powder coating frame??!

[allmtrslut]

so iam looking into powder coating my frame, since iam gonna be geting new suspension anyway iam gonna be ripping the bike apart as it is. does anyone know a good place where i can take the frame to be powder coated around socal? i live in the 818, so not to far from la. and iam sure there are a few places that are out there, just would be nice if anyone had any place they used or know that is good. thanks

[Cal Amari]

Double-check before you make a decision on this; check the BBB.org website and ask for references if need be... I've heard only good things about this shop, which probably isn't too far from you. Be sure to ask if GSTwins members get a discount... 

http://www.powdercoater.com/

Let us know what you decide...

[allmtrslut]

thanks alot thats like 5 mins from my house, iam gonna drive over there and ask him what price he can get for me. i will keep u guys in the loop, thanks again.

[The Buddha]

Weld up all the exposed gaps and the brackets where suzuki didn't weld all the way through ... and yea the places where water will collect ... cos it will eat the powder eventually ... swingarm also have some places ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[allmtrslut]

hmm i cant weld dudE!! damn i wish i knew what u know man! do i also have to take the whole bike apart? like motor everything off, so its just to the frame right? isnt it gonna be a pain to put it back together? also i know i should be taping off some areas that could be affected by the powder coating but dont know what those areas are!!

[Cal Amari]

Trust me on this; the people at Andrews can tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to get this done properly. You will have to strip the frame, which means removing everything from it, but the trick there is to disassemble only as much as you need to; this is a LOT of work, so get a digital camera and document where everything goes, which bolt goes through which hole in which direction, the order of the washers on the bolt... the details are CRITICAL to the reassembly.

For example, look at the bolt on top of the shock absorber; which side is the nut on? Make note of it... Are there any washers behind the nut or under the bolt head? Make note of it... If one is a lockwasher and the other is a flatwasher, make note of it... If one is different from the other, make note of it, including whether it was under the bolthead, or under the nut. Where are the various cables (clutch, throttle, choke) routed? Make note of it... IOW, document EVERYTHING as you go along, with plenty of photos and written notes. Be THOROUGH; by the time you're finished, you should be able to teach a class on the right way to strip everything off the frame.

The powdercoaters should be able to recommend a good welding shop, if they don't handle that work themselves. A good frame welder will know what to do as soon as he sees the GS frame; he can teach you if you want to know what to look for. Get it done right, and you'll never have to worry about it again.

Don't even THINK about doing any prep work to the frame; you shouldn't do anything other than wash it clean as a whistle. If you try to save a few bucks by prepping the frame yourself, the powdercoater won't be responsible for the end result. Let them do the prep work; they'll know what to do to protect the parts of the frame that won't be coated, and since they'll prep the frame, they'll stand behind the quality of their work. Some shops won't even accept the job if you insist on doing the prep work yourself...

Now is the time to decide whether or not you want to powdercoat the forklegs and / or the swingarm to match the frame, so start thinking about that soon. Some people prefer the stock silver paint, some prefer contrasting colors, some prefer monochrome... talk it over with the powdercoater if you aren't sure, and they'll advise you as best they can.

Lastly, don't be in a rush with this; it will require a lot of work, and if you rush the work, you're going to break or strip bolts, and that isn't a good thing. You'll need quality torque wrenches to put everything back together properly, and a suitable place to work. Think this over before you do anything else, and let us know what you decide to do.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Holy crap.. Cal = Genious!

[3imo]

Holy crap.. Cal = Genious!

+1  but I'd spell it genius   

on documenting everthing, I suggest a good digital camera and take a pic of everthing piece by piece.  assembled and then dissasembled with all the pieces lying around it. then bag the small pieces and label them according to the part they correspond to.  don't forget to label the bag.

I use sandwich bags.  worked great. Asembling the bike, including the engine, is about 3-4 nights, unless you take your time.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Holy crap.. Cal = Genious!

+1  but I'd spell it genius   

I guess I should have clarified... Genious is what I call people when I'm being smart alecky, it's like genius, but with extra emphasis. jeen eeh ous, instead of jeen eeh us. Just for S&G... This is why slang is bad, it finds its way into real world stuff. I've found myself typing "cuz" into English papers for school (thank goodness I'm done with English FOREVER!)

/threadjack, sorry

[allmtrslut]

thanks alot for the advice guys, i figure iam gonna be ripping of the forks and a bunch of other stuff is being replaced so i really think iam gonna go through with this powder coating thing. iam head to that shop today and talk to them about what they need me to do and how much its gonna cost. ill keep u guys in the loop.

[Jace009gs]

just as an FYI

powdercoating is pretty much sealing the metal out against the elements...it's a dry paint that is (-) charged and then baked in the oven at 500* for I think 30 or so minutes.....so ya....EVERY THING HAS TO COME OFF THE BIKE or it will melt.  The frame will also have to be striped down to bare metal, and All the threads will either have to have studs put into them or you can get a threading tool and go to town on re-assembly did I mention it's really expensive compared to other painting methods? expect to pay like $500 for the bare frame+ sand blasting....I wonder how much it would cost to Chrome a GS500 frame???

NOW if your just going to PPG regular auto. paint than no. It's a spray on affair...you'lll just have to tape what you don't want painted. This paint is good mix of value v. time and effort. However it's more tempermental to the elements and dosn't hold up as well as powder coating.

the new fad is to polish the frame....get a drill attachment and a dremmel and some time and it can look real nice. But the end product is in your mechanical hands.

[budget speed demon]

hold on.
so your replaceing your suspension, and you figure at that point you might as well go ahead and tear the entire bike apart?

do you really understand how much of a difference in work that is?. pulling out the fork tubes and rear shock to replace springs isn't that big of a deal, but tearing down an entire bike is. how much mechanical experiance do you have? what kind of tools do you have? do you know anyone who's an 'expert' that can help you out if you get in over your head? all things to think about.