Trail bike - Powdercoat or paint?

Apextrans · Oct 11, 2012

What is more common? I'm trying to stay on a tight budget rebuilding this thing. frame looks to be PC'd but chipped in places. Wanna do the swingarm and a arms as well. PC is more durable but I could touch up the paint if I went that route. I got a quote of 500-700 to PC the 3 components.

What do you guys suggest?

ISU · Oct 11, 2012

500-700 DOLLARS!? I got my frame and a-arms PC'd for 50 bucks. I know I got a screaming deal but 700 dollars seems insane to me. I did all my own sandblasting though

brewer_brewer · Oct 11, 2012

I got my frame, all mounts, hubs, all brackets and such done for $275

that includes blasting everything, powdercoating everything and I even got black chrome on my frame (which is essentially 2 full coats of powder)

you should not pay any more than 300 otherwise you are getting ripped off

fx4pitrone · Oct 11, 2012

Frame, upper and lower arms, hubs... $300 cash... includes blasting and clearcoat on the arms..... Yours seems WAY high... shop around some more. Maybe just leave it alone and do it later down the road... do a budget build. If you like the frame color, run it! can always go back and do it up nice later....

spiritaces · Oct 11, 2012

Yeah I got my frame, stem, headstay, skid plate, handlebar clamps, and motor mounts done for $215 and that included sandblasting

Apextrans · Oct 11, 2012

Jesus, it was only a ballpark quote of the phone without them seeing everything but it sounds like I'm getting screwed! I'll keep shopping . Is painting a waste of time?

red88r · Oct 11, 2012

Apextrans said:
Jesus, it was only a ballpark quote of the phone without them seeing everything but it sounds like I'm getting screwed! I'll keep shopping . Is painting a waste of time?

Painting is fine and will hold up very well. We had one painted 10+ years ago and it still looks pretty good. The only problem is paint is expensive and automotive shops get big money to paint frames imo. A local paint shop actually told me to get mine powdercoated recently-he said he would be higher than powdercoat.

Apextrans · Oct 11, 2012

I didn't even think of that. I meant spray cans then clear coat from cans, but my best friend owns a body shop..... I'll talk to him tomorrow. I know he's still got the leftover paint from spraying my pickup and those are the colors I want anyway. Couple cases of beer might do the trick. Hell I could spray it myself. Damn I'm dumb sometimes....

fastfail · Oct 11, 2012

Search for other PC places. I did paint once and regreated it after my first damn ride. Just did every single piece on my 88 with black PC and I have about 700 in it. That's all the blasting(some parts were chrome) and finding cracks in my frame as well. It looks amazing now and will always PC.

pantera1975 · Oct 11, 2012

I paid $230.00 for PC all the parts to be red that were originally and all the black on my ATC. I blasted it for the place and painted my own swing arm. Depending on how good of paint you use it can be pretty pricey. Spray can stuff will get wreck from carb cleaner and wash off then brake cleaner and gas will soften the paint pretty easy if you leave it on there to long. I paint at my job so I can mix what I need for paint and pay cost for it which can be 100% mark up at a auto parts store.

Apextrans · Oct 11, 2012

Ok, back to pc shopping.

2R's · Oct 11, 2012

shop no more .. for powdercaoting

if ya want to have it done by someone who knows how to do a great job & has lots of experience doin atc's , quads, bikes etc.. shoot me a pm .. only saying cause I see your md .. would cheap shippin it or bring it about 1 hour to do it ..

thesmith87250r · Oct 11, 2012

I got my frame and swinger blasted for 20$ at a local concrete place . bought 6 cans of pj1 honda red used five cans. 13+ years and the only touch ups are where my boots rub the frame i 'm still using the 6th can for touch ups .and something i learned years later do not put pj1 clear on pj1 honda red it dulls it out . read that on pj1 website.

Apextrans · Oct 11, 2012

2R's, pm sent. Thanks

D Bergstrom · Oct 11, 2012

I would go with powdercoat, will hold up alot better then paint. I have painted a couple of frames over the years, and even after doing decent prep work, they still look bad pretty quick, just to easy to chip up. I will never paint another frame again.

For sure shop around on powdercoat, but don't be surprised if the cost is still higher then what other people are getting it done for. I have been using the same powder coat guy now for over 4 years, and I have good deal going with him, but before that, I was paying over $300 just for a frame. Yes I did shop around, and that was the best price I could find locally. Price of powdercoating can vary greatly depending on your location.

Doug

rsss396 · Oct 11, 2012

http://www.trx250r.org/

2R's · Oct 11, 2012

vein is not the most durable .. Glossy Black is ...reason ...this color has evolved many times to become the hardest /most durable finish available ..why ? .. because many many type of industrial apllications exist for it ...therefore that color has rec'd the most efforts to become the toughest ..end of story!
besides the color glossy Black .. the durabilty ..is usually a result of the best preparation or not !

rsss396 · Oct 11, 2012

http://www.trx250r.org/

2R's · Oct 11, 2012

& I wont argue either ... no need for that here ...
yet the important thing is prep & application .. even the best can mess up both real easily .. lol ..
damp days can be the most perplexing of all conditions .. formula's could OFF be upon receipt of powder .. stactic adhesion can go south in hurry ..there are many variables .. that help or hurt powdercoating technique & skills ..

Pricecheck · Oct 29, 2012

I just recently ripped apart my R and got the frame, swing arm, all hubs, rear rotor hub and motor mounts coated with alien silver and a lollipop red top coat. This was after the guy blasted all of them as well. He charged $330 after tax. Wish it was a little cheaper but I couldn't fit the frame in my oven to do it myself. I ride a lot of trails and it holds up quite well. It doesn't hold up to dragging the belly across a large rock.

It's a choice I spent awhile to make but I looked at coating it as a good foundation for my build. As I get new a-arms and other future parts, they will be coated as well. If you think about what pieces see the most use it is the frame, swing arm, pegs, and a-arms.

I'd personally get it coated and drool over the results! The price does depend on where you live but I wouldn't pay over $350 to have what I had done. If you choose to paint it, prep it well.

Trail bike - Powdercoat or paint?

Apextrans

ISU

brewer_brewer

fx4pitrone

spiritaces

Apextrans

red88r

Apextrans

fastfail

pantera1975

Apextrans

2R's

thesmith87250r

Apextrans

D Bergstrom

rsss396

2R's

rsss396

2R's

Pricecheck

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