Frame painters?
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Frame painters?
At some point in the near future I値l be looking to have a frame painted and quality, finish and attention to detail Is a priority. Is there anyone in the PNW that comes highly recommended? I知 the the Portland area.
Thx!
Thx!
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A quality paint job can be pretty pricey, but I suppose you already knew that.
Powder coating is much cheaper, environmentally friendly & more durable. A powder coater that has much experience & is known locally for experience with bicycles is preferable to any generic applicator that would treat it like a car wheel or deck railing or something.
What you are paying for in either case is the prep work & set up. Labor costs & care drive the final price you pay. Good bicycle specific powder application ought to cost around $200+ & paint is around $600 here in the PNW.
Of course, Earl Schribe or a deck railing place would be half that price, the quality, adhesion, & longevity would be a gamble.
If you are around Seattle, R&E cycles does fantastic work with paint. I'm getting a bike done with PPG two-tone seafoam with red accents and caligraphy script.
Likewise, if you are considering powder, Seattle Powder Coat does excellent work. I've had 5 bikes (& one re-do, free) done by them.
I'm sure PDX has a shop or 2 of each that are known locally that can do what you need. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in this sort of thing. Ask your local boutique frame maker who they would send their frame to.
Powder coating is much cheaper, environmentally friendly & more durable. A powder coater that has much experience & is known locally for experience with bicycles is preferable to any generic applicator that would treat it like a car wheel or deck railing or something.
What you are paying for in either case is the prep work & set up. Labor costs & care drive the final price you pay. Good bicycle specific powder application ought to cost around $200+ & paint is around $600 here in the PNW.
Of course, Earl Schribe or a deck railing place would be half that price, the quality, adhesion, & longevity would be a gamble.
If you are around Seattle, R&E cycles does fantastic work with paint. I'm getting a bike done with PPG two-tone seafoam with red accents and caligraphy script.
Likewise, if you are considering powder, Seattle Powder Coat does excellent work. I've had 5 bikes (& one re-do, free) done by them.
I'm sure PDX has a shop or 2 of each that are known locally that can do what you need. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in this sort of thing. Ask your local boutique frame maker who they would send their frame to.
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A quality paint job can be pretty pricey, but I suppose you already knew that.
Powder coating is much cheaper, environmentally friendly & more durable. A powder coater that has much experience & is known locally for experience with bicycles is preferable to any generic applicator that would treat it like a car wheel or deck railing or something.
What you are paying for in either case is the prep work & set up. Labor costs & care drive the final price you pay. Good bicycle specific powder application ought to cost around $200+ & paint is around $600 here in the PNW.
Of course, Earl Schribe or a deck railing place would be half that price, the quality, adhesion, & longevity would be a gamble.
If you are around Seattle, R&E cycles does fantastic work with paint. I'm getting a bike done with PPG two-tone seafoam with red accents and caligraphy script.
Likewise, if you are considering powder, Seattle Powder Coat does excellent work. I've had 5 bikes (& one re-do, free) done by them.
I'm sure PDX has a shop or 2 of each that are known locally that can do what you need. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in this sort of thing. Ask your local boutique frame maker who they would send their frame to.
Powder coating is much cheaper, environmentally friendly & more durable. A powder coater that has much experience & is known locally for experience with bicycles is preferable to any generic applicator that would treat it like a car wheel or deck railing or something.
What you are paying for in either case is the prep work & set up. Labor costs & care drive the final price you pay. Good bicycle specific powder application ought to cost around $200+ & paint is around $600 here in the PNW.
Of course, Earl Schribe or a deck railing place would be half that price, the quality, adhesion, & longevity would be a gamble.
If you are around Seattle, R&E cycles does fantastic work with paint. I'm getting a bike done with PPG two-tone seafoam with red accents and caligraphy script.
Likewise, if you are considering powder, Seattle Powder Coat does excellent work. I've had 5 bikes (& one re-do, free) done by them.
I'm sure PDX has a shop or 2 of each that are known locally that can do what you need. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in this sort of thing. Ask your local boutique frame maker who they would send their frame to.
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My kid's Raleigh R600 in sky blue was $196 after tax. His Cannondale H300 in a special order lip-stick pink was $300 He chose a relatively expensive UV-resistant powder.
My wifes Schwinn Varsity was $450, but it was done in special order bulls-eye red & a second application of a sparkle over coat. It's cost was driven by the two application (color + sparkle clear) process.
My Schwinn was done in Illusion Lime Time for about $400. They re-did the job 2 years later for free because they screwed up. Illusion Lime is a special order two-shot application as well.
And finally my Worksman Industrial Newsboy was back to $196 because it was plain sunshine yellow they had in stock.
Oh, another bike that I forgot about, a 1979 Centurion Omega was also under $200 because like the other cheap ones it was single color, one shot of an in-stock color...French-lavender. But I don't remember the exact name.
All my bikes were done with Prismatic Powders & color samples are readily available.
My wifes Schwinn Varsity was $450, but it was done in special order bulls-eye red & a second application of a sparkle over coat. It's cost was driven by the two application (color + sparkle clear) process.
My Schwinn was done in Illusion Lime Time for about $400. They re-did the job 2 years later for free because they screwed up. Illusion Lime is a special order two-shot application as well.
And finally my Worksman Industrial Newsboy was back to $196 because it was plain sunshine yellow they had in stock.
Oh, another bike that I forgot about, a 1979 Centurion Omega was also under $200 because like the other cheap ones it was single color, one shot of an in-stock color...French-lavender. But I don't remember the exact name.
All my bikes were done with Prismatic Powders & color samples are readily available.
Last edited by base2; 04-16-19 at 06:37 AM.
#5
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Portland has several Frame builders Why not Ask them who they go to?
A friend, out here in Astoria owns a powder coating shop...
....
A friend, out here in Astoria owns a powder coating shop...
....
Last edited by fietsbob; 04-16-19 at 02:55 PM.
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I believe black magic in NW Portland is a good place!
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I've only owned two items that were powder coated, one a trailer and the other a bike. In both cases, the material simply chipped right off in circumstances that paint would easily hold up to. It could be that the local shop that did the powder coating of the trailer wasn't up to the job and that new bikes that are inexpensive (~$1000 Breezer) also don't get the best treatment. Still, at zero for two with PC, I'd go with paint.
By the way, I've had three frames painted at R+E and they turned out fabulous and have withstood tens of thousands of miles of gravel road abuse along with lots of rain/mud/muck. I like their work and the owner, Dan Towle, is a genuinely nice guy who is a one-man entertainment center.
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Like so many things, the prep work & the craftsman mean a lot. Then there is one particular product vs another.
Cheap paint vs good powder & good paint vs cheap powder will definitely skew personal experience. Then throw prep work & the applicator in to the mix...It can be a crap-shoot. Hence, the suggestion of asking the local market for reputation.
We had a thread around here: "In defense of powdercoat." A while ago. Lots of example of quality work & 1 or 2 of not so quality work.
In anycase, $200 on a $200 bike makes a lot more sense than $600 on a $200 bike. And powder is definitely "good enough" for a thing like that.
For a high-dollar art or prize or grail bike the cost of paint, especially "good" paint starts to make a lot more sense. It isn't about functionality & preservation any more. Art & cosmetics weigh heavier in the equation.
I have a 3 color panel mask at R&E right now. It'll be out in about a week. I'll be sure to post pics.
Cheap paint vs good powder & good paint vs cheap powder will definitely skew personal experience. Then throw prep work & the applicator in to the mix...It can be a crap-shoot. Hence, the suggestion of asking the local market for reputation.
We had a thread around here: "In defense of powdercoat." A while ago. Lots of example of quality work & 1 or 2 of not so quality work.
In anycase, $200 on a $200 bike makes a lot more sense than $600 on a $200 bike. And powder is definitely "good enough" for a thing like that.
For a high-dollar art or prize or grail bike the cost of paint, especially "good" paint starts to make a lot more sense. It isn't about functionality & preservation any more. Art & cosmetics weigh heavier in the equation.
I have a 3 color panel mask at R&E right now. It'll be out in about a week. I'll be sure to post pics.
#9
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As promised.
Rodriguez Frame by Richard Mozzarella, on FlickrRodriguez Downtube by Richard Mozzarella, on FlickrRodriguez seat tube by Richard Mozzarella, on FlickrRodriguez braze on head badge by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr