The Powder Coating Process...

[rody]

Hey guys,

With so many questions lately about bicycle finishes, I thought I would document one of my frames going through the powder process.

Interesting reading if you want to learn more about how your bike wears it's clothes

You can check it out here...

http://groovycycleworks.blogspot.com/

Will be doing a liquid finish process for y'all in the near future.

cheers,

rody

 

[gump]

hey, nice articles rody.

Not sure our local powdercoater uses quite so many clean, rinse and base coat layers though.. Guess thats why you get a good finish every time!

 

[JustKev]

Not sure our local powdercoater uses quite so many clean, rinse and base coat layers though.. Guess thats why you get a good finish every time!

and I suspect Rody doesn't charge £30 either. Shame

 

[scant]

I hear from my weight weenie friends (mostly DHer ) that powdercoat is a lot heavier than normal sprayed on paint (I'm not dissing powdercoat, I've got a few powdercoated frames & I lov em
is it true? is it noticebly heavier or maginally?

 

[rody]

Mike,

Even with a primer layer, color and clear, the build up is about 1.2 mm in thickness.

Is that thicker and weigh more than a thinner layer of liquid, yes, of course it does.

However, to the weight weenies, ask them this...

When they ride their high performance weight conscious bike, are they nakid or wearing lycra, you know it weighs a bit more

The durability is uncontested, the finish is nice, and it is inexpensive.

To give you an idea of it's performance, I had some pieces sent to the Dupont lab for testing. They fully submerged the parts in an 80% brine solution and monitored the degredation.

After 1625 hours fully submerged with NO deterioration in the finish, they stopped the test as they needed the tank for other customers. That's gotta out weigh a few extra grams, huh?

cheers,

rody

 

[JustKev]

Hey rody - quick Q?

Do you powder coat all of your frames, and if so how do you achieve patterns?

My local 'powder shop' can only do one colour finishes, although they do only charge £30 so can't grumble....

 

[rody]

Kev,

Do I powder all my frames...heaven's no. 99% are wet paint.

However, I do have a bunch of refinish/repair powder jobs on older bikes as the single effect colors match many of the era.

I do have a few new frames that have powder, but even those have graphics air brushed over top and liquid clear applied.

Oh, and cost is 45 pounds for a single color, 70 pounds for the fancy stuff, not bad for the extra work that goes into insuring that your steel will not be developing rust under the coating.


cheers,

rody

 

[missmyfat]

Like you would notice the extra weight of powdercoat over paint!
LOL!

 

[scant]

Like you would notice the extra weight of powdercoat over paint!
LOL!

an orange 223 is 290g liter when fully paint stripped compared to when painted. yeti ASR is available in either anodnised or powdercoat & thats a 1/4lb different in weight for just the front end alone... so yeh you can notice the difference

its kinda funny how so many bike disciplines take the piss outta other disciplines, as someone whos interested in retro, lightweight, xc, freeride & hillclimb i find it amusing how theres so little love between them all considering bikes are bikes :roll:

 

[scant]

That's gotta out weigh a few extra grams, huh?

rody

grams is grams
nar i'm asking as i've got a powdercoated alu frame & wondering how much i'd save paint stripping & polishing it. its monocoque front & back ends so theres a lot of paint on it!... IE if theres some kinda well known formula for grams per square inch etc?