Powder Coating Parts

[CR2FIFTYR]

What exactly is powder coating?How is it done?Also what parts on a bike could be powder coated?I wanted to do the frame,subframe,swinger,and probally some other parts on mine.Thanks for any help.

 

[Poltax]

Just about any metal product can be powder coated. Basicly you spray on a powder that is electricaly charged then, you bake on the finish at high temp. You can actually do this at home and use an old stove (oven) to bake the coating on. An color you want is available. If you go the Eastwood Company website they have all the equipment you need. I do not have the web address but goolge it & you will find it. Eastwood is big in auto and hot rod items.

 

[CR2FIFTYR]

Pricewise what can I expect the difference to be between regular paint and powdercoat if I had it done?I know I am getting at least the the frame and subframe sandblasted but I am stuck trying to decide if i want to polish the swingarm or powder it.My bike is going to probally have a red frame either way and black plastics.Right now I am leaning more towards giving it a good polish though.So really can anyone give me an estimate to get my frame and subframe powdercoated?Thanks all.

 

[Treejumper]

I'd say between $80 and $100 depending on the color and shop. That's the price range of the place i powder coat at.

 

[rm_racer]

For the swingarm, frame and swinger (linkage?) I would say it could be close to $175. I was going to get my frame done last winter but it was going to cost me close to 200 Canadian. It also depends on the color you choose.

 

[CR2FIFTYR]

I think in that case I am just going to paint it myself rattle can style.I have done this before on a 1985 YZ80 and it looked great but I was wondering how durable is it since I ended up selling the YZ.How many coats should I use and also what type of paint?How many coats of clear?Thanks for all the help. :)

 

[rm_racer]

Spray paint is not very durable, but PJ1 is pretty good spray paint if you go that route. If you can, get some industrial paint and have it sprayed on with a gun. I think theres a thread in the 2-stroke forum about painting, but I'll take a look and post it up for ya.

EDIT:
Link 1

Link 2

 

[Poltax]

Polishing the Swing arm will be alot of upkeep. I have 2 custom snowmobiles that the Alum tunnels are polished. I had the initial polishing done by Metal Masters in SLC UT. Then for upkeep I use Mothers Alum Polish. Road grime, water stains ect will quickly take the shine. Its constant upkeep. Thats why I have an V-nose Enclosed Trailer.

I just rebuilt my CR500 and was going to polish the swingarm as well. I think it would look great, then I thought of the extra work to keep it that way and decided not to do it. I understand that you can have clear coat put on polished alum and it will protect the shine. However it dulls it a bit. I think there is also a polished Alum powder coat color that will have that same type of affect, but I have not seen any of that. Maybe someone else on here has.

 

[CR2FIFTYR]

Okay if it isnt that durable then maybe I still will go with powder...I found someone that will strip all the old paint and stuff off and powdercoat the frame and subframe for $140.I figure it was going to cost me like 50 for a sand blasting plus say 20 for paint at least so really its 70 more dollars or less for years of duribility and better looks.About the swinger I am thinking of semi-polkishing it like I saw on a kx125 on here.Maybe I will just give it a full polish though because it would look sweet with my powdercoat red frame and black plastics and might be worth the work.Let me know what you all think about the swinger.Thanks for the help so far guys!