Wet Paint on Powder coat.

[Stick Legs]

I have a frame that was powder coated a while back and I am not a fan of the colour. I was planning on stripping it and painting it myself something more pleasing to my eye.
What is the best type of paint to use, anything I should watch for?

 

[jamabikes]

its very difficult to get paint to stick to powder well. unfotunately its very difficult to remove powder too. although its easy enough to powder coat over powdercoat....

if you go down the home spray route plasticoat sticks to powdercoat ok, but does chip easily when on.

 

[Stick Legs]

Acid etch primers? Would they work?

 

[REKIBorter]

My Rocky Mountain is wet paint on powder coat. Looks gorgeous. Don't know how they do it, sorry.

 

[marin man]

Buy plastic primer for car bumpers.....give it three really thin coats and leave it for three hours before putting the top coat on......done it loadsa times

 

[marin man]

Oh yeah...dont use acid etch primer as it may cause the powder coat to react...

 

[Stick Legs]

Thanks Marin man, I have some of that stuff at home, yellow colour stuff.
It is for a road bike so hard wearing is not so important.

Cheers.

 

[Dr S]

Hold on, hold on. :roll:

Many bikes over the years are wet over powder- Fats and Salsas are two of many. Wet paint will stick to powder with no primer required but does need carefull prep.
First off make sure the frame is spotless. That means everywhere, especially around BB and headset if it has been built up since powder. This can be done firstly with hot soapy water and then ideally with pre-paint (some good motor shops have it).
Then you need to key the surface. 600 grit wet and dry is ideal. Make sure you get into all the nooks and crannies.

Now you can continue as a regular repaint, dry, degrease, tack, paint etc.

It is an absolute myth that paint doesn't stick to powder- i have been painting over powder for 20 years and have yet to have a problem when correct prep has been done.

Si

 

[mikee]

was going to say that DrS was doing this as we speak with the jason mc roy salsa
i have touched up motor cycle frames over the years that have been
powder coated , i use nothing more than plasticote eitherv sprayed on
or sprayed into a cup and applied by brush

as si says as long as it's prepped properly it will be fine

 

[shogun700]

Thanks Dr. S, I was beginning to get worried as I had always thought powder was an excellent (durable) base for paint.

Someone mentioned powder over powder-I had no idea this was possible. The first frame I powdercoated has a few imperfections, I was going to paint over the powder, but maybe I'll just coat it again.

Regarding removing powdercoat-I have very good luck with citrus-based finish/paint stripper, both the gel and spray types seem to work pretty well. It basically turns the powder to a rubbery substance that can be scraped away. Problem areas for removal tend to be crannies and such, when I apply it thick and let it sit for awhile it does a nice job.