Not_Fast_Enough_To_Keep_Up I’m in Germany, we have a couple well-regarded carbon repair options as well. Keeping it has crossed my mind but I don’t really love having the giant Black Inc logo, and my current wheelset is serviceable. If I sell it, I can put the money into the bike stuff fund 
@McSmokin and @Michael_Gaylord good suggestions, I’ll ask around about cosmetic repair options.
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Fair point there. I’m not a fan of loud aesthetics myself 
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Buffing that out is a bad idea. Part of the function of the topcoat is to protect the matrix from UV.
Your best option is to refinish the damaged area with 2k polyurethane, available from automotive paint suppliers. I believe this one is German: 2K Aerosol clear coat premium - CHAMAELEON PRODUCTION
Sand the damaged area back very lightly with an aluminium oxide “No Fill” paper (the white sort) around 300 grit. Keep checking the paper and if you see any black dust stop, you’ve gone too far.
Wipe the area down with acetone, removing all dust. Activate the can*, spray according to directions. Use really good protection: this stuff is noxious.
Allow this to cure thoroughly, if the finish is too glossy, polish it. Sounds paradoxical but it works really well
*Pro tip: if you store the can at -20 oC (eg in the freezer) you can warm it up and re-use it, usually twice before it becomes too viscous to spray.
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