Powder coating - which type, how thick, stripping?



Charles Wahl

New Member
Jul 18, 2007
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I have a frame + fork that I'd like to have refinished, in NYC. There are a few coaters locally, one (Carter in Brooklyn) claims to have experience doing bicycles. The person I spoke with said that they'd use polyester TGIC (triglycidyl isocyanurate) powder rather than Urethane. From what I've gleaned online, these are the only two types recommended for exterior exposure. I've done Google and forum searches, but nobody mentions what type powder is used for coating their bikes.

Urethane generally goes on with a lower mil thickness (1.5 to 3.0) than TGIC (1.5 to 20), I think. Urethane may be a bit harder, but TGIC may have better coverage of sharp arrises (edges). Gloss is easier to achieve with Urethane, apparently. But the colors that seem to be available for TGIC are much brighter and more varied. Is that the stuff to use?

For anyone interested, here is one link to a page with some explanatory/characteristic information on the right hand side:
http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/

Carter also said they don't prep, and could recommend a blasting place to do that. My frame is double-butted chro-moly. I'm happy to strip the existing paint using Peel-Away (caustic) if it reduces the possibility of structural damage due to over-blasting. Is that the thing to do, or should I find a single-source place that will do both prep and paint?

Cost quoted was $120 for painting, and about $50 for blasting. Is that about right?

Thanks for any help,
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Charles Wahl