lava dome 1992

I can’t remember now where I found these words of wisdom, maybe on here, but anyway I copied them as I had the same thoughts as you – but haven’t got round to doing anything about it yet though!

T-Cut is a No No
Try either Glass polish or Safe Cut first, T Cut can be a bit harsh!
Autosol works very well as a gentle cutting agent on paintwork.
T Cut works (although read 'worked'!) well on my RTS, but I find Brasso is the best on it.
G3 is far better on the sort of jobs you could use T-cut for.

According to the 1992 catalogue, there were three levels of P2 fork that year – P2 Sport on the Hahanna and Fire Mountain, P2 on the Lava Dome and P2 triple-butted on the Cinder Cone and above. The decals look original to me - although they’re not shown in the catalogue, they’re quite similar in style to this 92 Cinder Cone that sold for a mere £131 earlier on today. I guess it’s possible the original owner might have upgraded the forks when he bought the bike.

Shouldn't be an issue using T-Cut, after all its actually the lacquer you are working on, the paint underneath is fine. T-Cut Mettalic is less abrasive, but either will be fine if you don't go nuts. I wouldn't T-Cut my car, but i wouldn't hesitate using it on 15yo bike.

Tallpaul":vikfqs2o said:

Shouldn't be an issue using T-Cut, after all its actually the lacquer you are working on, the paint underneath is fine. T-Cut Mettalic is less abrasive, but either will be fine if you don't go nuts. I wouldn't T-Cut my car, but i wouldn't hesitate using it on 15yo bike.

Click to expand...

But how can you tell whether there is lacquer Paul? I thought it was only metallic and enamel paints that were lacquered over, and that T-Cut Metallic was designed for dealing with dull lacquer.

I think the people who said T-Cut was a no no were alarmed at the amount of paint on their cloth using T-Cut. Maybe they were just not being careful enough as you say, but they were certainly going deeper than any clear coat that was there.

If they were getting paint on the cloth, then there was no lacquer in the first place... I guess the way to tell if the paint lacquered is see if your nail catches a decal?

If you're worried, test a hidden area first.

The forks are indeed triple butted (marked in the steerer cm/tb ) so I guess they were an upgrade, will let you know how I get on with the buffing.