Bicycle Mechanics - Anyone have a frame powder coated in Hammertone?

Not sure where to post this but I'm doing an Xtracycle build and am considering having my frame (Xtracycle parts too) powder coated in a silver hammertone. Should be pretty badass with the black wheelset I'm getting.

Hammertone does not require a clear coat. Should I get it anyway? Anyone ever use this finish on a build before? I don't ever recall it on a production bike.

I saw hammer tone on bikes years ago and it looks tough. I haven't seen how the powder coat hammer tone turns out though. If it looks like the original, I'd go for it.

I saw hammer tone on bikes years ago and it looks tough. I haven't seen how the powder coat hammer tone turns out though. If it looks like the original, I'd go for it.

I knew it would be a long shot in asking if anyone has powder coated their bikes in hammertone because I did an extensive search online for an image of a bicycle in hammertone (just for a point of reference) and couldn't find anything except 1 pic of a motorbike. I didn't know this finish had a history on bikes though. Maybe someone will post something from the archives, but I think I'm going to just jump in with both feet and take a chance on it. (It's only paint, right?)

Here is my silver/gray hammertone powder coated coaster brake ss. No clear coat.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5070/5631450704_520d6a88ee_m.jpg (http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5070/5631450704_520d6a88ee_b.jpg)http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5631450304_44d3b47b53_m.jpg (http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/5631450304_44d3b47b53_b.jpg)

It's tough to tell in the pic but it doesn't look to have the same appearance as the classic (pre powder coating) hammertone of days gone by. It looks kind of lumpy rather than "hammered".

The hammer tone paint you can buy is actually pretty tough stuff once it fully dries and hardens after a few weeks. The trick is to be patient and wait for it to be more than "just" dry before a lot of handling and building the frame up. "Baking" the finish in an impromptu oven can speed things up. Such an oven can be done easily with cardboard or foam sheets to build the box for the frame and a couple of table lamps with 60 or 100 watt old type incadescent bulbs as the heat source. You only need to get the temperature up to around 100 to 120F for the paint to dry really well within a few days and be as tough as it's going to be. A couple of small holes at the bottom and top will allow some air to circulate.

I tend to agree that the finish on hartsu's silver bike looks more "lumpy" than "hammered".

Silver vein powder , and Epoxy powder, I have found have a bit
of orange peel surface,
maybe a property of the material, or maybe didn't flow quite as well
as the glossy polyester powder does.

It's tough to tell in the pic but it doesn't look to have the same appearance as the classic (pre powder coating) hammertone of days gone by. It looks kind of lumpy rather than "hammered".

I agree, and my DIY rattle can hammer paint looks very different. Almost smooth, very gentle hammering effect.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4507544066_dc63499c18_m.jpg (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4507544066_dc63499c18_b.jpg)