I was washing my bike the other day, and massive lumps of paint started flaking off. Anyone know any good ways of touching up the damage? Failing that, are there any good tapes available which I could use to mask the affected area? I've looked for some sort of carbon fibre tape but I've only found one normally used for scanning electron microscopes, which sounds far from ideal!

where has the paint flaked off?

If its around a weld, check for frame damage (i.e. cracked weld).

If the frame isn't cracked, get a respray! You can't really 'touch up' the paint on a frame without it looking obvious. Unless you're amazing...

Thats correct, i am able to carry out such a task. I charge over the odds for it tho!

How old is the bike, Check your warranty and send it back.

Fake carbon tape is easy to find but it's just carbon effect printed on. Your LBS should be able to get you the real deal - Pace make it for about a fiver a set: http://www.pace-racing.co.uk

theres a key between 'i' and 'p' it's got the following letter on it 'o', it may come in handy

I've had the bike for about four or five years now: it's a Cove Stiffee, and the paint has flaked on the down tube and looks really tatty. All the welds are fine, though!

If it has a lifetime warranty you can still get a respray or even replacement.

Is it flakes or damage from stones etc?

it's damage from stones and general trail debris which has chipped the paint