So I got a cheapy (£35 w/ postage) fork to put on my folding bike. It's a 26" fork going onto a 24" bike mind but I think that'll work well enough as I've had trouble finding 24" disc forks for a sensible price. Given the axle to crown sizes of the current and new forks there's only about an inch in it.
However when it arrived I found the paint on the back of the crown, crown race & steerer tube if in a bit of a state as pictured below.
I've been back to the supplier and my choices are a tenner back if I reckon I can sort the paint. Or return for a full refund inc return postage but they don't expect new stock untill mid 2022. Apparently the eBay ad mentioned paint issues due to "being packaged whilst still hot from curing". Though I bought direct from the website which didn't say this and neither does subsequent eBay perusal.
How much work is involved in getting a good enough finish to protect the steel? I really don't care about aesthetics on this bike just as long as it's functional. Is wire-brushing/wooling off the crap paint, and rattlecan primer followed by rattlecan black going to be sufficient? Any issues likely where new primer and paint overlap the extant decent paint? Or should I just give up on and send them back? Most of the other forks I've found have been £100+. And there's all the faff of sorting postage.
Faux-edit: I have just found these which didn't appear whatsover during my previous searching:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144304861839 Might actually be a better choice though it doesn't say whether it's a 1" or 1 1/8" steerer. I'd expect 1 1/8" especially as originally on a trials bike. Hmmm now I'm really torn.