booboo49
03-02-2005, 08:58 PM
My frame was holding up alright, but it had a load of surface rust and scratches and needed a respray. I looked into spraying it myself, but it was expensive, time consuming and difficult. Espically because i would have to sand chrome.
I decided to get it powdercoated. I found a place in Birmingham who were very friendly when i emailed them. They quoted £20-£30, in the end it costed £17 for Gloss Jet Black.
It took a week to do but I was really pleased with the results when i first saw it, and also that the surface rust had not affected the finish at all.
Now after a month or so of riding in wet, cold conditions and being left in a slightly damp shed every night, none of the paint has even been scratched. The shiny finish is slightly duller now, and there are some light marks when i have bailed. Also some light scratches where i have been standing on the top tube trying to get a football out of tree wearing studded boots(long story). The scratches are barely noticable except when you look at certain angles. I cant stress how durable this finish is. I can run a key along my frame and it will only make a dull scratch.
Contrary to some what some weight concious people say, it didnt seem to change the weight of the frame a noticable amount.
Also, probably due to the fact that powdercoating is an industrial process, they didnt cover up the brake lugs on the rear. This led to about 1 hour of sanding with fine paper to get the lugs back to normal. The threads seemed to be fine after a lil squirt of wd40.
The BB and headset work perfectly and there were no problems fitting them after the powdercoating.
Price - £17 (may differ slightly for different colours)
Place - http://www.powder-coatings.ltd.uk (Located in Birmingham)
Also there is an almost endless colour choice, although im not sure if you can do dual colour powdercoats. Also choices of gloss or matt finish.
The state of my frame before powdercoating:
See sig for a pic of results
I decided to get it powdercoated. I found a place in Birmingham who were very friendly when i emailed them. They quoted £20-£30, in the end it costed £17 for Gloss Jet Black.
It took a week to do but I was really pleased with the results when i first saw it, and also that the surface rust had not affected the finish at all.
Now after a month or so of riding in wet, cold conditions and being left in a slightly damp shed every night, none of the paint has even been scratched. The shiny finish is slightly duller now, and there are some light marks when i have bailed. Also some light scratches where i have been standing on the top tube trying to get a football out of tree wearing studded boots(long story). The scratches are barely noticable except when you look at certain angles. I cant stress how durable this finish is. I can run a key along my frame and it will only make a dull scratch.
Contrary to some what some weight concious people say, it didnt seem to change the weight of the frame a noticable amount.
Also, probably due to the fact that powdercoating is an industrial process, they didnt cover up the brake lugs on the rear. This led to about 1 hour of sanding with fine paper to get the lugs back to normal. The threads seemed to be fine after a lil squirt of wd40.
The BB and headset work perfectly and there were no problems fitting them after the powdercoating.
Price - £17 (may differ slightly for different colours)
Place - http://www.powder-coatings.ltd.uk (Located in Birmingham)
Also there is an almost endless colour choice, although im not sure if you can do dual colour powdercoats. Also choices of gloss or matt finish.
The state of my frame before powdercoating:
See sig for a pic of results