kjc9640

I ride an old 1982 Raleigh road bike with upgraded components and wheels. I had the bike refinished in 1995 with DuPont Emron paint and the job was well done and the finish has held up very well.

However it is time to think about another refinish. I am thinking about powder coating. Has anyone done this? How did you like it? What do you think I am looking at in cost? Does it hold up?

Your thoughts and knowledge are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Boatdesigner

I have never done it myself, but I think there have been a number of threads in the C&V forum, so you may want to do a search. I have an '83 Puch, but mine was upgraded with new vintage components, still has the original paint. I'd love to get an old frame and hang a modern drive train on it.

yota man

Powder coat really is a great option. I've never done it on a bike before but I have my own coating setup and have done many car parts with it and it works great. I'm not sure why more bikes are coated to begin with. The actual materials are fairly cheap and it holds up great to knicks and scuffs. Which is why its used on suspension parts on our track cars. I'd call up a local shop that deals with car work on a regular basis (a restoration shop would most likely be best) and see who they use.

However like with paint the key part is prep. A good shop will be able to media blast it, in an very nonabrasive way to the frame, and take it down to bare metal. The powder sticks best to the bare metal. So having something like that will cost more but is worth it in the end.

The best part of working with powder though is that is a dry spray so it can be wiped off before baking which means you can do lots of cool custom looks with it.

Good luck and I hoped this info helped.

kjc9640

Thanks, this is great info that I can use.