This winter my '98 YZ250 frame is going to be refinished. I am trying to choose between powdercoating and spraying it myself(after sandblasting). Any opinions about which finish is more durable etc.? Also, if I were to paint, what is the most reasonable paint to use? When I talked to the paint supply shop the price was more for the product to paint urethane than for powdercoating... is acrylic enamel tough enough for motocross? What does PJ1 use?
Frame Painting
- Thread starter chillrich
- Start date
I woudl go with the powdercoating. The PJ1 is fairly decent for touch ups, bu tgasoline will wash it right off.
Powdercoating is tough and looks very nice. Make sure you plug any small hole in the frame you expect to keep. The powder is so tough that small holes need to be drilled and tapped if you dont.
I had an old DR 350 frame powdercoated. It was rusty and looked liek crap. The after picture was Harley show quality. They charged me 150.00 to snadblast it , coat it, and clear coat the final product. It was money well spent.
Powdercoating is tough and looks very nice. Make sure you plug any small hole in the frame you expect to keep. The powder is so tough that small holes need to be drilled and tapped if you dont.
I had an old DR 350 frame powdercoated. It was rusty and looked liek crap. The after picture was Harley show quality. They charged me 150.00 to snadblast it , coat it, and clear coat the final product. It was money well spent.
The powdercoat will be the most durable by far. The urethane is pretty good, but it will still rub off easily. The PJ1 is an epoxy based paint. It holds up pretty well, is easy to do yourself, and is cheap. It is also easy to touch it up when necessary, with the others you are going to have to spend big $$$ to touch up. I would say that the PJ1 is similar to the paint that comes on the frames from the factory. I made protection for my frame with some plastic where it is susceptable to being rubbed off.
Bottom line: If you want a long long lasting finish and don't care about the money, then get it powdercoated. If you want a cheap but still high quality finish, take some time and prep the frame right and the PJ1 will work great.
Bottom line: If you want a long long lasting finish and don't care about the money, then get it powdercoated. If you want a cheap but still high quality finish, take some time and prep the frame right and the PJ1 will work great.
If you're going to go through the trouble of dis-assembling your bike, spend a few extra bucks and get it powdercoated. The benefits far outweigh the costs. However, if you do the prep work, sand, thin coats, etc...you should be able to achieve good results at home. Not as good as the powdercoat job, but still respectable and for a fraction of the cost. SO, if you're short on money or long on time, the spray can technique or even HVLP technique will work fine. Good luck!
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Senior KX Rider
Super Power AssClown
- Nov 9, 1999
- 8,577
- 0
I just painted the frame on one of my KXs. Considered powdercoating but if you put the right paint on it is pretty durable. I bead blasted the frame, sprayed it with a zinc chromate primer and put 2 coats of med gray firemist PPG basecoat topped with 2 coats of PPG urethane clearcoat. I always put clear background decal material over the boot rub areas on the frame and the rest holds up very well
