Powder coaters in Somerset

[olmasters]

Hi, I have a 1980's road bike frame and wanted to spray paint it using rattle cans in white, although having had a white frame before it shows all the sirt in scratches and chips etc therefore wanted to go for a more robust and duarble alternative. Does andyone know of any powder coating firms in Somerset that would be suitable for the job, the closest to glastonbury would be most convenient. Also what sort of price should I be looking at for both frame and forks to be coated??

Cheers


Ollie

 

[whycanismellburning]

Hey Olllie. The only problem with powder coatin is that when you get a chip it alows the water in between the coating and the frame. Instant rust spot. At least with paint you can touch up from time to time. I used to use these guys:
Powder Blast
Mendip Rd
Rooksbridge, Axbridge, BS26 2UG
01934 751053‎

But havent in the last two years. were good on QC and Price

Pete

 

[Hitch]

I use the one in Bladford (Dorset) called John Ballards.

 

[gavuk]

i've used "advanced metal treatment" "AMT"...westbury wiltshire not far from glastonbury....we had small pot of paint exact colour for touch ups,they media blast as well

 

[dazzis]

not too far from ee http://www.realitymotorworks.com/
i've had loads of frames powdered over the years this place is the best , i have no connection with them other than a very satisfied customer, they are the first choice for customs. give em a ring hth.
the thing with powder coating is most of em do mainly decorative stuff like garden chairs etc, reality only do bikes so are well versed in how a bike frame needs to be coated

 

[rtbcomp]

Don't confuse powder coating with plastic coating. The latter is used a lot on bull-bars and does tend to peel like Mr Burning says. Good powder coating won't shift - I've tried gritblasting it off and given up in despair!

 

[Afterimage]

I had a motorcycle frame "polyester coated" which I figured was a poncey name for powder coating,and the rust got in under the coating - just horrible.
Polyester coating must be plastic coating then,not powdercoating?

 

[English Steve]

Most of the plastic coatings used on bull-bars and the like are nylon based. Nylon is hygroscopic (it absorbs water) so the steel starts rusting inside the coating, even if the coating is not damaged.

 

[Robotstar5]

I've had bike frames done locally and it's called "epoxy powder coat" very hard coating, any tapped holes need a tap running through as bolts just jam in them.
Try to use a company who understand bikes, I tried a new one once and they coated the taper roller outer races for the swing arm, tried to tell me it was as hard as metal and I could run the bearings on it!!, took afew hours to extract as they were down blind holes

 

[olmasters]

Hi, thanks for all the replies, and sorry for the delay in answering. I have contacted a local firm regarding powercoating in yeovil who I have heard are fairly good, although they wanted £60 to coat both fork and frame which I thaught was rather steep, given I can get a painted respray for £50.

I also thaught powdercoating beign a much more automated procedure, involving less skill than spray painting would also be less labour intensive making it thereabouts a similar price, if not slightly cheaper.

Is this a sensible price for the services offered - sandblast strip, powder prime, powder topcoat??

cheers

Ollie

 

[rtbcomp]

Doesn't sound bad if it includes blasting too. Powder coating has to be baked too.

 

[Robotstar5]

Seems a reasonable price, don't forget to block off the bits you don't want coated securely, some places can be a bit rough!

 

[Paul.]

Seems a reasonable price, don't forget to block off the bits you don't want coated securely, some places can be a bit rough!

A decent powder coater will use proper inserts and thread covers for masking, if tape is used as I have seen done, it burns, and the tape adhesive stains the job.

 

[Robotstar5]

A decent powder coater will use proper inserts and thread covers for masking

Things have improved since I last used a powder coater then, used 3 different ones and all required you to blank off the parts to be kept coat free, could not use masking tape as they just blew it off with the shot blast!
Had to be quite creative with large washers, odd shaped bits of metal and lengths of allthread.

 

[Paul.]

Things have improved since I last used a powder coater then, used 3 different ones and all required you to blank off the parts to be kept coat free, could not use masking tape as they just blew it off with the shot blast!
Had to be quite creative with large washers, odd shaped bits of metal and lengths of allthread.

A lot of powder coaters wont buy the proper masking plugs because of the cost, but they are available, have a look at these http://www.abmultimask.co.uk/plugs1.htm if you want to mask against blasting, a few layers of gaffer tape is pretty good but obviously needs removing before going into an oven

 

[Bentleyboy]

I'm new here and would like to clear up some misunderstandings and misconceptions on coatings. I spent 16 years in motor trade painting and eventually set up a powder coating company in Weston super Mare in 1984 because I had a requirement for recoating Triumph TR7 bumpers and couldn't get them done properly.
Powder coatings come in three different types for different useages and havedifferent properties. Epoxy powder is used generally for chemical resistance and is not much in evidence these days but was used widely for battery trays which were subject to acid leaks. Although it has good chemical resistance, it is unsuitable for outdoor useage as the gloss level will deteriorate rapidly with ultra violet radiation. Epoxy/polester is an "amalgam" as the term suggests and is widely used in shop fittings and internal decorative parts...it has slightly better retention of gloss level but the colours are prone to fading in sunlight and they tend to "bloom" i.e.develop a chalky surface film. Polyester powders are by far and away the best for outdoor useage and were designed specifically for the aluminium window trade where most architects will specify polyester powder coating.......so that's the types of powder. They all come in a range of gloss levels and textures, etc., etc., and unlike liquid paints cannot be mixed to change the shade or gloss level accurately.

Plastic coating and nylon coating are entirely different processes and do not attach to the surface of the item being coated but form an "envelope" around it; hence once the surface is broken/cut or otherwise damaged, moisture will enter and form corrosin of the surface metal and ultimately as the corrosion expands it creeps underneath the surrounding coating and blows the coating of the surface allowing more moisture ingress and further corrosion.

our company undertakes all manner of powdercoating on all types of metals and invariably uses high quality architectural grade polyester powders unless specifically asked for epoxy or epoxy/polyester....it is utimately cheaper to use the best quality materials than to have a dissatisfied customer with a reject and potential spread of bad publicity.

Here is our standard procedure for powder coating a motorcycle frameset.

1. Discuss with customer what is to be masked, determine colour, gloss level.
2. Detail all component parts accurately on job card to ensure no lost parts.
3. Subject all components to trichloroethylene vapour degreasing in order to remove any possibility of oil/ grease run-out during heat curing cycle of powder.
4. Blast all components thoroughly using stainless steel grit to avoid contamination from ferrous grit or residual paint.
5. Mask as necessary ; hang up and blow out all areas to remove any residual dust from blasting.
6. Apply polyester powder to all required surfaces , move to oven and cure powder for appropriate schedule.....nominally 10 to 20 minutes at 200 centigrade depending on thickness and density of metals.


Omission of any of the above procedures will result in an inferior product and either a costly rework or a dissatisfied customer listening to excuses and beig expected to put up with a poor job.

All you welders know that ......what happens if you try to weld without good prepping?

Over the last 26 years we have enjoyed a sound position in the market place and been fortunate enough to have been entrusted with motorcycle parts from Brough Superiors to Honda Goldwings, from Sunbeams to Ducatis and so on. Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Alvis, Bristol and many other classic motorcar parts pass through the workshops and all do so in a timely manner....usually within a working week. We have NEVER lost a component, never damaged a component nor had a reject through poor workmanship. The only problem we suffer occasionally is in recoating cast aluminium wheels, engine casings etc., and this is due entirely to the ingress of moisture into the casting which eats away the surface and causes pinholes in the paint finish. We have found ways to overcome most of this problem but it is never 100% satisfactory without resorting to topcoating over the polyester with a two pack motor trade paint system ( which we also offer)

I learnt my trade at C & G Finishes in Liverpool in the early '60s. Their reputation was second to none and their methods were firmly ingrained in me while working on Saturdays prepping motorbike and pedal bike frames, car wheels, etc., etc.,......NO SHORTCUTS!!!!!!!!

I retire in a couple of years but my son will continue in the same way that I have .

Incidentally I occasionally have requirements for a skilled welder to patch Bentley bumpers after the chrome has been stripped....any offers?

Thanks for reading my little note.

 

[Thinphil]

Thank you for the explanation !
How much would you charge for medium size motorcycle frame and swinging arm,in black gloss ?
I presume stove enamel is no longer done ?

 

[Bentleyboy]

Thanks for editing out the commercial references, I entirely understand the reasons.

Thinphil, thanks for the enquiry, If you'd like to PM me I can answer your question.
The "old school" stove enamel isn't available and in all honesty a well applied polyester powder is a better job.....and less costly too. If you think about the old stove enamelling, it's no wonder it was expensive. Shotblast / zinc chromate etch primer, air dry epoxy primer, rub down, more primer, rub down, topcoat, rub down, top coat etc., etc., until you achieve the standard that you want.

 

[graffian]

I just started powder coating in a domestic oven to do some bike parts.
Adding to what the coater says above, after reading stuff from coating forums, it seem a top spec finish is: blast,iron phasphate dip, zinc rich epoxy coat and then a polyester top coat. I saw results of several salt room tests and in a scratched to bare metal test, coated surfaces[as above spec] the powder beat all but galvanising!

The nylon coating that was really popular on bike frames in the early 70's was great untill it got broken, I had an A10 chop that the local enamler persuaded me to have nylon coated[it was one of the first things he coated] looked ok, if a little plasticy. I was sitting at some trafic lights and started picking at a scratch on the coating, 30s later I had a bit of nylon about 2 feet long in my hand!!!! I had stripped most of the tube from above the seat right to the axle plate.

The powder coating forums have had some amazing stuff, like murals and custom paint all done with powder. Well it all looked amazing to me when I can't get a nice finish;-)

I don't supose bentleyboy would like to flog me some epoxy primer? My velo rear stand was chipped baddly where it touched the ground, I was going to try epoxyt coating it before poly coating it.

 

[Bentleyboy]

Powder coat primers.

I concede the point concerning iron / zinc phosphate ...a process which we don't use any longer as the majority of our commercial work is aluminium extrusions and pressings and for this we use an aluminium chromate conversion system which provides exceptional adhesion . Having shotblasted to Swedish standard 2.5 ( thoroughly clean and free from any visible contaminant) there is little necessity to improve the adhesion by using a phosphate conversion coating and generally this process would be used on clean mill finish material.
Electrostatic powder coating relies on good earthing in order to attain a full even coating. Epoxy zinc rich powder primers are excellent as a sacrificial protective coating but it must be remembered that such a primer coating will give a dry film thickness of about 100-200 microns on tubular constructions and thus effectively is insulating the surface which now needs coating with the correct colour topcoat. Because of this insulation, it becomes increasingly difficult to attain an effective earthing in order to apply the topcoat. The most modern industrial powder guns will cope with this in the hands of a skilled applicator but I have no experience of home/DiY powder guns and would doubt their capability to apply a full topcoat onto a pre-coated surface such as described.
I would be happy to supply you a couple of kilos of primer powder but postage is costly. If you are nearby then you could collect it otherwise it may be worthwhile approaching your friendly neighbourhood powder coater.