Powder coating

[1sttimeXSowner]

So, I'm thinking about powder coating my entire 82 XJ--no issues with the bike just now--runs great--looks OK but I think the coating job would make it super-sharp. For those who have maybe done this, what are the pros and cons and what should I watch out for?

[mro]

This pic is my first experience with powder coating.
Fenders were done and a few other parts.
Small parts came out perfect.



The good is that it's the most durable finish.
Over all the powder coat looks very nice. The guy who did mine normally does industrial coatings but as a favor did some stuff for me plus he painted my tank with a two part urethane.

I could make it near perfect by buffing it out some but it looks good enough for now.
I've started on another project and have been getting some parts ready. If you’re going to polish anything and powder coat part of it too, then polish first.

If you want a show room finish then you need to find a coater who specializes in bikes or you may need to do a little work on the larger parts after.

mro

[kirmit77]

mro.... i dont like you now. just because your bike is so beautiful!!!!!!!!! i powdercoated mine and does not look as good as yours by FAR!

[crazy steve]

...For those who have maybe done this, what are the pros and cons and what should I watch out for?

For all intents, powdercoating is just extremely durable paint. Pretty much the same preparation is required (with a few notable differences) for good results, but it does have certain limitations. There's a bunch of differences, some minor, some not. Things to note:

Cost: The equipment needed for powdercoating is more expensive than what's needed for painting. You need a way to strip the parts, and that's done with some sort of media blasting. So you're talking a blast cabinet, a fairly large compressor to run it, and an oven to bake the powder. For smaller parts, a discarded household oven will work, but if it won't fit into that, now you need a bigger unit. These are available commercially, but you're talking big $$$. Some guys have built their own. And where do you put it when it's not in use? For painting, any decent-sized compressor and a HVLP spray gun can give very good results. One big upside is powder is a lot less expensive compared to paint, so once you have the needed tools, it's considerably cheaper.

Prep: Pretty much the same as for painting, except that you can't have any paint left on the part. You need clean, bare metal; some of the new engine composites can be coated, but no plastic. No rust/dirt/oil either. A nice plus is powder will stick to plated surfaces no problem, so chrome parts aren't the issue that they are when painting. One major downside is fixing defects; if you need to apply any sort of filler, the specialty stuff that they recommend you use is very costly and doesn't work all that well IMO (amhik). Generally, fixing defects involves welding/brazing to fill, then grinding the part smooth. You can't use solder/lead products as the melting point is too low (tried that one too). Big defects? Forget it; dented sheetmetal should be painted. Plastic body filler is a big no-no.

Finish: Another plus is it's pretty hard to get a bad finish. As long as your prep is good, you don't badly over-apply the powder, and follow curing directions, what will come out of the oven will look very good. On small parts, powdercoating can't be beat IMO. You can't get that super-smooth, miles-deep finish that you can with paint though. It is possible to polish the powdercoat further and get closer, but it's a bit tricky to do. If you damage the powdercoat trying this, removing the coating for a re-do is a b***h. Powdercoat also 'micro-scratches' easily, so I personally wouldn't use on sheetmetal such as gas tanks, etc. A good two-stage paint is a better choice IMO. One other thing to watch out for; powder is a fairly thick coating, and you'll have trouble with fitment on close-tolerance parts if you're not careful (again, amhik).

I love powdercoat; that's my finish of choice for any metal part that will fit in my oven. But if you're going to have someone else do it for you, costs can be fairly high; I finished another bike several month ago and 'farmed out' the items (frame, swingarm, handlebars, etc) that wouldn't fit in my oven (I've since got a larger one) and it cost me nearly $500. They didn't use even $20 worth of powder, so all the rest was labor/tool investment. If you can stand the tool costs for a DIY set-up, it's great.

There's lots of 'other' things too; color selection, tricks for masking (do not use regular masking tape!!), type of powder, dealing with cast parts, etc, but there's forums/books to pick up a lot of that stuff.

This help?

'78E original owner

[T99Ford]

I agree with Steve. Parts that really rely on visual finish quality (tank, side bodywork, etc) I would not powder coat, unless the bike would be an severe duty application (sport touring, off road use). If you want a show finish, paint will provide an easier medium, and is easy to rework later.
I think powder works better in the places that are normally painted black on a stock bike. These areas are important visually, but are harder to clean, and don't rely so much on smooth "mirror" finishes. They are also more exposed to the road, rocks, and dirt/ oil, and are not as easy to maintain. That is why it is normal to powder frames and swing arms, but not tanks. You can get some pretty neat powder finishes, though. Here is my wife's cafe bike and my latest project that is a powder frame, painted tank project (I am kinda proud, as the project is already listed in the "other bike" forum)

[mro]

Hi kermit

I put around 200 hours into that special.
Spent 2 days just getting the exhaust totally rust free just to have the powder coater tell me he would have done it in his "blast room" in minuets
(I painted the exhaust, carbs and engine myself)

Can tell you for sure that if I had the money would have some parts chromed like on my other special. Polishing looks real nice but makes a mess and takes some time. (of course chrome plating, the parts need to be polished before but only need to be smooth, smoother the better)

Glass bead blasting can leave an item look sorta like it was done with 100 grit sand paper. On my current project the oil pan (crappy casting job) I've had to file off some of the casting "imperfections" then it will be put thru a blast cabinet, then I'll polish some of it before it gets powder coated. I'll be doing a head light assembly that the chrome is FUBARed too.

If I can fix my spray gun, I think I’ll paint the tank and a few other parts myself but the frame and small stuff … powder coating for sure.

mro