LMQCycles

Hey there!

I’m looking for recommendations for paint / powder coating in the Sacramento, CA greater area. I’ve had great results from D&D in the Bay Area for wet paint, but have had others balk at the price of good paint. I’m not a painter and have had tolerable Spray.Bike results for my own bikes but it certainly pales next to a professional paint job.

i have no experience with powder coating, but understand that quite a bit of care needs to be taken with bike frames due to tight corners and subtle layers (lugs) and that much of the frames details may get lost in the coating unless you know what you are doing. All that being said, any thoughts or help in the arena of frame finishing would be appreciated!

Kim

Andrew R Stewart 

One source for this type of reference might be the LBS that likely will have seen far more powder coated jobs then any one home wrench has. Here in Rochester we recommend one PC company (who also will do wet paint for a really low cost although not a "pro" level" result) because they do very decent work at a fair price and have been fairly consistent. I've seen, maybe, a couple of dozen paint jobs from them and they all have been acceptable for PC. We've seen a few other outfits work too but not enough to be able to make any judgment we are comfy with and thus direct out customers to them. I would think your LBSs have seen some of this same thing. Andy

wsteve464

I have had one frame powder coated. I didn't have a problem with it being too thick mine was the opposite. There were a couple of thin places where you could see the metal through the coating and along most edges of the lugs and brazeons it was thin. I'll try it again but with a different powder coater.

I used the power coat as the base and painted over parts of it added decals and clear coated the whole frame with 2K clear.

8aaron8

I sent you a pm.

Davet

^ ^ ^ ^
I’ll wholeheartedly recommend the guy above!

Cynikal 

Nice to see all the local folks here.

mtruhe

I've taken a couple of frames to Ventana in Rancho Cordova. They are a bit pricey compared to most powder coaters but worth it.

kshen888

Hi All,

i am in need of a recommendation as well for painting a carbon bike frame.

Andrew R Stewart 

I would be very careful about powder coating a frame made with a bonded process. The heat required to melt out/cure the powder can also affect the epoxies used to glue carbon or other materials together. First step might be seeking advice from the frame's maker. In addition, the removal of the OEM finish might be another aspect of concern, as to not damage the frame. At the minimum I would suggest seeking out a coater who has worked with composites before. Every carbon frame that I have known of that was repainted was done with wet paint. If a wet paint job is OK then most bike painters should be able to do the job. Andy

Cynikal 

Can you powder a carbon frame? I'm not sure who in our area in doing wet paint. I think Steve Rex usually send to someone out of state for paint.

kshen888

Thanks for the reply and info Andrew. i have a Carbon Dengfu E10 emtb frame, there are quite a few DIY build posts for this frame in the EU/UK. looks like i cant post a link as i new to this site, but if you google Dengfu E10 Cheeb there is a lot of info. i was thinking a paint job similar tot he Cheeb build.

thanks again!

Fredo76

Here's a carbon-frame finishing solution used by the guy who powder coated my steel frame.

https://olearypowdercoating.com/ceramic/

Charlie does nice work.



powder-coating fine detail

He's in Santa Fe, NM, however, not Sacramento.

Andrew R Stewart 

Ceracote finishes can be a pretty cool result and becoming more popular. It's a choice of some gun enthusiasts due to the high temp resistance and hard wearing surface. My wet coat painter has been after me to ask for it, at a cost slightly less than a wet coat job. But after some discussion and my homework I've decided that my finishing level is still a bit too rough for Ceracote's thinness. It tends to show off tiny surface scratches or joint filler pocks. Wet paint/primer covers these imperfections far better and we all know it's the book's cover that counts Andy

kshen888

Thanks for the info Andrew, ill look into wet paint and ceracoteing.