Project Checkbook; Chris' Small Project
- Thread starter chrisf
- Start date
They should be able to powdercoat it all, and if the spokes are good, sure you could reuse them. Some have even powdercoated the spokes and left the nipples plain. But coating 80 or so spokes might be expensive - lots of parts to handle.
Check with your coater on the chrome rims, but they should be sandblasting everything first and lots of people have coated rims.
Replacement spokes might be pretty cheap too. Stainless are expensive, but regular spokes should be about $30 a set.
Check with your coater on the chrome rims, but they should be sandblasting everything first and lots of people have coated rims.
Replacement spokes might be pretty cheap too. Stainless are expensive, but regular spokes should be about $30 a set.
Just dropped everything off at powder. Talk about sticker shock!
Frame $145 coat / $65 blast
misc pieces $85 / $31 blast
tank $125 / $31 blast
Sum total: $482!!!
That was a about $180 more than I initially estimated. I also didn't know this, but the cermic chrome coating that goes on the tank is a wet process that is baked dry. Once dry, it goes in a tumbler with cermaic media to give it that dull, raw aluminum color. The whole bike is going to look amazing, but it turned out to be much more expensive that I initially hoped.
Still, I cannot wait to see the look in my bother's eyes when he sees his bike. I think it will be worth it.
--Chris
Frame $145 coat / $65 blast
misc pieces $85 / $31 blast
tank $125 / $31 blast
Sum total: $482!!!
That was a about $180 more than I initially estimated. I also didn't know this, but the cermic chrome coating that goes on the tank is a wet process that is baked dry. Once dry, it goes in a tumbler with cermaic media to give it that dull, raw aluminum color. The whole bike is going to look amazing, but it turned out to be much more expensive that I initially hoped.
Still, I cannot wait to see the look in my bother's eyes when he sees his bike. I think it will be worth it.
--Chris
Well, the powder is a bit more than I paid, but I had mine done by an industrial shop and paid cash. I paid $225 for a frame, couple of swingarms and a bunch of miscellaneos small mounting brackets etc. That included blasting everything clean etc. so about $100 less than you paid.
What are you having done to the tank? For $160 a completely finished tank sounds like a bargain compared to a paint job. Is all the powder the same color? I paid $50 on top of everything I had done to have one part coated in silver vs. the black for everything else. Just a setup cost.
What are you having done to the tank? For $160 a completely finished tank sounds like a bargain compared to a paint job. Is all the powder the same color? I paid $50 on top of everything I had done to have one part coated in silver vs. the black for everything else. Just a setup cost.
Hi TinTin:
Everything is powdered the same color: satin black. The tank will be coated with silver exhaust coating. It's basically liquidfied ceramic and aluminum. Once on, it behaves like aluminum and even polishes like aluminum. The downside is that it is not 100% smooth. Because of the many steps involved, the tank price isn't that bad. It is also nice that it will match the aluminum seat. For the money though, I should have just bought a real aluminum tank. Live and learn.
The place that's doing the work is very industrial as well. When I was getting stuff powdercoated for my car, they were the cheapest in the metroplex. Below are some pictures of the process:
--Chris
Everything is powdered the same color: satin black. The tank will be coated with silver exhaust coating. It's basically liquidfied ceramic and aluminum. Once on, it behaves like aluminum and even polishes like aluminum. The downside is that it is not 100% smooth. Because of the many steps involved, the tank price isn't that bad. It is also nice that it will match the aluminum seat. For the money though, I should have just bought a real aluminum tank. Live and learn.
The place that's doing the work is very industrial as well. When I was getting stuff powdercoated for my car, they were the cheapest in the metroplex. Below are some pictures of the process:
--Chris
Well, a real alloy tank would set you back about 5 times what you're paying for the coating, and that would be a deal if you could find one for the price. So I think you're going the right way! You can always keep your eyes open for a deal on an alloy tank.
When you find one, you'll be able to sell your ceramic coated tank for at least what you paid to have it coated, maybe more.
When you find one, you'll be able to sell your ceramic coated tank for at least what you paid to have it coated, maybe more.
OK, last Friday I picked everything up from the coaters. For the most part, they did a pretty good job. There are some places where they got it on thick on the frame. Powdering frames like these must be hard, so I don’t really hold them to it. That said, the engine covers up most of the issues.
I love the alumicote look, but I did not realize how ‘best-effort’ it is. My tank came out pretty good, but it isn’t perfect. Basically, when looking at it closely, it looks like hand worked aluminum. Luckily, this works well with the theme. If it was a show bike, I would be pissed.
