Probably going to be my first goal when I finish taking my bike fully apart. (bout 15% there now)

to clean, strip and sand down the frame to prepare for powdercoating.

I have that aircraft stripper from when I was stripping my rims (still not done too)

but im not sure whats all safe or "exactly" what to do to prepare the frame for PC"ing.

Clean, Strip, & Sand it down just like any other part?
and is what I have safe for it?

& I assume I want to take it all the way down to the clean bare metal if I am to get it PC'ed?

sorry another unknown thing to me and havnt seen a thread about that yet.

thanks

The best thing to do is talk to the place that will be doing the powder. Even if you strip the frame down ans clean it up, they might want to go over it themselves so they KNOW the pc holds up.

Agreed on just stripping the parts and letting them strip the frame to the metal. I just pulled the last parts off mine today which was the engine, rear/front rim.

Yeah, good advice. (exactly why I posted and love this forum) 

Odd I didnt think of that.
Just a lot on my plate atm, life and jumpin head first into messin with the bike.

I just figured I would save a lil money if I did the prep work myself.
but yea they will probably go over it themselves as well and possibly charge me as if they had to do it all.

yeah, I got enough work doing the rest of the bike, MAYBE minus the rims too, to go with the frame. (depends on my $$ situation)

Quote from: Big Rich on October 30, 2011, 03:58:33 PM
The best thing to do is talk to the place that will be doing the powder. Even if you strip the frame down ans clean it up, they might want to go over it themselves so they KNOW the pc holds up.

+1  The place I went to included cleaning in the price. 

If you clean any scum and oil residue off, I'm sure they would appreciate it though.

And all those bolt holes in the frame should have a bolt in them. Not the bolts that you are going to re-use either. Old, junk bolts. Just put them back in enough that the threads of the frame are covered. The powder will build up on any bolt threads and make them a nightmare to get out. Know what I'm saying?

What color are you thinking for the frame btw?

A powder coating house would have rubber plugs they stick in holes to keep them clean.
Don't stick bolts in - they'll get powder coated and the hole you pull them from will look like crap. The rubber plugs will not take powder and leave a nice edge on the holes.

Quote from: Big Rich on October 30, 2011, 09:49:44 PM
If you clean any scum and oil residue off, I'm sure they would appreciate it though.

And all those bolt holes in the frame should have a bolt in them. Not the bolts that you are going to re-use either. Old, junk bolts. Just put them back in enough that the threads of the frame are covered. The powder will build up on any bolt threads and make them a nightmare to get out. Know what I'm saying?

What color are you thinking for the frame btw?

ty both for that advice.

I will make sure to ask about the bolt holes when I inquire on prices on a few locals.

color? Black
going with the same color scheme (coincidence) as the bike posted in (but red rims + maybe a few other things) http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=58154.0

but going to paint a lil more things red as well.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=55996.0  the red and black from that gave me some good ideas on a few things to try.

If you decide to save some cash and paint it yourself, look for black appliance epoxy. It can be a bit finicky to spray, and takes a lot longer to cure than normal rattle paint, but it's good stuff. It comes in 3 colors - but black is the only "useful" one.

Another cool paint I've found recently is Duplicolor's Metalcast. Seamax used it on his GS, and I've seen it on some other bikes as well. It can create some cool affects depending on the surface underneath.

My powderguy sand blasts them, makes no diff whether its clean or dirty. BTW you dont want stripper or similar chemicals in the thing in pores and holes it never gets out, you are better off sanding it if you must.
Cool.
Buddha.

Up here we have a place that immerses the entire frame in an alkali solution that cleans everything off down to the bare metal.

Damn, that's what I need for my parts and my ex........lol

http://www.rmc-industries.com/