Powdercoating Motorcycle Frame

[RiderInBlack]

When I was looking at getting my alloy rims PCoated, they total me that they should be bead-blasted first due to the corrosion on the alloy. It was something to do with the micro pores made by the corrosion causing bubbling of the coat as it heat dried. The heat they use to dry the coat should not be high enough to ulter the alloy's temper.

[wildcat_lgf]

Yeah I've stripped the bike myself, took about 4 hours cause its my first time to strip it, plus I didn't want to disconnect any brake fluid lines or too much stuff, so that made life difficult to manovure the parts around. I've restored a cage or two so a bike is pretty simple compared...well so far! I haven't pulled the engine apart yet

I'm currently taking up about 2/3 of a double garage and have it all laid out where the bolts should go, and all the pieces labelled (hopefully properly).

Is the anodising a gloss? I'm wanting a high quality gloss finish so thought powderdercoating would be the way to go?

Will let you know how it goes...its due to be done Thurs next week.

Yeah it could look like a honda, a mate did his '92 CBR600 F2 in ducati yellow, black wheels, no decals nothing...looked pretty good, but yeah it will remind me of a honda...is that a good thing?

New gay colour

Wildcat, let me know how it goes, I wanted to do this aswell. BTW, are you dismantling the bike to get to the frame? If so, are you dismantling the bike or are you getting someone else to do this? The reason for me turning away from getting frame and swingarm from being powdercoated was I had no way of dismantling the bike, so I kinda had to forget about.

Don't forget, there is the other option of getting it anodised. Anodising gives it a even coat and it protects the metal, but you can't clean it off I don't think, so whatever colour you choose is one you have to stick with. Another advantage is that it is a very, very thin layer so everything should fit in place as before

One of many mods I wish to do to my bike

[TwoSeven]

When you strip the bike down, do it in entire assemblies, and label all connectors (especially wiring on to the engine). Dont pull the assemblies apart.

The frame/wheels etc need to be bead blasted first, and you have to make sure that the bead blaster takes it to be painted as it can only sit in open air for a few hours. Often you will find that many powder coaters also do the bead plasting or have a mate that does.

Generally you have to wait for the powder coater to do a run in your color which can mean a bit of a wait.

When you put everything back together, you need to remove all the masking tape that covered up bearings and the like - then replace those bearings - there isnt too much to do.

The only pain in the ass bit is the frame tensioner bolt (on modern bikes - its often on of the rear engine mount bolts) needs to be done to a specific torque and they can be a pain to get at.

The other thing is that many of your nuts and bolts will need to be replaced (the ones that attach bits to the frame) as you dont want rusted or corroded bolts on your new paintwork. Use locktite and grease only where required on the manual as applying it in the wrong place may result in stripped threads.

[pritch]

With regard to what someone said about chrome...

Chrome plating frames is not a good idea. Chrome is brittle and cracks. The crack in the chrome can then lead to a crack in the frame. (Ask an engineering type about stress risers.)

Nickel plating is OK, nickel is softer and still looks OK.

[moko]

I worked in a place that did powder coating years ago,only steel though so I dont know about ally.We used to degrease it first in trichloroethylene,bloody horrible stuff that I believe is banned in Europe now.Actual coating looked good but as said there`s coating and coating,get it done cheap and you`ll get a cheap job in every respect.
As for nickel coating,Rickman used to nickel coat their frames,looked great and if polishing motorcycle frames is your thing then it`s a brilliant idea,otherwise not really practical on a road bike,more hassle than it`s worth.

[TygerTung]

I was talking to this dude at KG motorcycle services, been in the industry for 30 years, and he said he recomended painting it with bake enamal, as if you powdercoat it, afterwards if you get a chip in it, water can get under the powdercoating, and it can cause corossion, also it will cause bubbles under it too I think.

Bake enamel is hard as, and it won't matter if you get a chip in it.

[FlyingDutchMan]

I was talking to this dude at KG motorcycle services, been in the industry for 30 years, and he said he recomended painting it with bake enamal, as if you powdercoat it, afterwards if you get a chip in it, water can get under the powdercoating, and it can cause corossion, also it will cause bubbles under it too I think.

Bake enamel is hard as, and it won't matter if you get a chip in it.

I don't think its such a big issue with an ally frame - steel will rust like hell, but ally takes ages to rust that much.

[TygerTung]

That is true, you don't think it'll bubble up much?

[Suney]

Post some pics of your the progress.
Was it easy to strip the bike?

[wildcat_lgf]

At the moment its all in pieces on the garage floor, hopefully I can remember how it goes back!

I decided that I couldn't afford to pay someone to do the work for me, so have opted for the POR15 paint. I painted the frame, swing arm and rear sub-frame thingy on Monday, but one of the valves on my spray gun wasn't working properly so didn't get a glossy finish everywhere. Some places look more matt black than gloss...so I have to sand it tonight and paint it again

Oh well, a good learning curve,

I figure its $50 for the paint (still have 1/2 left) and so even if I have to do it, 3, 4, 5 times I'm still saving, plus I don't have go through and replace all my bearings, and its tough stuff that won't chip or crack. Also I've been wanting a bit more experience spray painting so what better chance than this?

Anyway, its pretty tough stuff! Sanding it is going to be a right royal pain! I half-hearted attempted it last night but will do it properly tonight. Like they say, preparation is the key!

I'll post some photos of the frame once its finished.
Cheers for the advice guys.


Second question...what about painting the fairings? I want to paint it Triumph Racing Yellow but I hear that is a 2-pot which is difficult to get right without a bake oven? and hard to match fairing colours?

The other option is Ducati yellow Giallo? Which I believe is just a straight base coat clear coat option?

Has anyone managed to do a good job painting their own bike or should I leave it to the pro's? The last thing I want is to end up with a bike that looks homemade!

Cheers

Post some pics of your the progress.
Was it easy to strip the bike?

[Blakamin]

you can spray 2k without an oven... It just takes a little longer to dry... which means more bugs and dust and shit...
the hardener also contains iso-cyanates... which will kill you over time... wear a respirator (no, not a paper mask)

[crashalots]

Late reply, i know! But just thought I'd ask how the powder coating/painting went? I have the exact same problem at the moment. I have talked to several people regarding the aluminum heat treatment etc, I cant get a straight answer. 7000 series alu, which refers to the additives in it, can be annealed (returned to its soft malleable state) at around 300 deg/c. Powder coating only bakes at around 200 deg. But this is not to say that there isn't hot spots on the frame that can change state, therefore rendering it useless. Its a toughy!

[pete376403]

I would have thought that, if the bake oven is set to 200 deg, then thats as hot as any part of any item in the oven is going to get, regardless of size or thickness. I'd also expect the temperature of the oven is fairly closely controlled. Where is the extra 100 deg (that will soften the alloy) is going to come from?

[Renegade]

you will find that duralloy gloss black powder coat bakes at 180 degres for 10 minutes, it shouldnt be a problem

[Renegade]

At the moment its all in pieces on the garage floor, hopefully I can remember how it goes back!

I decided that I couldn't afford to pay someone to do the work for me, so have opted for the POR15 paint. I painted the frame, swing arm and rear sub-frame thingy on Monday, but one of the valves on my spray gun wasn't working properly so didn't get a glossy finish everywhere. Some places look more matt black than gloss...so I have to sand it tonight and paint it again

Oh well, a good learning curve,

I figure its $50 for the paint (still have 1/2 left) and so even if I have to do it, 3, 4, 5 times I'm still saving, plus I don't have go through and replace all my bearings, and its tough stuff that won't chip or crack. Also I've been wanting a bit more experience spray painting so what better chance than this?

Anyway, its pretty tough stuff! Sanding it is going to be a right royal pain! I half-hearted attempted it last night but will do it properly tonight. Like they say, preparation is the key!

I'll post some photos of the frame once its finished.
Cheers for the advice guys.


Second question...what about painting the fairings? I want to paint it Triumph Racing Yellow but I hear that is a 2-pot which is difficult to get right without a bake oven? and hard to match fairing colours?

The other option is Ducati yellow Giallo? Which I believe is just a straight base coat clear coat option?

Has anyone managed to do a good job painting their own bike or should I leave it to the pro's? The last thing I want is to end up with a bike that looks homemade!

Cheers

i hope you had it blasted first to give the por15 a base to key to, i beleive that if you hit your frame with a hammer it will chip and it shouldnt.

you may have compromised your coating and there is only onw way to find out