Paint vs Powder Coat

[leethom]

I keep reading that the baking needed to melt powder coat can weaken aluminum parts like wheels and engine case parts. I know that a number of you have refinished wheels and engines. If you don't powder coat, what paint do you use? How durable is it?

[johnsonmopar]

I would say that it wouldn't weeken it at all... The temp that you bake power coats at isn't going to disrupt the formation of alum...I may be wrong but that would be my bet

[Da-Bubble]

I know when my brother in law redid his '85 Vulcan it has similar wheels to ours. The guys at the Powder coat place wouldn't do his because they said the axle grease would melt and ruin the finish while trying to bake them. Don't know if that's true but that's what they said. He ended up using Dupont auto paint Base/Clear to do the wheels then had the spoke ribs and wheel lip polished. His wheels look great! I plan to do them same to mine someday. Oh and he just used Hi Temp engine paint for the motor.

[Ken Talbot]

I had powdercoat applied to just about everything I could for the rebuild project. The wheels don't show in this photo but they were done too and are looking pretty nice.



Like paint, one of the keys to a good job is preparation. I cleaned all of my parts, wheels included, with solvents and detergents, then I sandblasted and glass beaded it all. I saved quite a bit of money by buying the special polyester masking tape and doing all of my own masking before taking the parts to the shop. BTW - I also took all of the chrome parts to a plating shop and had the chrome removed electrolytically before sandblasting and glassbeading, then they got powdercoat too.

[leethom]

Ken, that is an impressive array. I had read that the powder coat melting temp was high enough to modify the temper in tempered aluminum. Around 400 degrees.

[rustybones49801]

Ken, how much did the array of powder coating cost you that is pictured? Also, maybe a stupid question, but are you going to remove the coating off the wear faces of the brake disks?

[Ken Talbot]

In that photo, the wear face of the brake disks still has the polyester masking tape. Simply peeling off the tape removed all of the coating from the covered surface. IIRC, doing all of this batch, including the wheels, cost me around $300. That was with me delivering properly cleaned and masked parts to the powdercoater. I got estimates from three different shops and they all came in about that same price. They all also said they did not have the equipment, time, or inclination to clean parts as they were in the powdercoating business, not the parts cleaning business.

[rustybones49801]

That is one impressive lot. It gives me an idea for a winter project....... hhhmmmmmm

[50gary]

My freind's Coating business does a preheat then checks the parts just for the off chance that oil or grease does flow from small hard to get at places. Then it's wiped off with acetone. Then it's coated. Bearings and seals should be removed before hand. Aluminum is fine for coating as temps. don't high enough to cause damage to aluminum.
Cheers, 50gary

[Viking500usa]

Wow Ken, I bet all that cost a pretty penny , I had alot of my parts powder coated, but not that many. looks excellent.
Don

[50gary]

Ken, one small but critical point. Make sure you can ground the start button to the handlebars, you will most likely have to remove the powdercoat in the controls area to make ground. Maybe that was one of the spots you masked off? Don't ask me how I know that one. Yep, took a while to recall.
Cheers, 50gary

[rustybones49801]

Wouldn't that also mean cleaning the powder coat off the bars where they bolt on to the steering column as well?

[Ken Talbot]

Good catches there, 50 and rusty. I hadn't thought that far ahead but it makes sense.

[rustybones49801]

OOOOOOOOOhhhhhh, cool Idea. ATTN MODERATORS!!!! How about a goody giveaway to anyone who can identify EVERY part in the pic????? Names in a hat for all correct answers???? OK, I ll go sit in my corner again............

[50gary]

rustybones, yes, your right, I had to remove the powdercoating in the clamp and controls area. I was stumped for about an hour. Still sorting out the carbs etc. though.
Cheers, 50gary