Rattle can or Powdercoat?

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CRASH

CRASH

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I'm wrestling with a question. I'm going to build a bike for my son. I don't want to spend a fortune. However, since it's from me and he's a kid who will probably drop it, run it into something, etc, I want it to last, so I'm thinking of powdercoating it. On the flip side of that, powdercoating is expensive and I wouldn't be the one doing it. If I were to paint it, it would be rattle can primer and rattle can satin black. I've never painted a bike before, so it may not look as professional.

Thoughts?
 
do you want the bike to special or just something to ride? I also use the thought of what bike am I building? Powdercoating here in South Texas runs right at $100 for a single stage. 2 stage coating is 15 -20 more but the durability is fantastic.
 
It's pretty hard to screw up satin black. (although I'm sure I could manage) But a rattle can paint job won't survive a kid. Figure too, you'll spend upwards of fifty or sixty bucks by the time you buy stripper, primer, paint, sandpaper, steel wool, etc. You can probably get your frame and forks powder coated for under a hundred bucks, and powder coating is darn near bulletproof. I'd go powder.

JWM
 
It's the age old question of quality vs. cost.

Chances are, he'll either outgrow it, or decide to change the color because Jimmy down the street has a new <insert color here> bike, so he wants a new <insert color here> bike too, etc, etc,.....

My advice, start with a good quality primer (if you go bare metal do an etching primer first) and shoot it with a tough, durable paint like the stuff for BBQ grills or exhaust. They cost a few bucks more, but it will buy you time. In the meantime, while he's thrashing around on his new satin black BBQ bike, scout out some small powdercoating shops. I found mine through an auto restoration garage, I can get a frame/fork blasted and coated for $60 now (granted it's a 45 minute drive to get there, but it's for a bike, right?).

Just my .02

Good luck!

Cheers,
Dr. T
 
then again... if the rattle can chips easy, it's also easy to touch up when it's flat or satin black.
 
IMHO - Nothing looks as good as powder coat. very durable too.
(on my Datsun 510 build, we powdered everything that would go into the oven and survive the heat).

But, all the replies above should be taken into consideration.

As for rattle can, my experience with Dupli-Color is this:
You can get some very nice colors, and very nice smooth paint jobs. Lots of great color choices.
but,
Dupli-Color is VERY FRAGILE. VERY Prone to chipping,
and,
Yes, I did everything right, plenty of time to cure, etc. D-C used from Primer to Clear coat, no brand mixing.

I have one bike that still chips if I look at it wrong, and I painted it 2 years ago, and it sits in a protected shed. :(

I have not settled on a different brand, but I have other rattle can jobs I did that are much more durable.

Just my .02.
 
@Jerrykr;
That has been my experience with Duplicolor as well. I have a '56 Starlet that I gave a rattle can paint job back in 1980. I used Krylon from the old Standard Brands paint stores. It still looks good. The stuff I've tried to paint in the last few years never comes out well. Even when I'm able to get a clean finish on the paint, the stuff barely sticks to the metal, and falls off if you stare at it too hard. Too, I live in CA, and I have no doubt that our paint is reformulated to save some African butterfly or other from toxic fumes. So- you know- who cares if the paint don't stick as long as it saves the earth.
As far as the two tone- Two tone is very difficult with powder coat. I've heard of shops that have some sort of high temp masking that survives the kiln, but the folks who did my bike didn't have it.

JWM
 
Since you are thinking satin black anyway why not just use that spray on truck bed liner? Easy to apply, cheap, and indestructible.
 
If you go rattle can do not use krylon it sucks doesn't stick well an takes a lot of prep an cure time not sure why but it will chip easly I have to repaint my build-off bike already
 
I wouldn't think that the masking would need to be heat resistant, just insulated so that the charged paint particles would not stick to it. i would think that it would not go into the kiln until both colors were on. :?:
 
I've never masked powder and tried 2 color, but I can't imagine that the steps would be any different than paint.

ie: shoot and cure (bake) the under lying color, mask, shoot the main color and bake, and then peel the masking off.

I can't imagine that you could peel the masking off an unbaked color coat. the powder would fall apart at the edges, I'd guess.

never done it, so I stand to be corrected. :D

(I was involved in a lot of one color powder coat.)
 
Some of you guys have mentioned the rattle can paint chipping, but powder coat can chip too and when it does its pretty ugly, my mountainbike has quite a few deep chips out of the factory powder coat (of course it's a mountain bike, so war wounds just add character).

Once something is powder coated, is it ever possible to strip it off and redo it? I am trying to decide on a method of painting my Grandad's old steel frame, obviously because its a bit sentimental I want something that will last and would be able to be refurbished in the future if it got damaged. The painter that I talked to told me that powder coating couldn't be removed.
 
Here is a pic of my son's bike- he's 11 and rides (treats) it like his other bikes, it's rattle canned and takes a beating. After a cruise or a trailer haul to ride outside of Denver a simple touch up and it's good to go.

There are shops here that if you can wait for the day, they will give you a discount on the coating- Monday is everything white, Tuesday is everything black. If you are going that route be sure to ask them about that to see about a discount.
OdetodaFink004.jpg
 
I need to go into my local powdercoater and see what's what. I talked to a worker with a strong accent over the phone and that got me no where.

I like that bike! I'm moving in that direction, just not low rider. What are those tires?
 

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