Paint or Powdercoat frame?

im leaning towards powdercoating the frame because of the durability and the heat resistance. Does anybody have any experiences with powdercoat? thanks

Post edited by: oldkaws4ever, at: 2007/07/27 02:04

ive had a lot of stuff powder coated,its pretty tough stuff but im kinda leary about doing a frame since its really hard to fix if you screw it up;)

Doing it yourself or having someone do it?

If you want to set yourself up for powerdercoating....look up the equipment before you buy it. I played around with a setup I got on ebay and finally gave up on getting a good finish. A friend of mine who bought a better setup on eBay is having much better results. Great results, as a matter of fact. Far better than I ever got from my paint and cure.

Man, if you get good equipment and a good curing environment, that stuff seems like the way to go!

For frames powdercoating is the way to go.....you will never have to worry about it fading or chipping. Remember to cover up any threaded ports as the powder will add a thickness and you will have to tap out the threads again.

I just got a quote on powdercoating for $175 for the color orange, IS THAT REASONABLE?? that isnt include sandblasting, i got a quote on the for $50... so that doesnt seem too bad..

That is a bit on the high side. Powdercoating a frame requires also removing all your bearings... steering neck and swingarm, etc. The heat will ruin the old bearings. You also need to make double sure that the shop doesn't get powder in where the new bearings will be installed because you will have to GRIND IT OUT if they do. Last set of rims I had powdercoated had the bearing race surfaces powdercoated and it was a PAIN to remove. The powdercoat IS worth the extra money and effort since it holds up much better. It isn't really practical to powdercoat a frame yourself as the powder must be baked at 400 degrees in an oven and it isn't likely a do-it-yourselfer would have an over you could get a frame into.

Powdercoating can came out really nice I had a few peaces dun but a pain to repaint, I bought a kit and big toaster over and did some small parts. But my frame I use Por 15/20 paints for a few years car frames to engine blocks brakes and a lot more al so tank line kits to. You can check my frame in the pics look up jagrider in kzrider.



powder coating a company i use before, after i bought a kit and big toaster over and learn to do it my self.

www.eastcoastpowdercoating.com/MotorcyclePrices.htm

Paint for rust frames and more.
www.por15.com/products.asp?dept=8

Post edited by: jagrider, at: 2008/01/15 11:40

My dragbike frame and swingarm is powder-coated and it is tuff stuff, BUT...is also has a few nicks in it and it can't be "fixed" and as of yet, I haven't been able to find any way of getting it off. If you need to weld or modify parts in any way, you will mess up the coating. If I could remove it, I would so I can paint it. You can redo the finish if need be then. Powder-coating looks great but be sure you have done any and all modifications BEFORE you powder-coat. If you have the frame done and are going to leave it alone, powder-coating looks great and lasts a long time with minimal, if any, upkeep except to wash it. Just don't do anything to chip it, etc. as it can't be redone like you can with paint.

Powder coating the frame is a great way to go. I had mine done professionally at a local shop. I paid $90.30 to powder coat the frame, foot peg mounts, swing arm, and side stand. I had to bring the stuff in somewhat clean but they do all the prep. A good shop will plug all the holes that have threads. You will probably still have to run them with a tap. Make sure they don't coat areas like the steering stem bearing space. It takes some work to get the powder coat out of places you don't want it. If you have one of the white frame labels on the steering stem, it will probably look brown after the final coat. Even with protection, mine looked OK after the primer coat bake, but turned brown in the final coat bake. I ended up sanding it off and spray painting over the spot. It's probably best to just have them blast it off during prep and powder coat that area. You still have the frame numbers stamped in the head. I don't know if that's OK with the law on newer bikes though.

I am thinking about getting my engine covers powder coated now. I still question if that's a good option for those. I see issues like oil out gassing, fading, and heat dissipation.

I owned my one PC shop when I lived in GA. I charged $250 a frame. I required all bearing races to be removed prior to media blasting.

That price included sand blasting and taping off and plugging of key elements like the where the bearing races belong in and the swingarm bolt, tapped mounting points, etc.

You will lose the factory ID tag on the stem, and if they do their job right, the VIN stamped on the stem will be readable when done properly.

My 2cents of advise... If the shop wants to charge you for each step of the process, like the powder, the media blasting, the tape, the plugs, etc. I'd find a different shop, because it's apparent that they haven't figured all of that into their cost to do the job with an "out-the-door" price.

And when in doubt, make sure you tell them exactly what you want masked off, be specific and make sure its written down on the receipt/work order.

Good shops here in florida will get around $250.00 for them...It is the only way to go in my opinion.

Powder coating is the way to go! Here is a pic of a members (dutchz) bike, swingarm, etc.