Ugly thick powdercoat

[TM BILL]

Powder coating on the race bikes , enamel on the show ponies 

[STW996]

Just to correct a few points in this thread,

I do powder coating so know what it's about (but I will not profess to being an expert at it).

Powder coat is just paint with no solvent it is applied via electrostatic and heated to form the coating.

Powder coating needs surface prep like all other paints and can be primed with a base coat to stop rusting and then top coated.

The problem with a lot of people that do it is they apply it to thick and this is was causes the lifting when chipped, also not being correctly baked (for the right amount of time at the right temp can also cause this). powder coating goes on at about 40 to 50 microns and wet paint is about 30 microns, problem with powder coating that chips (in big pieces) is that is sprayed on to thick at around 80 microns.

I have several of my bikes powder coated and several painted and the wear rate is about the same.

I do touch up the powder coated frames with normal paint without and concern.

I have found it as very good wearing on hubs I powder coat and have several bikes that have done over 4 seasons of racing and the finish is still great (no cheaping) and you will find it adheres better to a ruff surface.

It is a coating that can be sanded and painted over just like any other paint.

[Davey Crocket]

The people that have had problems with powdercoat have probably gone to "oll mate down the road" cose he's cheaper and got what they paid for.....Part of my business is restoring Aussie musclecars and to keep the quality up to a high standard takes alot of years searching to find other business's/tradesman to help with the job. My powdercoater I have known and used for over 25 years....never had a problem, he is probably one of the top coaters with his knowledge and experience. There are more cowboy's out there than good coaters. I could be wrong but I think about 99% of everything (except automotive) thats metal and painted these days is probably powdercoat....the chinese still dont know how to do it. Theres nothing wrong with powdercoat when its done properly. Nearly all the colors come with paint touch up cans. More painters create problems when they touch the freshly sandblasted part with there bare hands and start the corrosion straight away without knowing it. I have seen this first hand with hand/fingerprints coming through under the paint within 12 months...ofcourse the painter "never" touched it with his bare hands......I powdercoat all my metal parts that are color unless there is not the correct color available. You cannot beat it for durability and UV resistance.

[chrisdespo]

so it seems that preparation is the key.the trouble is with me is i am stuck in my ways. I did read somewhere on the site someone powder coating their brake drums , not a good thing to do. Brakes work on changing kinetic energy to heat and the the heat is radiated away by the fins on the brake drum. to much paint or powder coating can reduce the amount of heat radiated away reducing the brakes efficiency. bead blast the drum surface and a very thin coat of flat black or even better no paint for best results.

[Gippslander]

How do you remove powdercoat from hubs and give yourself a chance to get back to original?
The powdercoat on my pre 75 Husky hubs (already done when I purchased) is so thick the spokes don't seat properly.

[chrisdespo]

I dont know but by the sound of a lot of posts if you were to chip the powder coat it will probably fall off by itself (lol).
May be some one would know if stripper of some sort , with paint you just glass bead blast then mask up and re-coat. by the way not that it makes to much difference on dirt bikes but the extra surface area you get with bead blasting can make a difference to brake performance, it all helps though, even spokes seating down in the hub would dissipate the heat away as well when you think about it.

[Davey Crocket]

You can either get the hubs blasted or cleaned in a chemical bath....I always paint my hubs but frame parts I powdercoat.

[chrisdespo]

Give me Paint , i still recon every frame that i've seen powder coated looks Bog orible!

[090]

I'm pretty sure cr's were powder coated from the 80's onwards

[paul]

just had this powder coated, came up great

[STW996]

Man that does look good Paul.

New one to the fleet or a freshin up?

[Davey Crocket]

It's probably a DAS Shane (Dave Alsop Special) ....does look good though.

[paul]

new one, stock 78    with a 490 engine

[GMC]

To paint or powder, that is the question.
Seems to be a lot of stereotypes involved here.
Powder coaters never mask up holes but painters always do!!
Powder was never intended for frames!!
Powder always falls off but paint never does!!

Everything has its pro’s & cons
It all seems a bit like choosing which football team or religion to barrack for.

Give me Paint , i still recon every frame that i've seen powder coated looks Bog orible!

Thing is, you could be looking at a good powder coat job and not know it, you only notice the bad jobs.


I have used a few powder coaters for various jobs over the years and they have all had a collection of bolts that they screw into any threaded holes.
The powder should never look thick, if it does then don’t use that powder coater again, just the same as you wouldn’t use a dodgy painter a second time.

Powder is cheap because of the process, not the quality.

Powder is not made from acid that will eat into any paint that is sprayed over it.

I also thought that most modern cars are powder coated??

Paint has the option of being able to mix more colours whereas powder has set colours, and its easier to bog up imperfections.

The fact that primer isn’t used in a lot of jobs is because
# A   Most don’t want to pay the extra
# B   Most of the time its not necessary

It is recommended that any outdoors stuff should be either primed or plated.
I made a fence back in 97 that was made from Gal tube and mild steel bar. The mild steel was wire brushed and sprayed  with cold gal before powder coating.
I had to replace some of the fence in 2000 because a truck backed into it and I bought the old pieces home to be used as farm fencing.
The powder on those pieces is still holding up fine despite being out in the weather for 13 years.

Bottom line is powder is a very durable and cheap option.
Paint may be better for the garage queen is it can be used to cover more imperfections.

If looking for a powder coater try inspecting finished products that usually sit around for pickup, if you don’t like what you see try somewhere else.
Paint or powder, looking for the cheapest quote isn’t always wise.

[firko]

I spent a bit of time working on my B&S TM400 today, and even though I took the anti powder stance earlier in this thread, I must admit that the guy who did the powdercoat of the frame did a really good job. The frame had been poorly nickel plated when it was new and it looked like crap with no chance of bringing it back to life with a polish so I had it blasted and then powdercoated straight over the blasted nickel. Even though the bike's seen very little dirt action it's still holding up admirably and looks as good as the day it was done.
 As I said in an earlier post, the only reason I prefer paint is that I like to do as many facets of the bike build myself and powder coating is a bit out of my realm. I like painting, even rattle can jobs give me a feeling of "done it myself" satisfaction.