Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on October 30, 2020, 12:27:44 AM
Assuming you do not have your own powder coating large oven etc is Powder Coating actually the best way to go?
I see the benefits if its done by a good firm - no doubt they will strip the frame etc so not much preparation involved for the customer aside from the initial strip down aspect.
What happens when you damage the finish is there a way of touching up that works?
I'm not a purist so the fact that the technology was probably not around means its not an original finish but who cares if its the best.
Is everyone on sohc a Powder Coater convert? :-\
Post by: royhall on October 30, 2020, 07:35:32 AM
Then the big problem is cracking and flaking in any areas that flex. A good example of that is the main and side stands, I have yet to manage to keep the coating on any of them to the point where I am going to remove them all and have them painted in two pack. Luckily so far the actual frames have been okay.
So to answer the question, no I don't think powder coating is the way to go. I wish I hadn't found this out from experience as I now have a bit of work to remedy the situation.
Post by: K2-K6 on October 30, 2020, 08:27:48 AM
I have seen that it can be very variable in quality and coating thickness though. My lad is into mountain bikes currently and more specifically Orange that are made in Halifax. They powder coat theirs of which we have a few dating from 2003 onward and you can see the coating gets thinner on later frames, to the point on latest we own where it's just about covered.
They where made for downhill racing and stated weight is one of the things they are acutely aware of.
https://youtu.be/mlIYEdRFQu4 funny bit in here about powder coating from about 13 minutes.
It does seem resilient as the frame can flex quite a bit, but on these ones you can see all the structural welding it's that thin.
Went to a local powder coaters for another frame lad is building to see what they offer, he showed me work there that's some of the finest (in terms of finish and thickness) that I've seen, it was an old steel schwinn bicycle with detailed frame joints.
He seemed particularly proud of customer's sample and clearly new what he was after. Certainly the outcome seems variable as I've seem some poor (in terms of slathering it on) work others have had done.
Could be worth seeing what you have locallaly for the OP and discussion of outcome to assess what you can get.
Post by: Tomb on October 30, 2020, 08:50:00 AM
Industrial powder coaters preheat then spray the powder on, so it melts as its going on, which means they can keep putting (too much) more on. The coating I do is cold static charged meaning you can spray as much as you want but only what is held on with the charge stays on, then heated to melt on and flow out.
I now have drips I'll have to file off and sand/cut back on the top yoke and other visible parts >:(
I too seriously thought about painting the parts but am on a schedule to get this bike back to its owner, were it mine, defo paint.
Post by: K2-K6 on October 30, 2020, 09:04:05 AM
I've seen them ae you indicate Tomb, looking very much like liquorice. :)
Post by: Nurse Julie on October 30, 2020, 09:07:03 AM
We have all ours powder coated, but we trust our powder coater 100% to do a perfect job. He is local to us in Lincs and a good friend. We had one done at a coaters in Castleford 5 years ago ( just after we moved up here and hadn't found what is now our regular powder coater) and that was not a particularly good job. Luckily it was on a frame for a bitsa mongrel hack, so it wasn't a disaster.
Post by: royhall on October 30, 2020, 09:24:24 AM
Post by: UK Pete on October 30, 2020, 10:03:01 AM
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Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on October 30, 2020, 10:47:11 AM
I assume there no touching in option with powder coating?
Post by: Laverda Dave on October 30, 2020, 01:34:53 PM
Also make sure that if the powder coater strips the frame of previous paint they powder coat the frame straight after and not leave it hanging around for days as bare metal attracts rust and this will affect the powder coat adhesion.
I had a couple of ding marks on a powder coated frame and used Hammerite brush enamel in the damaged areas. I just touched it in, the paint being thick coated the ding nicely and when dry was hardly noticed. The surrounding powder coat didn't lift over time either.
Post by: smoothoperator on October 30, 2020, 04:27:17 PM
Post by: SumpMagnet on October 30, 2020, 08:58:22 PM
I prefer paint to powder coat.
With any process though, preperation is the key, and the better the prep...the better the finish.
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on February 08, 2021, 10:08:26 AM
Right up until yesterday it was going to be powder coated but presently my mind is 70/30 in favour of painting it myself.
Having seen how small the frame actually is and the relatively rust free status has nudged me away from powder coating.
A few hours flatting with wet & dry might just be the ticket to productively spend lock down time in my retirement.
Post by: Johnny4428 on February 08, 2021, 10:20:51 AM
Post by: SteveW on February 08, 2021, 11:55:59 AM
It must be almost impossible to remove without marking the plate.
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on February 08, 2021, 12:39:37 PM
Can I ask what do you do with the riveted on vin plate when you paint / powder coat?
It must be almost impossible to remove without marking the plate.
I'm advised that if you carefully drill out the rivet head then use cheese wire or similar to break any remaining adhesion between plate & frame they come off okay.
I'll just mask mine off if I paint the frame myself - this is my most likely plan - just need to check I can get Hamerite Smooth or Rust Oleum in my chosen shade of dark blue.
Post by: Johnny4428 on February 08, 2021, 12:44:27 PM
Post by: hairygit on February 08, 2021, 01:04:55 PM
Be careful, smoothrite is NOT anything like as good as it used to be. The EU eurocrats decided that we citizens could not be trusted to use the original stuff safely, so it has been refunded formulated to have far less volatile organic compounds in it, namely halocarbons such as trichloroethylene, resulting in a basically rubbish product compared to what most of us remember. It now takes several coats to achieve anything like the protection a single coat of the old formula gave. I don't know about rustoleum as I've not used it for many years, but chances are it will be similarly interfered with.Can I ask what do you do with the riveted on vin plate when you paint / powder coat?
It must be almost impossible to remove without marking the plate.
I'm advised that if you carefully drill out the rivet head then use cheese wire or similar to break any remaining adhesion between plate & frame they come off okay.
I'll just mask mine off if I paint the frame myself - this is my most likely plan - just need to check I can get Hamerite Smooth or Rust Oleum in my chosen shade of dark blue.
Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
Post by: Green1 on February 08, 2021, 03:47:53 PM
Can I ask what do you do with the riveted on vin plate when you paint / powder coat?
It must be almost impossible to remove without marking the plate.
I'm advised that if you carefully drill out the rivet head then use cheese wire or similar to break any remaining adhesion between plate & frame they come off okay.
I'll just mask mine off if I paint the frame myself - this is my most likely plan - just need to check I can get Hamerite Smooth or Rust Oleum in my chosen shade of dark blue.
Would you like to be a Guinea pig for me. I use Tikkurila products for everything now but havn't had a chance to try there Temalac FD yet they do it in FD50 (semi gloss) and FD 80 (gloss) I think its just under £35 for 3lt
Post by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on February 08, 2021, 06:01:04 PM
Be careful, smoothrite is NOT anything like as good as it used to be. The EU eurocrats decided that we citizens could not be trusted to use the original stuff safely, so it has been refunded formulated to have far less volatile organic compounds in it, namely halocarbons such as trichloroethylene, resulting in a basically rubbish product compared to what most of us remember. It now takes several coats to achieve anything like the protection a single coat of the old formula gave. I don't know about rustoleum as I've not used it for many years, but chances are it will be similarly interfered with.Can I ask what do you do with the riveted on vin plate when you paint / powder coat?
It must be almost impossible to remove without marking the plate.
I'm advised that if you carefully drill out the rivet head then use cheese wire or similar to break any remaining adhesion between plate & frame they come off okay.
I'll just mask mine off if I paint the frame myself - this is my most likely plan - just need to check I can get Hamerite Smooth or Rust Oleum in my chosen shade of dark blue.
Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
I have a friend was a colour chemist for ICI who then had his own paint pigmet manufacturing business before he retired. He put me onto Rust-Oleum a Canadian Company they manufacture industrial paints that still use some proper solvents - not water! Yes nothing is as it was decades ago but they market a product called Top Hat Paints specifically for metal items. I've just ordered some online so I can do a test application first.