Painting over chrome (wheels, fenders. etc.) or powder coat?

edelweiss

edelweiss

Coast to Coast
Hi all,
Sorry of this is a duplicate thread by chance.

1. I have a '71 CB500 and have seen in the thread that a member said chrome wheels can be sand blasted before powder coating? Is this true?
2. If I plan to paint with a rattle can, will sanding the chrome be enough to accept and hold self etching primer?

Thanks!

John
 
I just went through this for my 175 hoops. I was going to paint them myself but after looking at process to get the paint to bite to the chrome I opted to have them powder coated. I tore them down and dropped off the hoops to a small shop. I them in hand 2 days later with a nice semi-gloss black coating!

Cost me $100 for them to get blasted and coated. Totally worth it for me as my actual time to work on the bike is limited. Going to do again for my 350 when the time comes.

-Bryce
 
Really?

My local powder coater was telling me I had to have the wheels chemically stripped (dipped) and said it was $200/wheel!!! So a sandblaster will take all the chrome off??? Sorry to ask the same question again, but it would be great just to have them blasted... then the powder coater will be happy.

John
 
edelweiss said:
Sorry, when you say hoops, do you mean the wheels without spokes? (I'm a newbie).

Thanks!
John
Click to expand...

Spoke wheels consist of a Hoop(Rim), spokes, and hub.
 
Sand blasting is sufficient for paint, unless the chrome is peeling heavily. I've blasted and painted chrome many times and put them through hard use without any issues. I'd suggest something like aluminum oxide / walnut shell mix for media. I cannot comment on powder though.


Chemically stripping should not cost that much, if you decide to strip them, call up a chrome shop. I get boxes of chrome parts including wheels stripped for $50-75 for everything..
 
Chrome plating companies have become quite the PITA these days. Many areas including in mine will not strip chrome unless they get the job to rechrome it. Check your local platers.
 
JohnGoFast said:
Chemically stripping should not cost that much, if you decide to strip them, call up a chrome shop. I get boxes of chrome parts including wheels stripped for $50-75 for everything..
Click to expand...

Must be different in Pittsburgh then, the one local shop quoted me about $150 just to strip the hoops! Then I still would of paid to get them coated.

The powdercoater I went to said he had no trouble blasting through the chrome and took about 45 minutes for both. Like I said, $100 out the door and they look pretty good! Probably way better than I could of done with sandpaper/sander and a rattle can. Not to mention the time I would have spent doing it.

before:
33u5ojt.jpg


after:
30l2z3c.jpg


-Bryce

edit: adding pic
 
Powder coater here... IF your chrome is in perfect condition (structurally, not cosmetically) its fine to blast and coat. It will eventually fail when the chrome does.

If there is light surface rust, minor pitting, etc (NO flaking) its fine (though many shops won't) to blast and coat. It will fail when the chrome does or when the rust finally makes it through.

If there is ANY flaking, they need to be stripped. You can do this yourself if you have the time and materials. (Google "chemical chrome removal")

The moral of the story is: the top coat is only as reliable as the base coat.

I have coated about a hundred brand new chrome parts with candy or "black" chrome/smoke powders and they hold up as well as blasted or bare steel... the chromium itself isn't the problem, it's the condition of the chrome that's important.
 
ive sent really rusted rims out for powder and they came back perfect. Normally costs me 50 euros for a set. Then again, ive got a steady relationship with the coater ( i mean, i bring stuff on a regular basis)

Complete bikes (frame, swinger, triples, brackets, rims, hubs, bars, jiffy, centerstand) for 250,- gloss black only. fancy colors are 50 more.
 
There are some really cool self-leveling primers that make that kind of work so simple. Think high-build spray on primer that you don't have to sand!

I've done a few severely pitted pot metal parts that came out smooth as glass using that stuff. It's like magic!

-Deek
 
Bert Jan said:
ive sent really rusted rims out for powder and they came back perfect. Normally costs me 50 euros for a set. Then again, ive got a steady relationship with the coater ( i mean, i bring stuff on a regular basis)

Complete bikes (frame, swinger, triples, brackets, rims, hubs, bars, jiffy, centerstand) for 250,- gloss black only. fancy colors are 50 more.
Click to expand...

What, Candy and flowers? :) Unless you find a coater working out of their garage for beer and cigarette money you won't find that pricing in the states. That's only $335. You would be at at least $500 for that lot of parts. Fancy color wouldn't raise the price unless it was a color we didn't stock then it would go up whatever the powder cost to get in. Any 2 stage color (metallic or Candy) would go up 50%.
 
That's about the same or higher than I'd pay here in Utah for that lot of parts blasted and PC gloss black from a hand full of established shops. My last bike was a list a bit larger than that a came in at $300 (last year). Custom blue that I was looking at was quoted at $550 though.
 
$350 is reasonable for gloss black on that lot. Especially if the parts are clean to begin with.

Unless you're doing custom powder, multi-stage, disassembly, etc., plain steel parts are cake.

-Deek
 
Thanks everybody!

Found this cool info. Several ways to strip chrome (DYI):

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Chrome-Plating
 
ILoveThumpers said:
$350 is reasonable for gloss black on that lot. Especially if the parts are clean to begin with.

Unless you're doing custom powder, multi-stage, disassembly, etc., plain steel parts are cake.

-Deek
Click to expand...
Just curious, what do you get to strip, blast, mask, plug, and coat a full size frame and swing arm?
 
When I did powder coating on the side, I charged $250 plus shop time for any disassembly for most frame/swingarm coating. (Black or another single-stage color)

I only do my own parts nowadays, though... or in trade for parts/welding. Too much time/energy to keep up with everything, ya know?

-Deek
 
ILoveThumpers said:
When I did powder coating on the side, I charged $250 plus shop time for any disassembly for most frame/swingarm coating. (Black or another single-stage color)

I only do my own parts nowadays, though... or in trade for parts/welding. Too much time/energy to keep up with everything, ya know?

-Deek
Click to expand...

There's no one in the business I know of that would do triples, brackets, rims, hubs, bars, jiffy, centerstand for $100.
 
There's a shop in my neck of the woods (GRT Racing, huge dirt track car builder) that powder coats race car frames. Big, big oven. I can have a bike, tank, wheels, frame, everything done for $150 as long as I clean it myself. They charge $100 additional if they have to blast themselves.
 
We call those "Hang em and Bang em" shops. Rarely will you get the quality of work from them that you would from a true custom coating shop. I have one of them in my area and I get a lot of work from their disgruntled customers.
 
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