Paint-Job

Minimoto racer Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 52

Do any of you guys have any experiences or opinions on powder coating verses a proper spray job?

The reason I ask is that I'm probably going for a black swingarm and presumed from other peoples comments on other forums that powder coating is the only way forward. Having spoken with the PC company they suggested that the only advantage with PCing is the speed of the work. However they have a build up of work and would not able to turn it around within the week anyway.

A real good guy who does any spraying for my car said he could take the bike in and have it back the next day.

What are you're guys thoughts on this and the results?

Cheers,

BD

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:17 pm

No expert here, but I was also tempted to powdercoat the swingarm - I was advised by most on this forum to rather anodise it black, which is how the 08 and SD-Rs' swingarms are done.
Reasons? Clearance of chain adjuster blocks and such, with powdercoating.
Again, from what I've heard normal paint will chip quickly and easily...

Stand to be corrected...

Minimoto racer Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 52

That's the opinion I had as well.

Anyone else had any exeriences?

BD

Thunder pumpkin rider Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 8589

hey gents, I have just powder coated my own exhaust header on my SD, (from a spray can) i have pics if yer interested?

it is very tricky, extremely delicate when applied prior to heat treating. it requires a heating cycle so you really need an out door oven.

mine worked a treat, mainly cos you can heat treat the pipe from the heat of the engine, I would like to anodize my swingarm also, powder coating is

thick, I like the staining of the metal that anodizing does, Paint does not weather well for MC parts from what I have seen, but by far the easiest.

also powder coating is VERY durable when professionally applied, last for eons.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:49 pm

Joe, post some pictures.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:21 pm

Hey Joe! I have trouble reading your posts. For some reason my eyes keeps going left Laughing

.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:08 pm

Same here until he changed to the horse..

Thunder pumpkin rider Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 8589

superdude, when i had first came here, people could not understand me.... this is why I lay my sentences out with space between, joe is a scatter brain.

the girl was too cheap looking for my tastes, i can stick her back up but finding these moving tittie avatars is hard. Bodge has the killer one and pugwarsh too.

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:56 pm

OT:

joe, just for you Smile

Good luck searching:

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f7/gif-thread-2-0-a-668876/

Edit:

e.g

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:35 pm

Anodizing can be tricky and you will have to check with the vendor who is performing this operation as to the final results. One of the problems is that anodizing will increase the size of any holes or slots that are on the part, opening up tolerences which can create issues upon reassembly.

Thunder pumpkin rider Joined: 16 Jul 2007 Posts: 8589

Khaos Thanks for that,,that is enough for me not to jack wit it.

Mr_Trecolareco, this is the best one so far, joe is married to an Asian girl, they are the cream of the crop in my eyes, a twisted one am I.

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:53 am

I get a LOT of parts powdercoated and anodised for work.

Powdercoat is amazing durable but it causes a build up on parts so is not good for closely toleranced areas. It's ideal for frames and wheels but you have to ensure that any bolt holes or bearing seats are masked or plugged.

Cosmetic anodising (as opposed to Hard anodising) is typically 12-20 microns thick, some of this is below the surface of the material. It will not generally cause any issues with clearance UNLESS it's a very tightly toleranced part like a sweated in bearing. All of the aluminium parts on your bike are already anodised but it's a clear anodising - the Anodiser will strip the factory coating and re-anodise with a colour dye to stain the oxide layer. Cosmetic anodising is not as durable as Powdercoating.

To cut a long story short (too late!) I'd anodise the swinger. I'm just about to send my set of spare levers to get black anodised.

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:49 pm

True, Daws.
The anodizing type depends on the vendor performing the work, which is why I stated to check with them prior to going this route. It can be done you just have to do a little research first. I am not sure of the results when you anodize a part that already under gone this process.