Strip and powder coating DaHon Aluminium frames?
06-17-23, 04:44 AM
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Strip and powder coating DaHon Aluminium frames?
Hi guys, this is my first post here. I'm new ish to folding bikes, but used to commute on a Raleigh 20 Stowaway (which was very fun, but very heavy). I've just got an old DaHon Vybe off eBay and I've stripped it down completely for rebuilding/ modifying.
I'm just curious if anyone has sand/shot blasted down and powder coated any DaHon 'Dalloy' aluminium frame before? If so, did it go well?
The current paint job is in pretty poor condition. I've got a quote from a car alloy repairer near me for £50 for shot blasting and powder coating. They've told me the powder is baked on at 180C for 20 minutes. I'm a bit worried about affecting the strength of the frame by heat treating it.
I've tried to read all I can about the risk of heat treatment on aluminium bike frames, but it seems like it really depends on the tempering of the specific grade. From what I can tell, the Dalloy grade sounds like it is tempered to increase hardness, and I've read that tempering (artificial ageing) of some grades can be at temperatures as low as 100C. I tried sending an email to DaHon, but I doubt I'll get a response (not least because it's their IP).
Since it's a budget bike, I'd rather not pay hundreds for a proper paint job. The powder coating is tempting because of how durable it would be too.
Plan B would be to just ask them to do the shot blasting, then paint the thing myself with a rattle can I guess.
Has anyone been down a similar road to this?
Thanks, Henry
I'm just curious if anyone has sand/shot blasted down and powder coated any DaHon 'Dalloy' aluminium frame before? If so, did it go well?
The current paint job is in pretty poor condition. I've got a quote from a car alloy repairer near me for £50 for shot blasting and powder coating. They've told me the powder is baked on at 180C for 20 minutes. I'm a bit worried about affecting the strength of the frame by heat treating it.
I've tried to read all I can about the risk of heat treatment on aluminium bike frames, but it seems like it really depends on the tempering of the specific grade. From what I can tell, the Dalloy grade sounds like it is tempered to increase hardness, and I've read that tempering (artificial ageing) of some grades can be at temperatures as low as 100C. I tried sending an email to DaHon, but I doubt I'll get a response (not least because it's their IP).
Since it's a budget bike, I'd rather not pay hundreds for a proper paint job. The powder coating is tempting because of how durable it would be too.
Plan B would be to just ask them to do the shot blasting, then paint the thing myself with a rattle can I guess.
Has anyone been down a similar road to this?
Thanks, Henry
