Crossthreaded88

I've painted a couple dozen or so bikes in my life and I've never had a bigger headache in my life. I love flat paint jobs because flat doesn't run near as bad as gloss. I've kind of developed a satin paint job that you can buff up to almost gloss (thanks Jack) but not quite as nice. Obviously I can't do powder coating at home, or at least not yet, but the places I've talked to want and arm and a leg to prep and P C a frame and fork. I'm in Southern California and I would think there would be more competition among coaters to get the price down a little more. I can't spend $200 on a project bike I would never get that money back if I sold it. I've been to shops with lower prices and their work was terrible it looked like they powder coating without any prep. If somebody has a hot tip on a local shop I would much appreciate you cluing me in on it. I promise not to be a dyck or premadonna to them. I like painting my self but I don't think I can take another headache. Any ideas are welcome I even considered chroming the whole thing but that has been done to death.

Andrew R Stewart 

Finding a painter that does nice work is a job in it's self. From what I understand CA's enviro. laws are much more restrictive then most any other state. That and the cost of living being generally higher it's no surprise that a $125 PC job elsewhere becomes a $200 one there. I'm no painter, although I've done my few handfuls years past, but I know it's a more skilled job then making the frame is. I suspect you haven't yet gotten your process down from what it sounds like.

Finding out that your business model doesn't work sucks. Andy

fietsbob

Imron is a Du Pont made paint with a catalyst , so in that it's like epoxy,
a very durable finish

Powder coat is a glazing, an electrostatically attached polyester powder,
that melts at pizza scorching temperatures to form a hard durable finish.

A friend, her does powder coat he says the electrical power
to heat the oven is the biggest cost..

I get cheap deals by waiting for other jobs wanting the same color.




..

L134 

Eggman84

I had a frame and fork prepped and powder coated in 2014 for $126 at Specialized Coating in Huntington Beach (5862 Research Ave.). They were recommended to me by my favorite LBS and did a very good job. One thing is I picked a color that they already in house; if you pick a color that that they don't have, then they will probably charge you for the whole container of beads as there is no guarantee they will be able to use the unused portion in the future.

squirtdad

all said and done a powder coat will cost less that a DIY paint job using automotive paints, and not a lot more than doing rattle can right and the hassle factor is way lower.

3alarmer

...there are several places here in Sacramento that will blast and PC a frame for $125.
That said, I prefer to do my own painting, and it's not all that difficult to get a durable finish now that a 2 part paint is available in clear coat for 25 bucks,

Not sure why runs are an issue for you, but most people can eventually learn to spray a bike without too much problem with them. Sometimes you get one and need to let it dry, sand it level, and recoat that spot.

berner

I'm not a professional painter but I have painted numerous boats stem to stern in earlier years. Before the first one, I had a lesson from an auto body painter. What he told me worked for me also. The first step was to thin the paint more than it says on the can until it begins to look thin. Then spray what he called a thin tack coat that looks awful, blotchy and you can see through it. Go back to the beginning location and shoot the real coat. You may need to wait a few minutes for a bike to get the tack. Somehow, the tack coat helps the subsequent coat to stick. With thin paint, you will need slightly less less air pressure, otherwise you get too much paint volume.

fietsbob

Painter's Motto, "90% of the job is surface preparation"..

TimothyH

Powder Coat in Atlanta costs $80 for colors which require only on coat, $125 for a color which requires two coats such as base and clear.

Prices are likely higher in California.

Look for a small shop which does custom automotive, motorcycle and firearms. Don't use a job lot shop where your bike frame will be mixed in with 300 lawn chairs or 150 washing machine lids.


Right.

Paint a bike if you enjoy painting but powder coat can't be beat for convenience. Drop everything off and pick it up a week later. Done.


-Tim-

Wileyone 

What Bike are you planning on coating?

Crossthreaded88

Well I have two projects in the works a GT frame and fork and a Dyno cruiser frame, fork, fenders, and chain-guard. The GT is a odd model of a Streamliner with a Nexus 3 speed with a Gates belt drive system on it. It's just a frame and fork. The Dyno is a classic fendered cruiser and it was backyard spray painted over the factory paint job horribly done. It consists of a frame, fork, fenders and a chain-guard. I received quote for sand blast and powder coat at $200 for the frame and fork only. $80 $120 respectively. They said something about a batch size for sand blasting which led me to believe more than one frame could be done for the same $80. I am not even picky about a color if they had a big project of a remotely reasonable color I'd be good with that.