Painting vs. powdercoating

T

tasslehawf

New Member
I have recently started a project to restore a '67 CB160. It was going to be a quick fix, but I've decided to tear down the whole bike and refinish rusting parts (also do some electrical restoration). The question is: which parts do I powdercoat and which do I paint. The frame is an obvious choice for powdercoating, but beyond that I'm unsure. Any fairly thing metal would need to be painted as it wouldn't survive the sandblasting too well, but other parts like the headlight housing... not sure.

Also can anyone recommend a painter/powdercoater in Austin, TX. Thanks.

Here's the CB160 before it got too badly torn apart:
cb160_2.jpg
 
Cool bike, you should start a build thread on it. As per paint v. powdercoat, you can either paint of powdercoat whatever you want. Parts that would have more contact wear with the rider, and that you basically never want to show wear would be a good candidate to powdercoat, seeing as how it is more durable...but if you paint things with the necessary prep work, that should last too. If you have the money to get things powdercoated, go for it.

Sorry I can't help with powdercoating in Texas, I'm nowhere near there. If you skim around some of the threads though, you should be able to find one. Good luck.
 
Normally the "pretty" stuff is the last thing to do after you have built a well sorted bike.
 
surffly said:
Normally the "pretty" stuff is the last thing to do after you have built a well sorted bike.
Click to expand...

I want to get the frame done before I start reassembling things, but point taken.
 
have you finished all the fab work on the frame? Like rearset mounts, steering damper, detabed, added tabs to replace the ones you cut off and didnt realize you needed...ect ect

PC and Paint are just different. No "this is better for this" kinda thing. They even cost the same.
 
tasslehawf said:
I want to get the frame done before I start reassembling things, but point taken.
Click to expand...

Complete the bike first, then tear down and paint or powdercoat. Revisions along the way toward the end of the build are likely to require a cut or a grind here or there, or welding on of a tab or a mount. If you already have the frame powdercoated, it will really piss you off.

All that stuff is for the end unless you are not making any changes to the bike.
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
Complete the bike first, then tear down and paint or powdercoat. Revisions along the way toward the end of the build are likely to require a cut or a grind here or there, or welding on of a tab or a mount. If you already have the frame powdercoated, it will really piss you off.

All that stuff is for the end unless you are not making any changes to the bike.
Click to expand...

+1
 
AlphaDogChoppers said:
Complete the bike first, then tear down and paint or powdercoat. Revisions along the way toward the end of the build are likely to require a cut or a grind here or there, or welding on of a tab or a mount. If you already have the frame powdercoated, it will really piss you off.

All that stuff is for the end unless you are not making any changes to the bike.
Click to expand...

Would it make sense to get the frame sandblasted at this stage?
 
surffly said:
Why? Just to let the metal sit exposed and rust?
Click to expand...

What he meant to say was "no, that would be a bad idea. Bare steel should be coated asap as to prevent rust and corrosion".
 
VonYinzer said:
Bare steel should be coated asap as to prevent rust and corrosion".
Click to expand...

Agreed. Started my first project by sandblasting first. Had to sandblast again because of surface rust. From now on, sandblasting will happen the same day as powdercoating or painting.
 
If IF you feel you need to blast it right after throw a coat of primer on it . I thought i had my frame done so i PCed it and the was a mistake. As im almost done ive added rearset,cut a tab i thought i was going to use but didnt . Its be a learning lesson LOL Thankfully i found a matching black paint to fix it but its not perfect now in my eye.
 
Highpoint Powder Coating in Liberty Hill has done some work for our shop before, with good results.
Not Austin, but pretty damn close.

3051 N Highway 183
Building 2, Suite 7
Liberty Hill, Tx
Ph# 512 853 9167
 
The problem you mention about hurting the parts from blasting only show that your blaster does not know his business as most of them don't. All metal parts can be coated and I can't think of one instance where paint would be better than powder. The first bike I built must have gone together and apart 100 times before I was done. Everyday a new part came in I would put it together with the new part and then take it apart again. By the time you are ready for powder/paint/polish you should be able to do this in your sleep. When starting a new build you should always make sure the bike is running correctly, is tuned, and is ridden for awhile before making modifications to it. As Alpha Dog and others mentioned you want to make sure all the tabs and little issues have been sorted before tearing down and doing the pretty to it. Once you get powder and polish back and assemble it it "should" be finished. I can completely disassemble my XR1350 Sportster in less than an hour, takes about 2 to put it back together.
 
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