I have always had good luck with powder coating, but my ignorance regarding the attaching points on my Norton is biting me in the ass. I also have a beautiful durable finish, but need to work on the joints. I have a few ideas I need to try to clear the areas around the bolt holes. I thought about doing the cradle over as that seems to have the most sensitive attaching points. I also talked to painters who could not compete with powder coating. If I had found a suitable painter, I may have gone that route as I wanted some rough spots on the frame worked over. To my pleasant surprise, for an extra reasonable fee, the powder coater sanded down the defects in the metal of the frame, then applied a thin coat over it. It now looks pretty good.I did follow the Old Brits powder coating blanking bolts to bolted area's on all bolt holes. However when I got to my powder coater shop they had me remove all the bolts and replaced them with their own heat resistant plastic circle blanks saying this was a lot more effective. After taking them off I sprayed some black paint onto a cardboard piece and then with a small brush, brushed it on the exposed steel openings per Old Brits info. After a year of riding my completely restored bike, I found not one of the bolts had come loose. My powder coating came out show quality, deep color of black, smooth and flat. Those were the instructions I gave the powder coater. My paint guy said he could not lay on the quality of finish and would charge more than the powder coatint cost. I am very happy with the hard surface and have not chips like I would have with ordinary paint. As you can tell I like powder coating if done well and you know what to tell your supplier on the finish you want. If you don't you might end up with an industrial type finish since this powder coating companies do that type of work all day long and do few if any bike jobs. Good luck.
Hardware store paint stripper works quite well (even the new stuff in California). Scratch the areas a bit to help it along. Mask off adjacent areas when applying the stripper if you're picky.I am going to find a way to remove the powder coating in the sensitive areas, and probably use the serrated washers, as well. My motor and tranny are now being worked over by CNW and I want them to be properly fitted. Thank you for all the comments so far. Any others ideas or hints on how to remove the PC in a workmanlike fashion will be appreciated.
There are two options:I don’t see how to post pictures.
Yes. Nord-lok is the brand known for their own proprietary lock washers.Do you know if the washers are available separately? I already have some new stainless fasteners. Thank you for your suggestions.
It depends where you live and what your painter recommends.I am just getting ready to strip down my 71 for complete overhaul .
I did not plan to powdercoat any parts.
can someone recommend the correct paint to use ..
a single stage ?
a two part epoxy paint ?
an Imron paint ?
and should I corrosion proof the frame with maybe a zinc chromate ?
open to suggestions to tell my painter what I want .
I've not found a two part paint that will stand up like Powder coat. And rattle can paint? That is a very short term answer. Just wrenching around it takes it off.
With the powder coat process, a tiny bit of owner involvement is involved. One cannot just drop the stuff off and get a perfect result. Very few powder coat Company employees are Norton owners.
Even fewer are Vincent owners.
You have to communicate areas to masked, holes to be plugged.
The other option is to do the masking and plugging yourself, no one to blame but yourself if you miss a spot.
It does happen. I once had a tape come loose and PC got where it should not be. What a job to get it off!
The durability of powdercoat becomes a real problem when that happens. I've only had that happen once and it was my fault, so I learned to take as much time as needed to do the masking properly.
The company I use sets me up in a room with all of their specialty masking/hole plugging items. For a frame I might spend half an hour in there, but then the frame comes out perfect and still looks perfect after twenty years of use.
The wheels below took awhile to mask, but the result is flawless and will stay that way.
I did a set the same way on another bike, ten years ago now. Those wheel centres still look just like these newly completed wheel centres.
I also have some black painted (2pack) wheel centres on a Vincent that has only done 4000 miles. Those are looking a bit rough already, no comparison to the result with powdercoat. I have to be very careful with the painted wheel centres when cleaning. Not so with the powdercoat centres. The powder coat centre is tougher than the aluminium on each side!
Glen
I think with respect you are over thinking thisYes, I am learning the hard way. My two choices are to either start all over again with proper blanking, or to remove the PC where necessary while trying to make it still look good.
I am not a VIP member and cannot attach photos. Maybe you can PM me and I can attach them.Doubt Andover new cradle's powder coat needs removing.
It looks thin enough.
I would try the Nordlok before removing powder coat again.
But if you had the new cradle's powder coat removed and re-powder coated, maybe money is no object on this build?
Still haven't seen photos of your cradle to see how thick the powder is.
Isolastic caps usually will not fit over thick powder, so that could be one way to determine.
I have probably seen more loose parts on a painted cradles than on powdered ones. Just saying!
Having it recoated was not expensive, ($30.00?) its that the original coating was not as good as the rest of the parts.Doubt Andover new cradle's powder coat needs removing.
It looks thin enough.
I would try the Nordlok before removing powder coat again.
But if you had the new cradle's powder coat removed and re-powder coated, maybe money is no object on this build?
Still haven't seen photos of your cradle to see how thick the powder is.
Isolastic caps usually will not fit over thick powder, so that could be one way to determine.
I have probably seen more loose parts on a painted cradles than on powdered ones. Just saying!
You may be right. I picked up a Dremel today and plan to take it bolt by bolt. Thanks.I think with respect you are over thinking this
The frame is powder coated now so just carefully remove where necessary and paint and move on to the next problem
Cheers
California. Done in Paso Robles.$30 to strip the powder and re-powdercoat? Don't know what State you live in but that is cheap.
No, I haven’t called them yet, but thinking about it. I have been doing some filing and bought a Dremel today, so going to give that a try.Have you called the Powder coat company to see what removal agent they recommend?
I was about at that point but did manage with abrasion only, as the area in question was very small.
Glen