Originally Posted by
SquidPuppet
Yes. The guy I use is happy to order stuff for me, but he just has a few paper catalogs. When I go to Powderbuythepound.com I can browse to my hearts content until I find a few colors that I think are close. Then I use the chat feature to ask Sarah for samples and she mails them that very day. Once I get the samples I can hold them up to things like saddles and tape, and in natural light, to make the final decision. It's kinda scary how different they the colors look in real life compared to your monitor.
My local guy is kind of an oddity though. He does huge contract stuff, including things for the US NAVY, yet he's happy to slip in a bike or even just a component for me. He rides motorcycles and his son races BMX, so he's kind of into it.
He charges me $65.00
for a frame and fork. Even if it's a two-stage color like a candy with with a metallic base. That includes
all the prep work and a high gloss clear (which he provides) on top of the color(s) I give to him.
So help me out here... 2 questions... Asking out of ignorance...
I'm sure a reputable shop knows what they are doing so this is more of a curiosity. How do they prevent the coating from getting into areas where it is not wanted such as inside the head tube where the headset cups seat, bottom bracket threads, cable bosses, etc.
Second question is more important. Can a carbon fork be coated? Will the baking process adversely affect the integrity of the fork? Is this asking for trouble?
TIA