Powder Coating Frame? Update, with new pics.

[sprint_9]

Well finally figured out my damn camera so here is some pics of my newly powdercoated bike.  The total of all the work was just under $200, that included all prep down to bare metal and then the coating. It came out really good, the black is awesome.  The coater also ended up putting two coats on the silver parts so it should be twice as tough.  I cant wait to get it back together.  

Click on them for larger pics.  

[RoundBall]

GOOD JOB ;)

i paint mine for 5-10 USD :mrgreen:  for paint
because we have powder camera  :mrgreen:

[GRU]

damn man, are those all new parts?  :mrgreen:

[The Buddha]

Nice ... though I'd have sprayed the top triple, the posts and the bars as well as top dash plate and the headlight ears, triangle bits and the shell black ...
I did it on mine and its the nicest appearance mod I made ever ... Also some times powdercoating will get dulled by gas ... so make sure you dont spill on the frame or other parts ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[John Bates]

Your bike is going to look great.

You got one heck of a good deal on the coating.

[Dom]

I'm jealous!  Nice job!  

How long do you figure it took you to take it apart?

[sprint_9]

Nice ... though I'd have sprayed the top triple, the posts and the bars as well as top dash plate and the headlight ears, triangle bits and the shell black ...

Yea after seeing how good the black looks I wish I would have done more of my stuff in black, but oh well.  I think it took me around 10 or 15 hours to take apart, maybe up to 20 it was kind of hard to keep track because I did it over a pretty broad time.  Hopefully it will go together good, Im hopin to get the engine in today and then move it to a heated shop in the next week or two.  Thanks everyone for the nice comments, Im sure Ill be asking for help on various things when I put it back together in the coming weeks.

[sprint_9]

Well I started putting back together and ran into a problem.  I put on the side stand and moved it back and forth a few times and the powdercoat just started to flake off.  Needless to say Im pretty pissed right now.  For those of you that have had your frame coated how did that area of the frame work out for you?

[Dom]

I guess you can shell out the extra few bucks and use a powdercoat primer on the few select parts that you think will experience the most abuse, supposedly provides greater adhesion... Instrument cluster, handlebar mount, kickstand, centerstand, etc...I know there is such a thing as a powdercoat primer, basically a two step process, primer first then final coat...  Maybe something to look into...I know they have other abrasion resistant dual layer finishes that are different from a primer/final scheme.

[sprint_9]

Yea I might have to look into redoing my frame, its a freakin joke.  Heres a pic of what fell off moving the sidestand up and down 5 or 6 times.  Doesnt really seem like much but it looks like crap.

[Daniely]

Have you thought about inserting some sort of rubber spacer? I know powder coating is supposed to be INCREDIBLY strong, so that just doesnt make sense, but with some sort of a bushing/spacer it should stop the chipping (after you get it fixed of course).

[sprint_9]

Thats not a bad idea.  I think Im gonna paint that lower bracket a gloss black or try to match it to the silver.

[John Bates]

Yea I might have to look into redoing my frame, its a freakin joke.  Heres a pic of what fell off moving the sidestand up and down 5 or 6 times.  Doesnt really seem like much but it looks like crap.

Just some comments based on the picture:

Your right, it is crap.  

My son and I reviewed  the photo and it looks to us like this part of the frame was not sand blasted.  Blasted metal has a smooth dull metallic look.  This photo seems to reveal an unprepped area that even has remnants of the old paint.  

Also, powder coat that is properly applied and cured will not flake.  It is tough and flexible.  The motion of the side stand should have made nothing more than a scuff mark on the surface.

My son assures the quality of his powder coating by scoring a cross hatch pattern on a test sample and then tries to pull the coating off with duct tape.  A good coating job will not peel or flake.

If other parts of the frame exhibit flaking then the only remedy is to strip and recoat.  Stripping powder coat generally takes a chemical stripper or a high temp. baking to cook it off.  Sandblasting will not work on properly applied powder coat.  In your case if the whole frame was done the same way as the side stand bracket then it may sandblast off.

The frame appears to have metallic flecks.  If so a clear coat is required.  The photo does not seem to show a high gloss that we would expect see from a clear coat.

Sorry to be so negative but that's what we read from the photo.  Hopefully we're not 100% correct.  Good luck.

[sprint_9]

Yea something is a miss with the frame.  It doesnt make sense to me, although it does have a pretty good gloss to it, the pics dont really show that.  I tested my swing arm and it didnt flake off so something is wrong with the frame.  I think Im gonna give my coater a ring tomorrow and see what he says.

[dane_lindsay]

sprint, is the powdercoat on the frame still all jacked up? what did the coater say about it? do you have any pics of parts other than the sidestand mount of flaking paint? just curious, want to get mine coated, and want to know what to ask them to make sure it's done right.. thanks
dane

[Blueknyt]

might want to think about a thin chrome washer to take the abuse of the bouncing kickstand. even powder coating will come off with repeated beatings.

[sprint_9]

He thought the frame wasnt preped right on that bracket.  He said the rest of the frame should be good.  I guess will find out this summer since Ive got the bike together already, if it flakes or chips off he will be getting a frame back.  Ill post some pics up after a bit, it does look pretty nice though.

[sprint_9]

Well heres the pics, it looks pretty damn good, I think atleast, better in person.  The Vance & Hines exhaust is simply awesome, it really adds to the bike.  The Bandit rear wheel was a real pain to install, you really need to have a lathe to get the spacers made right, and when right it does just barely fit, but it does fit, with about an 1/8th inch on both sides of a 150/70 tire.   Im not done with it completly, I still need to get my 89 top tripple squared away, some new foot pegs, buell signals bought, chop my rear fender, and get my 40 pilots in, but in time Ill get it.  I would like to thank you guys for any help at all you have givin me, especially Pablo for his great internet site and Kerry for letting me use some of his pictures.

[bluedevil]

Ok, here I go using my fiancee's handle again -

Firstly, I am not trying to be rude or flame anyone, just trying to help.

I run a small powdercoating operation, and from the looks of it I'd have to say that:

A.) That was not properly preped (not completely sandblasted)
B.) The only time I've had powder "chip" off is when The metal isn't cured long enough, see the metal for most powders has to be brought up to between 375 and 400 degrees for 15-20 min.  If you don't allow it to cure for enough time the powder will liquify, but not adhere.

Just a side note, if the metal isn't properly prepped, the powder will "pull" away from that spot, NOT chip off - at first it seemed you got a good deal, but not if you got a shoddy job.

Here's some pics (I hope) of a rim and the process I did up for a Gixxer recently.

Started with:



After Chemical stripping:



After Sandblasting:



Finished Wheel:



On Bike:



Anyway, hope I was of some help.
Raymond

[paui]

where is this powdercoater?