painting dirt bike chassis

If you live in the east end try ABC Powder Coating in Port Hope.

A lot of the VRRA guys use them and it was a few vintage racers turned me on to them. I believe Kevin races in the VRRA himself and they do around 6-8 frames a week

They will mask off the bearing seats, plug the thread holes so you don't have to chase them out, etc.

I just had (another) RD350LC done and they did a great job. I'm doing an Appleby Glade, Charlie Williams replica so its basically close to KTM orange with a clear. Even with the clear it was just over $100.

Given the time you are going to spend cleaning it up, painting and then the cost of paint its not worth the effort, unless its something you really want to do.
 
So I've been doing some research on the different applications I had been considering and here's some stuff I've learned:

POR-15 - Very durable. Can be applied directly to rusted surfaces and dries/cures pretty quick. However, POR-15 is not UV stable. Even the supposedly stable version of POR-15 will dull after a while in the sun. Not really a concern for a car/truck chassis or a gas tank liner but probably not a good idea for bike frames...

2K - Similar durability properties to powder coating. Takes much longer to spray than powder coating (and therefore more expensive). However, it is repairable just like any other paint

Powder Coating - Famous for it's durability. Doesn't take long to spray and bake. I was initially concerned with reports of powder coating being brittle and easy to chip. But then I started seeing videos like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fN-shOIzA&noredirect=1. It looks like my spongy KLR frame will twist into knots before a good PC job will fail. However, if PC does start to go, it is not easily repairable and the damage spreads quickly.

DIY Rattle Can - The cheapest approach and also the one with the most mixed opinions. Some say it lasts years, some say it barely lasts a season. Tonnes of different opinions of the best paint to use too. I feel like DIY Spray Paint is a good choice if you 1) have lots of trial/error experience 2) don't have $ for anything else. A decent DIY spray paint job will also have the longest turn-around time (waiting hours/days/weeks for stuff to cure and apply more layers etc.). If your free time is valuable to you (which is to me now that I have an infant son), this may be another reason not to go the DIY rattle can route. Rattle can jobs, while not as durable as any of the other options, is easily and cheaply repairable.

So after weighing what I know about the different approaches, it's a toss up between 2K and Powder Coating. I'm slightly leaning towards powder coating just because I know of two bike power coating specialists locally and know no one who does 2k.
 
sixstring said:
So I've been doing some research on the different applications I had been considering and here's some stuff I've learned:

POR-15 - Very durable. Can be applied directly to rusted surfaces and dries/cures pretty quick. However, POR-15 is not UV stable. Even the supposedly stable version of POR-15 will dull after a while in the sun. Not really a concern for a car/truck chassis or a gas tank liner but probably not a good idea for bike frames...

2K - Similar durability properties to powder coating. Takes much longer to spray than powder coating (and therefore more expensive). However, it is repairable just like any other paint

Powder Coating - Famous for it's durability. Doesn't take long to spray and bake. I was initially concerned with reports of powder coating being brittle and easy to chip. But then I started seeing videos like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fN-shOIzA&noredirect=1. It looks like my spongy KLR frame will twist into knots before a good PC job will fail. However, if PC does start to go, it is not easily repairable and the damage spreads quickly.

DIY Rattle Can - The cheapest approach and also the one with the most mixed opinions. Some say it lasts years, some say it barely lasts a season. Tonnes of different opinions of the best paint to use too. I feel like DIY Spray Paint is a good choice if you 1) have lots of trial/error experience 2) don't have $ for anything else. A decent DIY spray paint job will also have the longest turn-around time (waiting hours/days/weeks for stuff to cure and apply more layers etc.). If your free time is valuable to you (which is to me now that I have an infant son), this may be another reason not to go the DIY rattle can route. Rattle can jobs, while not as durable as any of the other options, is easily and cheaply repairable.

So after weighing what I know about the different approaches, it's a toss up between 2K and Powder Coating. I'm slightly leaning towards powder coating just because I know of two bike power coating specialists locally and know no one who does 2k.
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No matter what paint you use, powder will be stronger...Some of the newer painted finishes are pretty strong, I see a lot of different multi layer finishes on OEM car rims that I have done...

That being said I have never encountered an OEM or aftermarket spray on paint type finish that did not come off with regular sand blasting....In comparison anything that I have prepped properly and powder coated, has to be sent out for chemical stripping to get it off. It is so hard of a coating, that sand blasting wont remove it. And even after being chemically stripped in acid, sometimes it still wont all come off...I have had some parts where the aluminum started to melt away before all the powder came off of them...Thats just how good of an adhesion it gets to sand blasted metal...

When people ask me about paint vs powder, I will take a piece that is coated and a part that was painted, even professionally like a spare OEM motorcycle gas tank and do a scratch test for them.... The Powder will scratch, but is its very hard to scratch down to the metal. And the scratch will be just a scratch, sometimes I can buff them out of powder to repair them....With paint, not only can you scratch it right down to the metal fairly easily, it also chips and flakes.

Also it is fixable in some cases, not with fancy multi stage colors, but black, white, etc yes....I can buy a chemical that you mix with the actual powder I use, it turns it into a paintable liquid...You an use that to touch up scratches etc.....And also as I said I have buffed out some pretty large scratches or stains in the past.

One problem I encounter with paint is it can look great when you first paint it, but you start scratching and chipping it off certain areas just putting the bike back together....Just ask any bike shop about people bringing in rims that have been painted for tires changes and the problems they have trying to change tires without ruining the persons paint job...

On a motorcycle frame I can see alot of problems with chipping happening where bolts got and where parts have a tight fit....I tell you thats the worst, paint looks great, then you go to tighen a bolt and the area around the head of the bolt chips and flakes off....
 
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I need to temporarily paint my project frame. Ride it for a while, work out changes and bugs etc. Then I will strip it, powdercoat, and do a final build. I'm seriously thinking of using Color Your World polyurethane floor paint for temporary paint. That might be the cheapest down and dirty solution for a KLR. 1 quart, brush on.
 
Your boots/pants will rub paint right off the frame. My 04 YZF had a painted steel frame, factory paint rubbed off just from the constant friction.
 
finally got to spend a couple evenings with the bike. Getting close to sending the frame off for work.

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leaning towards powder...
 
You know just because it's called a dirt bike it doesn't mean that it's suppose to have the dirt ON it but ride IN it lol.

I haven't seen a dirtier bike in a long time and the fact that you've removed the airbox with that pile of dirt on the engine scares me. Before any work is done on a bike it should be washed properly ESPECIALLY a dirt bike! I know your restoring the bike but you'd have a lot less mess and an easier time finding the nuts and bolts if you even had just hosed the thing off. Now the motor possibly needs to be torn down to get all the dirt out of it depending on how careful you were when removing the subframe/airbox.
 
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dricked said:
You know just because it's called a dirt bike it doesn't mean that it's suppose to have the dirt ON it but ride IN it lol.

I haven't seen a dirtier bike in a long time and the fact that you've removed the airbox with that pile of dirt on the engine scares me. Before any work is done on a bike it should be washed properly ESPECIALLY a dirt bike! I know your restoring the bike but you'd have a lot less mess and an easier time finding the nuts and bolts if you even had just hosed the thing off. Now the motor possibly needs to be torn down to get all the dirt out of it depending on how careful you were when removing the subframe/airbox.
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Heh. Point taken. The bike actually didn't look that dirty until I started taking it apart. Most of what you see on the floor came from hidden cavities in the swingarm. I even found a whole pinecone!

When that pic was taken the carb and exhaust were still on so the motor so I doubt any dirt got into the valves. I'm not too concerned either ways though because I'm installing a 785 kit to cure the KLRs notorious oil consumption issue which this bike has a fairly bad case of.

Anyways, I'm keeping an eye out for power washers now :)
 
A quick update to this old thread. I ended up powder coating the whole thing with a basic medium gloss black (forget the exact name). I took the frame to Johnny's new location. The parts came back looking good and show no signs of wearing yet.

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