Bridgestone Motorcycle Parts Discussion Board
Bridgestone Tech Talk => Restoration => Topic started by: BridgeBrit on January 19, 2012, 01:56:20 PM
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Can anyone offer some advice on whether powdercoating a frame, swing arm, fenders etc is better than painting. Some say that powdercoating can tear or split and allow corrosion underneath, others seem to swear by it. Painting would be truer to an authentic restoration, I guess, but a lot more labour intensive. Would really welcome your input, folks!
Thanks.
Stella
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Aha! Have found a bunch of stuff on powdercoating in existing posts. Very helpful.
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i usually go for powder coating its cheap and easy and durable with a fast turn around . i think its the way to go .in saying that i have painted the bridgestone's but i think i will get the 350 powder coated this year .the last bike i had this done was a rd 400 and it cost $200 here i was very happy with the result
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Some people have told me that it is easier to touch up a painted frame over a powder coated one. I am going with powder coat. I have to believe that something "baked" on has to have a stronger bond to the metal.
If the frame is in rough shape, it might be best to have it prepped and then painted so that the imperfections are removed. Not all of the powder coaters are using the new primer that has been developed for that use.
I believe in general, powder coating is a bit cheaper in cost. Either way, if you store the bike well, it should look good for a long time.
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Sno jet,
All my frames are powder coated its the best way to go.
And you are right it will last a long time etc.
Thanks.
Steve.
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Thanks Guys! Your input is much appreciated!
This is maybe a stupid additional question but I'm a girl, that's my excuse - will powdercoating erase the frame number? I have an imported bike that I can't get registered here in the UK until it's MOT'd etc, I'm guessing having legible frame/vin numbers will be necessary to get the bike authenticated so that I can get an age related plate? Should I get the bike authenticated before it's done? Just a thought.
Thanks.
Stella
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Hi Stella,
I have everything powder coated been using it for years, racecars, gokart, motorcycles and restored cars. The one thing you need to be aware of though is your aluminum serial no. tag on Bridgestones. They need to be removed before going to the coater, if you don't they will come back as a crinkled up piece of aluminum. You can put it back on when it comes back. Speaking from experience, I depended on the coater to protect it once. Also you will need to advise them of all surfaces which are close fits and threaded holes. You get my drift. Hope this helps you experience.
Later Mike
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Hi Mike,
It certainly does! I had already thought of removing the serial number tag to protect the legibility but it hadn't occurred to me that the tag would be toasted. Also a good heads up for the close fits and threaded holes. As a first timer that wouldn't have occurred to me either.
Thanks very much for posting! (I seriously love this site.)
Stella
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Hi BridgeBrit,
I'd go for powder coating, well I have on three of my bikes here in the U.K. with no problem and if you should chip or mark the paint it does touch up o.k. when you find the right matching paint, just put it on thicker than normal. Protect all threads, bores and bearing surfaces to avoid powder coating covering where not needed.
Regarding the frame number, yes remove the small plate to replace later, the number on the headstock will be faint or even disappear after coating so what I did on one of my bikes is scrape off the coating within a masking tape rectangular window to make a neat job and reveal the number then paint it lightly with matching paint so that you can still read the number within the window, remove masking tape. ;)
http://bridgestonemotorcycleparts.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=1359 (http://bridgestonemotorcycleparts.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=1359)
Z
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Hi Ziggy,
Thanks for that. Very helpful. If you don't mind me asking, who do you use for powdercoating? I was thinking of Griffs reality motorworks in Bristol. They seem highly recommended and have quoted very reasonably.
Thanks again for the detailed info.
Stella
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Hi Stella,
I use these simply because they are local and the results are good,
http://www.swpowdercoating.co.uk/ (http://www.swpowdercoating.co.uk/)
£120 full bike.
Did you go to the Bristol Classic Bike Show at Shepton Mallet last Feb?
Z
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Hi Ziggy,
Thanks for that. £120 does sound like a good deal. Thanks for the link, also.
Nope, I haven't been to any of the shows, I'm afraid. Hoping I will get to one this year.
Thanks again.
Stella
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I'm just about to start on my 100 sport frame....I didn't think of powder coating.
Can they do any colour?.....original BS red?
How do you protect threads,bearing surfaces etc from the powder coating?
The frame has some heavy rust.....once the frame is blasted what can you use to fill the rough areas where the rust was prior to powder coating?
Cheers
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Powder coating provides the best most durable and even coating of any process that I've used. But like any other process, it's only as good as the person applying it. There are several problems that can occur that could end in disaster. The main thing is proper preparation. The metal needs to be clean (preferably blasted) and free of any contaminates. Any small amount of oil or grease will cause blisters in the powder and it will rust quickly. All paint must be removed. Orange peel is common, especially so if the kv is set too high and the powder applied too thick. There can be difficulty getting coverage in corners because it is an electro-static process. This can be resolved by the operator if he has good equipment. Hot spots in the oven used can cause a noticable difference in the shade of parts done in the same batch. It's also possible to end up with thin coating (operator error) in places. Repairing a bad coating job can be expensive. It's difficult to remove powder coating in my experience and almost impossible to touch up successfully (on larger noticable areas). Cross contamination with other powders and improper ionization can cause pinholes which I've found to be very common. Keeping your system clean reduces pinholes. I used to powder coat my fitness equipment and learned a lot by trial and error during 15 years. I would highly recommend finding a reputable powder coater and askin him about these problems to be sure he has enough experience and knowledge to give you a quality result. Personally, I do all the prep work on my stuff and do plan to still make a frame oven so I can "burn" my own frames. BTW, you can burn a powder coatin' too! ;D
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Color can be questionable with powdercoat when it comes to an exact match. I would agree with Dave about finding a reputable professional powdercoater to do your work if you decide to go that route as they are far less likely to to turn out work with the problems associated with p-coat. There are some usable fillers available for p-coat now. They are costly and require the same baking cycles as the color coating. This makes it more difficult to do your own work. You would have to travel back and forth to the coater to re-bake between fill coats if necessary. I would personally recommend a nice base/clear finish. You will most likely end up with a better color match and the urethane finishes out today are very durable, especially if your not throwing the bike around and beating the paint off of it. Thanks, Mark.