Powder coating

brianmac said:
sorry about all the voice to text errors. like i said tho its just a frame, i think a lot of people overthink stuff when theyre cooped up in the cold and snow. clean any rusty areas wire brush, soap and hot water, ospho, prime rattle can rustoleum, followed up by automotive clear lacquer if you worry about fuel leak attacking paint. fast easy, DIY. it will be hard to recoup any 500$ paintjobs, esp on the specials, which are not quite as "collectible" (yet).
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Perhaps the point is being missed here (and may be by me....) but if I can hand someone $250 and a complete frame, swing arm and various other parts and they blast, prep and powder coat that is a win in my books. A paint shop won't do it for that price and if they do it will not be as good a quality. Supplies are cheap, it is the labour shop rate that the shop has that will dictate the overall cost. Powder coating will always be cheaper than a professional paint job on a apple to apple basis on quality. The amount of labour in coating is fraction of the labour for a professional paint job. Yes I can rattle can it but I would spend $50 to $75 on the right supplies and would need hours of labour and sanding to make it right. A frame and other exposed parts can still be seen and for me it is form over function with these old bikes. That is what attracts me to them.

If one is worried about not recouping 250 on a bike build, perhaps it is not the right bike to build. Paint (coating) is a small part of a restoration on a bike (unless you are getting into graphics). What makes a bike restoration profitable is the free labour you are putting into it for everything else. Parts cost money. That also assumes you are doing it for a profit. I myself am doing it for the sheer enjoyment of doing it and then riding it. The hours I spent on it would make it a $10,000 bike. Not realistic and not the business I am in. I do it to forget and relax from the business I am it. If I lost some money (which I didn't) would still be cheaper than going to a therapist and 100 times more effective.

Just enjoy the ride boy and girls...life is short.
 
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like i said, if they do it all incl. media blast for 250 thats a good deal, but the chart i saw looked like nickel and diming you to the poorhouse.
 
brianmac said:
like i said, if they do it all incl. media blast for 250 thats a good deal, but the chart i saw looked like nickel and diming you to the poorhouse.
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Danger of using the internet sometimes. That is like paying sticker price for a car. I am guessing they are just using that as an estimate. If they make a job cumulative based on those prices time to find a new place. That being said I think it was just meant to show a ball park price when it was originally posted.

The cost of the work should go down the more parts you have as the overall grouped labour would be less as compared to bringing it in one piece at a time. There is prep time needed to start the process.

That....and cash in hand speaks volumes with these kind of places.
 
Well maybe I can add some closure to this here thread that I started. At first this was just an info only thread for those who have thought about having it done and were wondering about costs, and also a chance for those who have had powder coating done, to compare prices.
After starting this thread and reading some of the responses and also thinking about my own situation, even though I have spent a ridiculous amount of time prepping the frame so far, I have decided to take my frame over to the shop and see about dropping it off to be done. As soon as I feel well enough to get out of the house. I have never seriously considered powder coating before because of the expense. I have decided to try this for a number of reasons.
1. Lack of a decent place to spray such a large piece. At my old place I would simply have suspended it from a tree branch out in my yard where I could walk around it and shoot it all at once. I don’t have that option at my new house. So I would’ve had to spray it over multiple days while propped up on sawhorses, and anyone who has done much painting can tell you, if you don’t meet your paint edges up while still wet, you get this grainy overspray.

2. All I need done is the frame. I’ve already sprayed the swingarm, triple trees, battery box, center and side stand.
They all came out very nice , smooth and glossy black.

3. I just want to be done with it, and I’ve put a lot of money in this bike , I want it to look nice.

Thanks for your input guys! As always, I’ll keep you posted with progress in my XS2 thread.
Later, Bob
 
Ima go out on a limb here and guess they gotta handle on what to tape.... ;)

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Mailman said:
I didn’t realize that the vin sticker would be ruined. I can’t say I’m a fan of that. I thought they could somehow protect it.
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It won't stand much of a chance Bob. If the media blasting don't get it, the 3-400 deg. bake will. Mine got ruined when it was blasted even though I taped it and asked 'em to not blast directly on it. In retrospect, I shoulda tried to remove it in advance. I think with a lot of TLC and a heat gun... I coulda' saved it. Might be something to consider. I'd be interested in if it's doable....
 
JimD54 said:
It won't stand much of a chance Bob. If the media blasting don't get it, the 3-400 deg. bake will. Mine got ruined when it was blasted even though I taped it and asked 'em to not blast directly on it. In retrospect, I shoulda tried to remove it in advance. I think with a lot of TLC and a heat gun... I coulda' saved it. Might be something to consider. I'd be interested in if it's doable....
Click to expand...

Yeah, mine is in nice shape. Good idea with the heating and careful peeling. Its worth saving. I’ve got nothing to lose.
 
You can get them recreated. I found some place that would do it after it got ruined. Unfortunately I did not take enough pictures for them to reproduce it. It needed to be taken from multiple angles. Look up some sites first to see what the requirement are so at least you have the right information if you want to get it reproduced.

You need to be very careful when peeling it. It is one of those stickers that are made to self destruct if you try to remove it. Hopefully it goes well.
 
Make sure they tape over the vin # stamped on the steering head for the black coat. Then remove the tape for the clear coat. (If you are going to have it clear coated)
 

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