lokstah said:Where'd the powdercoat guy go, anyways?
biker7 said:Much has already been addressed meehs. You would be well served to work with your local powdercoater anyway as shipping your frame both out and back will economically influence your decision. Powercoating capablity varies. Some strip frames and power coat them with only clear for example. There is an abundance of information out on the web and am sure you will make the right decision. If its a quick job you need with no decals and you aren't looking to replicate the orignal paint job in terms of its aesthetic quality, power coating is fine. The reason it is used so extensively on motorcycle frames is because its expedient...cosmetics aren't as important because most of the frame it buried by components. Not so with a bicycle as the frame makes more of a statement. Lastly Powdercoating because of its film thickness reduces the definition of lugging if your frame is so equipped.
George
thank you, I see you are from the bay area, we do a considerable amount of racing mountain bike frames for people who recently raced in the San Francisco area. The one customer was from Chicago and raced in your area which got us a few customers in Ca. Most mountain bike racers like there frames to be extremely durable and we have been using textured poly's on their frames.lokstah said:Sounds like you've got a good operation, John.
I would certainly appreciate that but I would also help you with any info I can so you can walk into your local guy and know whats up. We get our share.lokstah said:I'm definitely not in the market for a powdercoat job myself, but should the need arise, I'll look into Acme (provided Meehs, Boudreaux and biker7 approve).
acme powdercoat said:Well, thanks for the warm welcome. You guys are really spirited. The genius answers his own questions so thanks for that. The powder used for a bicycle frame is almost always a polyester, this is the most durable as far as resistence to UV rays, it also has the most weatherability of any powder. It is not as hard as an epoxy but epoxy powder can not be used for outdoor application. The heat required is 200 C, that is 392 F for ten to fifteen minutes after the piece reaches the correct temperature. Any bike frame we have done reaches that temp within a minute, so the frame is exposed to 200 C for never more then 16 minutes. As far as shameless marketing, hey whats shameless about marketing. I get allot of frames, most from custom builders but others just find us. Decals will melt or just go bad in the process, the frame must be stripped to bare metal. We have a heated, agitated strip tank here that removes any coating including powdercoating with no problem, some shops use a burn off process or blasting but these are not doing your part any good. the strip process we use leaves no speck of the existing coating on the piece. the tank is 120 degrees F. A complete strip on a bike frame takes 12 to 30 minutes. the process involves cleaning the piece by stripping, then we polish the metal to a smooth finish as the condition of the substrate is whats make the piece look good. Which brings me to deep scratches and imperfections. They can be filled with a metal to metal type bondo which is availible at any auto body supply, this then has to be wet sanded and polished out. Then the piece that has the filler on it must go in the oven to be gassed out, heating up the frame and filler to gas out the resins in the filler as they will cause bubbling at the filled area if this is not done, the frame is then cleaned again, dryed and coated. Powder only comes in set colors and can not be mixed, some effects such as prism, metal flake and gloss reducers can be added for a different effect in any color but the powder colors are formulated and can not be changed. there are many colors, over 1400. There are many effects, candies, metallics, flakes, prisms, and even a chameleon color.
We are custom powder coaters, not industrial 2000 pieces of electrical boxes and we will get to your piece when we can, we turn around in one week to ten days. marketing on a forum is not for anyone, if you f*#% it up they will fry you.
the site for you who asked is
www.acmepowdercoating.com
My name is John and I remain
at your service
lokstah said:I'm definitely not in the market for a powdercoat job myself)
Sounds like it might itch a bit...DiabloScott said:Good god I should hope not!
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.