did a quick look into powder coating. looks like it costs more money than i want to spend on this project unfortunately. I’m just trying to recolor the bike so that i can sell it on craigslist for a quick profit; that means a soft cap of about $40 for materials. I’ll probably just go for a metal paint and a clear coat, maybe a few accents if i can get the secondary color for cheap
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The powder is about $15-20 to do a bike; we have all the tools.
The large oven in the shop should fit the frame but I’d have to conduct final measurements. I can teach you and help with the project as long as pictures are shared!
Cheers,
-Jim
P.S: we have a blue powder on hand that may be good to use; it’s starting to clump, so better used sooner than later and it would be free as in help teach a class when you can. We can see if it’s enough for a bike.
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ooh! in that case, are you free tomorrow? and what specifically needs to be done to prep the bike for powder coating? I know that i need to remove the old paint and wipe it down with acetone, but is there anyting else that i would need to do?
It’s ideal if the bike is media blasted, but in lieu of that:
paint stripped, frame washed, then acetone. If it’s aluminum that should be all you need, if it’s something else you may need to sand a bit to remove any scaling then wipe with acetone.
If you want to use some nicer looking powders, you can go to Summit Racing (they are in the area) and they sell powder there of a variety of colours. Alternatively the Harbor Freight stuff isn’t the worst. If you wanted to try something a bit more exotic I have some samples to try (Bengal Silver, Bengal Orange, Translucent Black for a smoked effect, and a good primer if the bike would be left out in the elements otherwise it’s not really needed for a powder coat).
Cheers,
-Jim
I’ll just use the free stuff that’s starting to go bad; help teach a class.
Do we have a media blaster on site? If not, could i just get away with sanding the old paint off?
The vapor hone we have wouldn’t fit a bike frame unless it’s a very small bike; I know someone brought a soda blaster out once but do not know if it was theirs or is somewhere here at the space.
stripping the paint and then doing a good cleaning job should be fine for aluminum. Not the best powder coat job, but still far better than spray paints since it will still bind with the metal.
are you free to do this tomorrow?
I am running a small powder coating group around 5:30; I am free after that group, likely around 6:30-7
You can sit in and learn the process with the group before you start cleaning up your frame.
-Jim
sweet, thanks.
although shouldn’t i have the frame clean before starting the powder coating?
Yes, so if you can do that before 5:30 all the better.
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hey, i got the part in yesterday, are you available tomorrow? IF not, when is a good time for you?
actually, never mind, the job today got extended through tomorrow. does Tuesday work for you?