casperrasper Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 I want to have the fork bottoms painted white like the pro 2012 .do you have to strip them all down or just mask the stansions up for powder painting .any ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 powder coating hates grease /oil and the process involves baking the part at c. 180/200 c for 10 minutes. have look at you tube to get general idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Hi, to powdercoat them you will have to strip your forks down completely so you are left with just the botom tubes, the heat can make air pockets in the castings expand and can crack the fork legs. The best way is to get them painted, you will need to remove the original stickers and clean them with solvent then they will need to be rubbed down with 240 grit paper to smooth the castings and make the coatings stick. Then they will need to be etch primed with a decent 2 Pack primer to stick to the bare alloy then painted with top coat in white, 2 Pack top coat is more hard wearing and easy to touch up. The decals are 40 quid a pair from gas gas but they are decent & thick so will protect the forks too. I own a bodyshop and have done loads of bike forks this way (see my garage for the pics of them on my 09). Don't be tempted to do them youself with *arseole* cans you need 2 pack paints and proper spray equipment otherwise you will jet wash the decals off with the paint stuck to them. Find a good bodyshop it should take no more than 3 hours labour to do a proper job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marky boy Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Hi, to powdercoat them you will have to strip your forks down completely so you are left with just the botom tubes, the heat can make air pockets in the castings expand and can crack the fork legs. The best way is to get them painted, you will need to remove the original stickers and clean them with solvent then they will need to be rubbed down with 240 grit paper to smooth the castings and make the coatings stick. Then they will need to be etch primed with a decent 2 Pack primer to stick to the bare alloy then painted with top coat in white, 2 Pack top coat is more hard wearing and easy to touch up. What a load of bull****!!! The heat cannot and will not make airpockets and crack your forks! 2 pack top coat is not more hard wearing and easier to touch up! Bmw bonnets and other panels are now powder coated clear! To have them powder coated by a monkey, or just a basic idiot then yes owt could happen, but the same can be said by taking them to a bodyshop that is used to painting the full side off a car and getting them to make a job of something techincal that cannot be done on the fan jet!! If you want to have them powder coated then if they 'are done properly' would be much longer lasting, hard wearing and easy to touch up then yes you would have to strip the forks 100%. If you want to get them painted, then you just need to mask off the parts that you do not want coated. But by taking this option you are limited by how high a temperature you can stove the paint due to the internals etc. You not only get what you pay for , but also get the rewards of people with experience in true race industry coating, and not here and there trade!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coriolis Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 I powder coated my evo forks myself. Fully strip them, and have them blasted, with a fine grit. Be sure to plug them well, to avoid damaging the internal surfaces. I used a zinc primer before applying a high gloss white top coat. Didn't find it necessary to apply a lacquer Power will withstand much more abuse than paint. And I have never heard of any being damaged by the heat of the oven. Also, make sure you THOROUGHLY clean them out before re-assembly! You don't want sand in your forks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Wow, didnt want to start a war on powdercoating. I had a leg crack a few years ago must have been a one off or it was already cracked and i didnt notice or the powder coaters messed up. Anyway if you get them powercoated you will need paint the right colour to touch them up with, not a big issue just get the ral or bs number of the powder. Powercoating does not like petrol it goes soft in seconds and you can't wipe it till it evaporates then you have to buff it after as is dulls. (a year of owning a beta with a powdercoated frame, not good when filling up) So make sure your fuel breather doesnt dribble on your forks. I dont want to upset the powder coaters on here I'm a fan of powdercoating, Im just shareing an experiance i've had. I get loads of work from 2 local podwer coaters as some things they don't like to bake in an oven. Replying to a post accusing someone of being a bull$hiter is not a very polite awnser to someone trying to help someone with good intentions. Marky boy, Try using some decency next time to explain you have a different or correct idea on the subject. If someone post's wrong information yes, let everyone know but don't lower the tone with swearing or getting on your high horse. Please everyone disregard my earlier post and don't let this escalate any further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 wqorld war 3 breaking out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coriolis Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 I agree...no need for rudeness here. I have powder coated all sorts of bike components, and in my experience, I have never had an issue with petrol. I have spilt petrol all over my evo frame and it has caused no problems at all. I even left the bearing end of my swing arm, which I coated myself, soaking in a petrol bath to dissolve the dirty grease. Had no issues there either. Not arguing with anyone here.....just sharing my experiences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 There must be different types of power and some types must be more resistent to chemicals. My beta was a nigtmare if you spilt fuel it would go soft instantly and smudge if wiped with a rag. It was definatly powder as it was done by the powder coaters that used to be next door to my paint shop. Thinking about it now I have a thinners tank I use for soaking components to strip paint etc, and i recall some powder coated stuff dissolved in minuites and others needed loads of scraping, wire brushing and re soaking. Im interested now about powders in case I have a frame done in the future. Could there have been a problem with the powder used on my frame. Anyone got any ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marky boy Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) I have been trying to defend powder coating for nearly 20 years, and the same old codswollop comes up. People go on forums saying how rubbish it is, when in practice they either don't have a clue or have a had a bad experience, which nine times out of ten comes down to their own personal pursuit for a cheap job out of the back door! Your comments, and other like them can actually affect and damage peoples business, may seem petty but it is true. Somebody who reads that post may have had a massive project that they were going to have powdered at their local business, but instead decide to go elswhere to another type of business as they read it is not suitable for alloy type tubes. It could of been an MD of a large company who had a multi thousand pound job, who upon reading your post could of changed his mind etc etc... Yours was a statement of fact, rather than a 'i think it might of knackered them, or the local company did'. You stated that it could damage the forks when heated up, which i proffesionally consider to be bull****. Not sure what your Beta was coated in, or have any experience but the top drawer polyester powder coat can be left in petrol with no ill effects as coroilis says in his experience. But there is no beef, and i will next time use more decency, if you are decent and polite enough to spell much better But to be much more helpfull, there are 3 main commonly used types of powder coat Edited October 17, 2012 by marky boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marky boy Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Epoxy Epoxy-polyester polyester There are also various types of nylon coatings The 'pukka' powder to be used is pure polyester, as is chemical and uv resistance etc.. The cheap stuff is epoxy and is not even lightfast, usually trolleys and things like that are done in this and reds turn white after a year of being outside.I reckon this is what your men are using, it is almost half the cost of decent brand polyester. That is another factor, decent powder from decent brands performs so much better than cheap powders, especially the eastern europe stuff that seems to be flooding the market. It is a bit like your cheap 2k basecoats, they can require 6 or 7 coats to cover but cost a fraction of ppg or standox etc. the trade off being that the best quality basecoats cover almost instantly, the same is to be said for powders! Before chemical stripper, we too used to dip in petrol and found the same results as you, the cheap stuff falls off like aerosol. Even with serious industrial powder stripper some primers (which incidently some are epoxy so go figure) will not budge. I would presume that your local powder coater's bread and butter is more non technical industrial coat it in owt to be competetive on price type jobs? And.....then there is the preperation...... Edited October 17, 2012 by marky boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_earle Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Thanks for the info mate, You seem to know your stuff. See your point, No hard feelings. Will bear this in mind when im getting coating done in future. My beta job was a freebee in return for some painting i done for him so can't complain. I have been etching with upoxy super etch 2k, the brown stuff, as i use it on other jobs, then scuffing up with a red scotch before giving him stuff to coat, Is this an o.k method. Im starting to think my powdercoater mate has led me up the garden path a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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