Southeast - Thoughts on powder coating a bike frame...

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
kjc9640
11-15-10, 12:32 PM
I am thinking about getting my bike powder coated. Has anybody had any experience with it?
Do you prefer it over paint?
Any colors to avoid?
Can they do 2 or 3 colors that fade into each other?
Does any one have photos of there bike that has been PC that you can post?
Cost?
Anything of importance that I should be aware of?
Anything that I should look for that will determine the creditability of the person doing the job?

Thanks...

Chris_in_Miami
11-15-10, 06:46 PM
I had my Santana tandem powdercoated earlier this year in a metallic deep red. It was a two-part process - silver metallic base coat, then translucent red topcoat. The two-part coating is pretty thick, but the frame was TIG welded, so no worries about losing lug details.

The shop that did the work had experience with bikes, and they do a lot of of motorcycle work so they're familiar with dealing with tubing, but I still felt compelled to point out how thin the tubing was compared with a motorcycle frame. The end result was pretty nice, though there are a few small areas where some pitting is evident under the coating. I needed to chase most of the braze-on threads even though the shop did their best to mask/plug them. There was also quite a bit of blasting grit inside the frame, I blew it out and applied frame saver.

Before:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S-jL69zdytI/AAAAAAAAAbU/EtF9Yk3yX-0/s800/before_04.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S-jMw12w1SI/AAAAAAAAAbc/S7vWxZzwaQo/s800/before_06.jpg

After:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S-jMw3MFKNI/AAAAAAAAAbg/Ixrvw72aCdE/s800/after_01.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S-jMxqtwuSI/AAAAAAAAAbs/kHvWUZwMavs/s800/after_04.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S-jOAAcWw7I/AAAAAAAAAb8/JfSiJumVvHE/s800/after_05.jpg
Tractortom
11-25-10, 06:34 PM
My Catrike Trail, recumbent trike came from the factory with a powder coat paint job. The aluminum frames are tempered and power coated and I find the finish to be durable, but because I tend to let it sit out in the carport, the bright yellow color has faded quite a bit.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee

kjc9640
11-27-10, 06:36 PM
Chris, I like the color, very rich looking

Tom, my bike is stored on the patio so I encounter the same problem that you have. We shall see