Powder coating my frame...

[MXP1MP]

This winter when I strip my bike down I'm going to have the frame powder coated. It looks like theres a couple of ways to have this done? I've never had this done before so what should I be looking for? Anyone have any experiece with doing this? Will the paint still rub off but take how much longer? thanks guys.

 

[BillyWho]

MXP, I'm not sure on the "different" types of powder coating, I did mine where Pro-circuit gets theres done and it worked awsome, it lasts longer, but eventually it gets worn in the same spots, just not as bad.

 

[smprider0783]

I had the frame powder coated on my 96 yz125 gloss black, it turned out really nice and the finish is tough and will be very hard to wear off, the hardest part is finding a place that can powder coat something and than if they dont have the color of powder you need you have to buy like a case of it and it can get really expensive thats why i ended up doing mine gloss black because it was the best color available, i paid i think $75 to have my frame powder coated and than $20 to have it sandblasted but that was at a place that powder coated stuff in large quantities and they hooked my up because i was a kid, the other place i called would have been around $200 so thats prob what you can expect to pay

 

[Treejumper]

Another option on where to have it powder coated is an industrial spray shop or machine shop. My neighbor owns a machine shop and they built a new paint shop. I was lucky to have them run my frame thru the furnce blaster to remove all the old paint and rust. The frame was shiny metal when it came out. Then we ran it through the powder coater. It turned out great and should hold up alot longer. So you may want to checkout the local machine shops and see if they do that or where they send their stuff to be painted. Its alot cheaper than most other places. I got mine done for free as long as i went with the color they were running on the line at the time. Otherwise i would of had to pay to switch colors and/or buy whatever color i wanted if they didnt have it. Worth checking into.

Also besure to put old screws in the holes unless you like reeming out other threads. I forgot to do some of mine and it sucked trying to get the bolts/screws back in without a tap and die set. Also just incase you didnt know, grind down the paint where the motor mounts are. I didnt know this and was lucky enough to have someone tell me when i posted about getting it painted. Thanks guys!

 

[Hogwylde]

I had the frame of my Harley powder coated 8 years ago. It's gloss black and still shiney. Granted, it doesn't see the abuse that a dirt bike does or get rubbed on the frame either. But, it's tough as nails and should last you quite a long time. I had to use a grinding wheel in a drill to clean off the motor mounts afterwards. Sandpaper just wasn't gonna do it at ALL and a file was taking forever. Only problem I had with mine was it just about made the VIN unreadable because it's so thick. (plus the fact that they sandblasted the frame).

so, i'd say do it if it's within your budget. it's well worth it.

 

[SpeedyManiac]

To preserve the finish, you can get clear tape from 3M and put it on the frame to make the paint last longer.

 

[Budda]

Does anyone know how the manufacturers paint the frames at the factories? Is the original paint powdercoating?

 

[GlennP]

Is there such a thing as clear powder coating?