Thread: powdercoating 32 frame , fenderless

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i was at my local powdercoating shop today and seen a frame come out of the shop finished (motorcycle) the gloss was very high ad the owner of the shop says powdercoating is very strong . my question is im doing my car black (32 highboy) and he quoted me about 550.00 to do my frame , they do all prep work with it . looks like the hi gloss black will look great and the frame will be durable . they also told me about a puddy that is hi temp for my smoothing ofany welds and stuff too..

so what do you think or what have you heard about this , keep in mind my whole frame is exposed .

thanks kevin

Go for it.

Make sure you want the black. There's many other options depending on what color you make the body etc. Personally I like the look of nice welds and coat 'em as is.

Kitz

oh yeah my car is going all black and polished .. just something about a all black roadster with a big polished supercharged small block ....

You might take a close look at a larger, flat surface to see if
the powder coat quality is right for your taste. Normally, powder
coating cures to something that resembles orange peel. Although
minor, it may not be what you want on your frame. The motorcycle
frame is small, round tubing so it doesnt show the surface
irregularities quite as much.

I have seen fenders and hoods that were powder coated and
then color sanded and buffed. This really looked nice.

The putty that you are referring to is a conductive filler that the powder
coat guys use to fill weld pinholes, etc. You might talk to the
supplier regarding the longevity of the filler in a mildly flexing application
such as a frame....it will probably work since bondo is commonly
used on a wet painted frame for the same purpose.

mike in tucson

We have all of our products powder coated. I also powder coat my frames and any parts for my cars. It is the best process I have found, there are many powder coaters out there just pick a good one. a lot of it is in the cleaning process, they can wash it or blast it. I prefer blasting it for cleanliness and adhesion.

AND.....
one of the nice things about powder coat is the toughness.
You dont get swirl marks when you wash or wipe off the
part. Our Jeep has an aluminum body that was coated
almost four years ago and it only shows the most aggressive
scratches (tree branches dont scratch but rocks do). The
frame powder coat is also great. We also had a Land Cruiser
frame powder coated black recently and it looks great...it's a
driver, not a show vehicle.

There are powders intended for outdoor use (UV resistant) and
for indoor use. Your application depends upon how much UV
exposure that your car will get; probably either will work.

For your welds, you might look at some that have been coated
without putty....they dont look that bad if the weld is a clean
one to begin with.

mike in tucson

thanks guys for the replys , this is a professional shop that does lots of hot rods and choppers the quality looks great . but thanks for the fyI . they also seem very concence about quality , they say if it doesnt look perfect they blast frame off and redo it . far as prep they blast the frame first . and since im using a new chassis this will be a walk in the park for them .

You can't have it prepped and painted for that price by anybody that's worth hiring..............if you do it yourself then it's different. Lots of pluses with a powder coat frame as long as you don't get it coated until you're absolutely sure all fab work is done.

Now for a potential kicker....................not all blacks are the same (tone, shade, color, whichever word you comprehend). Some blacks are a grey tone, some a brownish (muddy) tone, and so on. To my eye one of the truest blacks is PPG DCC single stage (it can be cleared over too) If the black they do pleases your eye, then you'll want to find a paint that matches it unless you don't give a rip.

yeah well that was one of my conserns but the shop reminded me about our paint store down te road they can match any paint colorwith their paint camera that they put up to your color , the shop is awesome for that (paint store) . it really seems the more i think the more i want to do it . the same place also has a rechroming service as well so i tink im going to have all ends tied with this placeand the best thing is it is in my town !!

My complaints with powder coating have been mentioned, but here goes:

1. The shade, gloss, and depth of shine is determined by what the powder coater has in the gun that day, whether it matches the rest of the project or not. No cut and buff with this stuff, once it's on, it's on.

2. Can't touch it up. One good rock chip and there ya go with a big chip. Only thing you can do is dab a bit of paint on it....after considerable time getting the paint to match. With paint I can do a bit of sanding and blending and it looks brand new. Same thing applies if I forgot about one bracket or choose to change something in the future.

3. The stuff is so thick, everything "grows" when it's powdercoated. All the thread holes have to have a chaser run through them and most of the holes in brackets for attaching components have to be redrilled...

It does look good. Some I've seen fade terribly after a season or two, others become permantly dull. I'm sure there are different qualities of powder and coaters, just some things to consider. Think I'll stick to molding, smoothing, and painting mine..... Easier and cheaper is not necessarily better.

well there is alot to consider and i appreciate all the responces , im still in mock up stage with the car and body so ill have a few months too kick it around , however i have a few small things to get coated so maybe ill test him that way as well . but i have heard great things about this shop as well as how miticulous he seems to be also

I'm like you, I have never had anything powder coated, but want to try something just to see what it turns out like. I have a guy near us who does it, and I plan to drop off something as a test. My Son is talking about having the framework for his tonneau cover done that way, as he doesn't feel like spending hours and hours prepping it for paint.

We'll see.

Don

A friend of mine that has worked at some of the most "well known" Hot Rod shops in Southern California said they almost always have the frames on their 32 High Boy builds "partially" powdercoated. They request that the visable outside edges of the frame be taped off and left bare and then paint them with the body. All of the inside edges, cross members, brackets, etc. are powdercoated for durability.

He cautioned me that if I powdercoated the outsides of the frame and then tried to match the color I would be disapointed. "Paint" does not look the same "as plastic" even if the color is the same. You see alot of frame on a 32 High Boy.

I'd go with paint - and have done so with my 32 highboy.

Polyurethanes are pretty tough and the nice part is, if you have to change a bracket or the like some paint and buffing will match things up.

My 32 has a gasser style rear bumper that's powdered and it's hanging in there pretty well shine-wise since it gets waxed when the car gets waxed.
(Black car, black bumper.)

Other suspension parts that were powdered still look good although the front transverse spring has gotten a touch dull.
Some wax will probably bring it back.

Dave's not kidding when he say's stuff that's powdered grows.
The gasser bumper required thin stainless washers in the double shear bracket area to space it out properly for the bumper bracket proper prior to welding.
After powdering, the double bracket sans spacer washers fit the bumper bracket just fine.

I plan to have some stuff powdered on my 31 on 32 rails roadster project, but not as much as I did on the 32.
A good tough paint should work out on the suspension components almost as good as powder.

And I may make some new suspension stuff out of stainless - easy pieces like tie rod, drag link etc. and polish them then there'll be no powder/paint worries....

Originally Posted by C9x

I'd go with paint -

And I may make some new suspension stuff out of stainless - easy pieces like tie rod, drag link etc. and polish them then there'll be no powder/paint worries....

I agree ... powder coating looks good ... until you set it next to a painted surface ...



On my current 32 3W project, I had the 57 Ford 9 inch rear powder coated along with the backing plates. I thought they turned out great. Then, I installed the rear end under the chassis ... and was disappointed

No where near as good looking as the frame rails ( painted ) ... the shine is just not there ... when compared to paint. It will be OK ... under the coupe when I get the entire car finished ... but I am glad I do not do the frame in powder coating.