Steel frame restoration, powdercoat or paint?

[benhall]

so my fizzr was coming along nicely, i stripped the frame and wire wheeled alot of the surface rust.

in a hurry to get the bike coated and back together i bought some killrust paint, it sounded perfect full finish in silver and a rust preventer, the finish is just way to soft its rubbish rubs off with your fingers

so whats the best way to go from here? pull the clamp stem off and take it the blasters? is powder coating and good idea?

[BMWST?]

powedr coating will be relatively expensive.there will be a minimum charge

[F5 Dave]

careful with 'blasters'. I took a frame to an industrial place & it came back looking like it had weathered a 45yr long sandstorm. Talk to them first so you can gauge if they will use an appropriate media. Powdercoat is good but you will need to mask off any threaded or sized hole or it will become .2mm smaller which can ruin your day. If they know their beans no prob. If they usually do garden furniture look elsewhere.

[Paul in NZ]

The answer is - it depends...

No doubt the powder coat is cheap as chips and very durable if done right BUT its not very shiney and its not very good with water. If it gets chipped weather will get behind it...

A decent 2K will be way glossier and almost as tough. A good painter or powder coater will have a fave blaster they work with. Ask around.

[AllanB]

Me - I paint - two pack car paint is durable and gives a very good finish (obviously). Easier to touch up if required too.

[tigertim20]

yoll probably get a split of 50/50 on this. I personally prefer the powdercoat route, but bottom line if both can be quite effective provided its done properly.
Powedercoating really isnt that expensive at all, I dunno why some people make out like it costs a fortune.

If you are working with an older frame, as mentioned above, discuss what they will be blasting it with prior to being coated to make sure you get the desired outcome and finish.
Worth mentioning that Powdercoating tends to cover small blemishes and imperfections in the surface much better than paint

[98tls]

A few guys on the TL site have had great results powder coating there frames but as Paul said i wonder how it will look a few years down the track.Paint sounds the option to me...

[AllanB]

I've had small parts powder coated with success - tail tidies, etc. It very much depends on the coater as to the quality you get. The last piece was done very well and they had a cart frame in there they had done in a candy type new paint - looked great.

I've also had some shit coating done years back that chipped and then started peeling.

I'd still 2 pack a frame - huge choice of colours and finished (gloss, semi, flat, metallic etc)

[98tls]

I've had small parts powder coated with success - tail tidies, etc. It very much depends on the coater as to the quality you get. The last piece was done very well and they had a cart frame in there they had done in a candy type new paint - looked great.

I've also had some shit coating done years back that chipped and then started peeling.

I'd still 2 pack a frame - huge choice of colours and finished (gloss, semi, flat, metallic etc)

Would love to do the TLs frame a matt or semi gloss black but cant be arsed tasking the thing to bits.

[98tls]

Powder coat sure does look purty though...

[Grumph]

I'm unashamedly old school and use a local industrial painter for all my frame work. They do very good baked enamel work in a wide variety of colours - and usually cheaper than powder too.

What i hate about powder is the inability to do frame work and touch up afterwards.

[Erelyes]

Main thing to note, if you pay peanuts*, you'll get monkeys

*I hear peanut shells are actually quite good for media blasting.

[F5 Dave]

You can get it shiny. No drama. It won't chip unless they haven't done the chromate conversion (ally) or whatever it is for Steel properly and painted within 24hrs. We powder our gear for work and it gets more of a hiding, including explosions, bullets and fire and it never fails to amaze me. It isn't a std coating and I've had 2 pak before with good results. But I'll probably powder the stinger when it comes time.

[benhall]

i can paint, just never worked with 2k and not that keen to. I'm just concerned about the prep needed to paint a blasted frame, im geting keen on black

[F5 Dave]

2k is not for home use, bad stuff to breathe without prof gear.