Powder Coating VS Painting

I'm rebuilding a 1972 Commando and need to have the frame and steel gas tank redone.

Is it better to have them powder coated or painted? If painting is better what type of paint would be better to use?

Thanks for all your help.

I don't like powder coating but thats me, there has been so much improvements with paints over the last 20 years and the 2 pak paints that are around is quite good.

Ashley

As Ashman says...the two part epoxy paints are good. Powder coat is just another form of epoxy. Take your pick on painting the frame.

My powder coat shop operator does not recommend powder for tanks. While powder is tough and does not scuff easily, if it is scuffed, you cannot buff it out as you can paint. And if you want to repaint, the powder coat must be stripped entirely....not an easy job.

My opinion: powder the frame, paint the tank. Do not powder cylinders.

Slick

Im wondering if the powdercoat is porous 7 the tubes get surface rust under it , after seeing a few pictures of it being stripped off .

Real Frames had BAKED ENAMEL , likewise the Cylinders .

two Pot Epoxy Paint like epiglass is rather durable , and buffs up nicely with a bit of effort , once cured .
A lot of the modern tripes TOXIC . good oldfasioned Nitro Cellulose lacquer with 20 coats of clear gives a bit of depth to Tanks etc .
Though needs a bit of care - though can be touched up very well . The clears put on thinner & Thinner , so only a pint of lacquer ,
thus the clear top coat should take the wear - and if rubbed back with 600 7 1200 paper can be recoated to restore the finish
if you suffer from traffic fumes .

I've built bikes using both methods . The deal with powder coating it must be done by a professional who does proper preparation to the parts and has the knowledge and good equipment. I've had powder coating "peel" off because of poor preparation,and have had exquisite powder coating results as well. The advantage is that when properly done it very tough and resistant to scuffs and spills.

On the other hand nothing looks better than a beautiful paint job, but they require more care and can be touched up.
I just finished a Norton project and painted the frame,it looks great ,but I did spill some dot 3 brake fluid and had to refinish some areas.

I would recommend the powder coating ,but done by a real professional.....Skip

I had my frame powder coated. Paint in the east coast is getting more expensive because of the solvents. I found a guy that did work for DOD and he prepped it with a phosphor base and then powder coat. I guess the phosphor prevents rust in case of a scratch, a DOD prerequisite. The job was nicely done and it looked good when new. It looks like a 3 year old paint job now, it's not impervious to scratches. Prep is imperative, you must mask off the engine mounting points, I also masked off the trans mounting points, the swing arm and the z plates plus the fuel tank wings, so I could get good grounding throughout the bike. Ended up I didn't need any extra ground wires from the original harness. I have had some problem areas where I had to remove it for welding, but I just painted it with a brush and rustolium enamel and it matches pretty good, especially where you can't see it as an obvious thing. I'd do it again.

I also had the fork trees, the front mudguard, battery tray, trans mount, swing arm and I wish I had the oil tank done, but they suggested not because of the sand blasting.

It's up to you, but I suggest you go in after the frame is stripped and guide them through the masking process, it's really too much work to take it off. Oh, don't put it on where the rear axle mounts too, you'll add about 3/8-1/2" of extra space on both sides of the swing arm and the brake plate. The powder coater should have all sorts of masking materials and circles to place on the pertinent places. Forget the OB method of nuts/bolts/washers, there are plenty of stick on plastic masks the painter should have that are impervious to the heat.

I'd go with enamel over powder coating. Powder is too thick, ding prone, and doesn't look quite right.

When I got my Commando basket case, the PO had had the frame, cradle, swing arm and fork yokes powder-coated. It was fine for what it was.

When I started my next project, the Ranger, I got some good advice from a local expert and used PPG DCC9300. The paint is durable and easily touched up. This worked well for this bike, as its various bits were assembled several times before I got the right configuration of parts, and the frame was touched up several times.

After four years of regular use, about 10,000 miles and a little more knowledge about the bike, I did a bit of a rebuild on the Commando. The side stand lug needed re-welding, as did the oil tank and the Pakistani fuel tank. I touched up the frame with the same DCC9300, and the results were very good. I repainted the fork yokes in the correct silver after scuffing the original powder coat.

The last project I did, the G15CS, I used the same DCC9300, and have no regrets. Again, the paint can be touched up with our locally available Duplicolor Universal Black touch-up bottles, and the results are fine.

I like powder for a number of reason. These include durability and cost. DogT is spot on regarding the prep. Lots of backyard shops will sandblast the parts, wipe them done with a solvent and spray it with powder. This is not the best way to get optimum adhesion. I spent ten years installing and running powder coating systems coating die cast wheels and appliances. The process should include stripping the parts ( i prefer chemical stripping + sand blasting), a pretreatment system (preferably 5 stage) consisting of an heated alkaline clean, rinse, a heated iron or zinc phosphate coating, rinse and very clean final rinse. Then the parts need to be oven dried, cooled to ambient temp, coated and then cured.

If you can find a shop that is used to doing "class a" appliance or custom powder finishes they should be able to put down a nice smooth finish without excessive film build. I have had a number of frames powder coated and if the coating operator really understands how to handle the Faraday cage areas you will get a very smooth finish. If not the finish will be smooth but wavy due to back ionization or what some people refer to as electrostatic orange peel. I don't like epoxy powders because they typically are not very UV stable. I prefer TGIC polyesters because of the cross linking. When we used to get blemishes on wheels and appliance parts we used a 3M system called Finesse-it . This involved using 1000 grit paper on a small sander and polishing compound.

Masking is really important. Identify all of the critical fits, threaded holes and spots where you want to put a ground. High temperature tapes and silicon rubber plugs and caps are what a good powder shop will use. I have seen some amazing powder finishes on gas tanks and fenders but the metal better almost be as good as it would for a chrome plate and the coating operator very experienced. None of my sheet metal is ever that good so I typically have them sprayed in wet paint. Then fillers can be used to prep the sheet metal.

Dave

After a bad experience in 1996, I said I'd never have powder coating again. Then, for my current project, I asked around and went along with the assumption that things have improved a lot since then and had powder coating done. I am now firmly back in the position of saying I WILL NEVER HAVE POWDER COATING AGAIN!!
And this time, I'm bloody well sticking to it!

I've restored a LOT of bikes, and for ease of application, ease of touchup, and durability, I just use rattle can gloss black. The good thing is that it isn't TOO glossy like some PC's are. Stock bikes never had really glossy frames.

A good rattle can gloss black is about as close to the stock type of black on most all bike frames as you can get. But as stated, prep is everything.

And did I mention that it is VERY easy to touchup. I think that is important. Some of my bikes were restored 30+ years ago and the frames still look very good. Key is to get a good rattle can paint. Not $1 a can stuff but better stuff like Krylon or Rustoleum.

Just my .02.