powder coating a frame?

[randygrapes218]

i am new to this powder coating like a few others here. i am going to be powder coating an aluminum dirtbike frame and curing it with a lamp and was wonder if anyone could give me some tips, like what is the best way and chemical to clean the frame with? what type of powder to use ie. epoxy, polyuerathane ect., what is best for resistence to chiping and wearing? he whats to go with a gun metal silver type color. maybe dale has some tips for me, i read all the posts on this board (that are recent)and you sound like you could help me out ....any help would be great... thanks in advance... randy

[bzer1]

Well I'm not Dale...will I do?

How many watts is your lamp? Although it can be done with a lamp I would suggest for the sake of a desirable outcome I would cure it in an oven. Of course if you're using a high wattage lamp and good reflectors you might pull it off. I'm assuming you're coating a CR or CRF frame. You'll probably want to have it glass beaded to make sure the powder will adhere the way you want it to. Here's how I would do it. Strip the bike down and degrease it. After that, clean it with simple green or castrol super clean and pressure wash it. DON"T do it in the sun as these cleaners WILL leave a residue on the frame and they will leach into pits in the material. Glass bead the entire frame...Don't forget to mask off the goose neck. Clean it down with MEK in a well ventilated area. Heat it up for out gassing purposes, shoot it and cure. If I were going to cure using a lamp I would use at least a 3000 watt lamp or two. Also make sure that you mask off any in frame threads or holes that use a collared bolt. You don't want to have to clean cured powder from threads or bolt holes. This is actually a pretty big job but should come out very nice. Good luck!!

PS. I think I would choose polyuerathane.

[DALE]

Well I'm Dale... I'll do
An oven is always preferred but you can do it with lamps.
Polyester or uerathane will both work nicely, avoid epoxy unless clear coating, it will fade in sunlight. MEK works but is nasty there are friendly cleaners out there that work just fine , check the Caswell site. Besure to get all the grease and oil out of it ( you would be amazed how much can come out of a weld). The best tip I can give you is when you think it's prepped perfectly -- prep it again.

[randygrapes218]

thanks guys.. if i do the frame i will let you know how it came out. i dont have an oven big enough so i know it is going to be a pain so i dont really want to do it. one other thing when i bought the gun it came with some powder but it doesnt say what type of powder it is, is there anyway to know? thanks again for the responses

[DALE]

It probably is polyester, might be Uerathane, highly unlikely that it's Epoxy.

[johnny933]

I just did a frame this weekend for a yamaha Atv in prismatic black.
I used the m1500 lamp for most of it and than I used a heater head(propane) to finish it up. I didnt have a oven to fit this frame into, so I went this route. I just kept monitering the temp. and keep moving the heaters. It turned out real well.
Best of luck with you project.

heres a pic of the frame:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMESE%3AIT