removing powdercoat

noco · Jan 30, 2009

my basket case came with the frame and cradles already powdercoated, but it was not blanked off the way oldbritts tech article suggests

http://www.oldbritts.com/ob_start.html

Is there a tried and true way to remove powdercoat?
I mostly need to remove it on the rear engine cradle where washer-sized bare spots should be. It seems like it would be hard to make a circle in the powdercoat. I was thinking about using a dremel with the right size sanding disc, or painting on paint stripper.
thanks

grandpaul · Jan 30, 2009

Dermel & small grinder wheel.

noco · Jan 30, 2009

can i press the face of the grinder wheel into the powdercoat to make a nice even circle, or use the edge (being careful not to gauge)
cheers

grandpaul · Jan 30, 2009

certain dremel tips have proper faces, others will have a screw in the center, can't use those.

If you use a garnet wheel, it'll cut the powder and leave the steel undisturbed for the most part.

You need to paint the spots right away with Rust-O-Leum.

bill · Jan 30, 2009

you should remove it on both sides not just where the bolts make contact.

windy

Ron L · Jan 30, 2009

you should remove it on both sides not just where the bolts make contact.

Yes, the powder is thick and will slowly "give" and your fasteners will suddenly be loose!

BobV · Jan 30, 2009

I'm just going through this process on my project bike and have used a Como drill/grinder. It's like a Dremel but smaller, so I expect a Dremel will work in the same way. I've found that by using a small wheel or burr, it's possible to actually 'draw' the outline of the area you want to remove - the coating is so thick, that once you have a line it's pretty easy to stick to it and gradually take it down to the metal. It's fairly straight forward then to grind away the material inside the shape.

I did the front engine mount this way and it worked a treat; the cradle is my next job and I thought I would try fitting old bolts and washers and use the washer as a guide to draw the initial outline - I have some small ball burrs which should do the job. The cradle is new, I wonder why they don't charge a little more and do the job properly in the first place? Or maybe even supply them uncoated!

daveh · Jan 31, 2009

Can I ask a question about powder coating? I acquired a frame a while ago that was sand blasted and powder coated, but there were corrosion marks which were not filled in before it was coated. There is only one spot where it looks awful. If I removed the powder coat in say a 2 inch x 2 inch area, and then filled it, could this patch then be re-coated, without doing the entire frame again? Or would it be better to just paint it? What would you use as filler for steel to be powder coated, bearing in mind the heat of the baking process?

grandpaul · Jan 31, 2009

I have not yet a powdercoater that vould guarantee good results doing a "patch". I'd love to do that on 3 or 4 bikes I have, though.

DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN OFF THE SWINGARM BUSHING CONTACT FACES on the tranny cradle! You need to clean all the way rearward at a spacing equal to the diameter of the inner bushing face, so it can slide into place. Also the inside of the swingarm bushing bores if they weren't masked.

noco · Jan 31, 2009

Is it ok to apply Rustoleum to ALL the surfaces I clear of powdercoat?
grounding areas, inside swingarm bush and seat on trans cradle?
thanks

notrunning · Feb 2, 2009

powder coat removal

There are companies out there that remove powdercoating. I had a triumph basket which i removed the powdercoating from the frame/swing arm. They use a chemical bath that basically melts of the plastic from the metal. Cost me about $100 bucks.
Automotive restoring companies can point you in the right direction for a chem bath.
Nothing beats paint. Easy to weld!!!

Thats my 3 cents woth

Keith1069 · Feb 2, 2009

Another way is to mark and mask off what you want removed. Use a small brush and apply paint stripper. The powder will be softened in seconds and can easily be scraped off without power tools.

Coco · Feb 2, 2009

grandpaul said:
I have not yet a powdercoater that vould guarantee good results doing a "patch". I'd love to do that on 3 or 4 bikes I have, though.

DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN OFF THE SWINGARM BUSHING CONTACT FACES on the tranny cradle! You need to clean all the way rearward at a spacing equal to the diameter of the inner bushing face, so it can slide into place. Also the inside of the swingarm bushing bores if they weren't masked.

You'll have to paint the patch as it can't be re coated without melting the original powder coat.

You can use hi-temp Lab Metal as a filler as it can be powder coated over without melting.

daveh · Feb 2, 2009

Thanks Grandpaul, Keith and Coco for those tips. I would have to find a high temperature filler on this side of the pond, since LAB does not seem to be available here. I miss the old stove enamel.

Ron L · Feb 2, 2009

since LAB does not seem to be available here

au contraire! Check this link:

http://www.lab-metal.com/

daveh · Feb 2, 2009

Thanks Ron, and well spotted! I will email the UK distributor and see if they have a retailer in Ireland, or I might get some when I'm next over in England.

Cookie · Feb 2, 2009

I've had pretty good results painting damaged areas of powdercoating. I don't want to tear a bike down because one small area is chipped or damaged, so I've filled it with Bondo, primed, and painted a frame rail on my Chang. I found a black that is a pretty close match and I used the usual tactic on repairs that one uses spotting a car fender or such.
Do as large an area as possible and hide the edge at a joint, under my seat, and the other end under the tank.
I haven't had anybody notice the frame paint repair yet, or if they did nobody has said anything.
Experiment with a covered area, like under your tank, first to see if you get a good match and the paint sticks well.

JimP · Feb 2, 2009

The paint remover technique to make a "spot-face" around bolt holes worked well for me (Norbsa gave me the suggestion). I found I needed to use 3 layers of masking tape to keep the remover from bleeding through! I used an Xacto blade in a compass-style circle cutter to cut out the tape. I think I spent about 2 weeks between the frame, cradle, mounts, swingarm, and battery box!

Coco · Feb 2, 2009

Damn. I have to do this soon. I started doing a few spots then shelved everything for a while as it's not a fun job.

This thread is a painful reminder I have some powder coat still to be removed from the tranny cradle, motor mounts and iso mounts.

Is there a certain brand of stripper I should be buying? I bought a small jar's worth from the powder coater that did my frame and it's dried up. I'd rather eat glass than go back and try to buy more from him so I'd like to buy my own.

The stuff I got was a goopy, blue stripper of some sort.

norbsa48503 · Feb 2, 2009

In the States we get Aircraft stripper for this job. It is very strong, when they say use in a ventilated area they are not kidding. Yea it was very cold and well I just had to get this job done and well just open the door a crack.

removing powdercoat

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