Powder Coat Questions

KevChallis
KevChallis Posts: 646
edited January 2014 in MTB general
Hi all,

I have found out that I can get my frame powder coated for £35, which I thought was really reasonable, is there a thread here anywhere, where people have posted their bikes after powder coating? As I need to decide a colour.

Plus, I know how it is done, but as for decals, how are the done to gain a flush finish?

Thanks
Kev
PlanetX Pro Carbon
Voodoo Bizango

Comments

  • miceden
    miceden Posts: 225
    Never had a frame done but plenty of hubs, £35 is very reasonable for a whole frame! For colours look at ral colour charts, best to look at a printed chart rather than on a PC monitor as a it won't always give a true representation, that or find a colour you like and they can generally colour match. Flush graphics I expect would have to be wet painted.
  • Thanks for your reply, graphics can maybe go then lol, I quite like the look of a none decaled frame :) I will see if I can go collect a colour chart, thanks
    Kev
    PlanetX Pro Carbon
    Voodoo Bizango
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    £35 is a raesonable price, around what you'd expect to pay. RAL colours are pretty limiting though, take a look here for more interesting inspiration:

    http://www.prismaticpowders.com/
  • Thanks, will take a look, I want something 'special' so to speak
    Kev
    PlanetX Pro Carbon
    Voodoo Bizango
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    KevChallis wrote:
    I will see if I can go collect a colour chart, thanks

    A full RAL colour swatch set is pretty expensive, but your local coater may have one to look at (plus they'll have samples of all their stock colours to look at) - go along and have a look, much better than working from colour charts.
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    KevChallis wrote:
    Thanks, will take a look, I want something 'special' so to speak

    Most coaters will only keep basic colours in stock. If you want something more interesting (candies, metalflakes, flips etc) then a motorcycle powdercoater's your best bet. I wouldn't use any industrial coater - they can easily wreck a frame if they're more used to doing garden furniture etc. That Prismatic Powders site is American - they have far more choice in special effects powders over there than any coater keeps over here - your coater could order powders in, but that's going to make things considerably more expensive.
  • Thanks mate, think we have a local motorcycle place, I will do a bit of research and find out
    Kev
    PlanetX Pro Carbon
    Voodoo Bizango
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    I can recommend places up here, but that's not much use to you. Gloss black with a silver metalflake lacquer looks good... Anodising's inexpensive too, and a few grammes lighter, if you're bothered about that.
  • Thanks, I'm sure there is a local place, I will ask what they can do, like I said, want it to look special, it's not a special frame, but changing the look of it, an upgrading some parts at the same time, thanks for your help, really is appreciated
    Kev
    PlanetX Pro Carbon
    Voodoo Bizango
  • stuisnew
    stuisnew Posts: 366
    Be a bit careful though and do your research. My brother had a frame powdercoated for £35 and it was truly awful. They promised to blank bb shell, headtube etc but he had to clear threads of paint etc which cost more, but more importantly the finish was terrible, thin in places and very thick in others.

    Not saying powdercoating is bad, I powdercoated an old rockhopper which came out brilliantly, but go somewhere with a good rep for bikes.
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    stuisnew wrote:
    Not saying powdercoating is bad,

    It's not. Bad powdercoating is bad, just like bad wet painting is bad, or bad anodising is bad. Hence my earlier comment about not using industrial coaters as they can easily destroy your frame. Only use coaters that know what they're doing, and if you're in any doubt then make 100% sure they know which parts need masking. If you find a good motorcycle powdercoater then odds are that they will have done plenty of bicycle frames too, and know what needs doing. Take it somewhere decent and there's no reason you shoudn't get a top quality job for £35 (don't forget that you'll need your BB shell faced afterwards though, if you have an external BB, so allow a tenner for that too).
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    If you want something different, have you considered hydrodipping?
  • Thanks for your replies, I'm pretty new to stripping bikes down. And don't know what a bb shell is, or if I have an external bb? I don't know....

    Will look at hydro dipping, as never heard of it
    Kev
    PlanetX Pro Carbon
    Voodoo Bizango
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    The bit at the bottom the cranks go through.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    cooldad wrote:
    The bit at the bottom the cranks go through.

    What he said. An external BB is one where the bearing cups sit outboard of the BB shell, so the faces of the shell need to be perpendicular and free of paint, to allow the BB to sit flush and straight. Facing uses a cutting tool to remove any paint from those surfaces and leave a smooth, parallel and perpendicular surface on each side.

    Hydrodipping transfers a printed pattern by floating it on the surface of water then immersing the object (e.g. bicycle frame):

    http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/

    http://www.hydro-graphics.co.uk/showcase.php
  • paul.skibum
    paul.skibum Posts: 4,068
    I had my bike powdercoated last summer - steel hardtail - went to reputable local firm with some history of bikes and motorbikes and car parts and it came back looking pretty decent.

    IMG_0977_zpsde7caea1.jpg

    IMG_0974_zpsa506d9ba.jpg

    Its a sparkle fleck finish on signal orange or something. Finished bike:
    IMG_1346_zpsa9c4d8c3.jpg
    Closet jockey wheel pimp whore.
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Aye, that could be Signal orange - I studied the RAl oranges in depth when wanting to match my shock spring (went for Vermillion orange).