Powder coating a bicycle--does it look good? Also, bike decal source?

[Bob98SR5]

Guys,

I'm looking to rehab/restore my old 1991 Bridgestone MB-2 (im sure I started a thread somewhere a year ago here :shake:). Anyways, I was doing some homework and I see that some people are powdercoating their bikes at a significant discount in price than painting. They say it is more durable too. Has anyone seen a powdercoated bike in person? What's your opinion?

Also for bike decals, i can't seem to find some one or some company. I want the thin decals, not vinyl (read = THICK) reproductions.

Thanks,
Bob

[CJM]

Powdercoating is quite good stuff Bob, it is thicker and harder than paint and is tougher as well.

I much prefer it to paint if the cost is right.

[mastacox]

Powdercoating would definitely be more durable than paint, and a high-quality job will look a lot better than paint as well. Powdercoat is thicker than paint, so keep that in mind for holes, threads, and anywhere else dimensions seem critical. You need to make sure they keep it out of anywhere it shouldn't be, e.g. the head tube or where the crank bearings go. A good masking job should make it look factory.

As for the decals, my only recommendations would be Ebay or possibly a custom decal shop.

[4x4mike]

I've had bike powder coated and have been happy. I didn't do the painting myself but did all the prep. For the most part the frame had been striped of parts and most of the paint removed. I was able to get the frame put in with an order of other parts so it was cheap. These guys had done bikes before but they didn't specialize in it, they just shoot it and bake it. For this reason I prepped it all and taped off everything I knew shouldn't have paint. Even if you have facing tools you'll want to tape off the bottom bracket threads, seat tube hole and the head tube. The paint inside the head tube isn't a big deal but you'd probably have to sand it out to get the headset cups in there properly. Locally there are Craigslist ads saying they'll do bikes for around $40. There is also a guy that will do paint for $50 any color. I currently commute on a bike I've rattle canned 5 or 6 times and it's doing great.

[4x4mike]

I know a guy that used to work at cycleart in Vista, CA. They have been around for a long time and used to be the west coast go to guys. They've done tons of custom stuff and air brushing. In the past I've used them to get decals. I'm not sure if they make them or have them made but they always had what I needed. You might be able to get something made locally or check ebay. There are a lot of sticker makers there and maybe they can get you what you want.

http://www.cyclart.com/

[Bob98SR5]

guys,

thanks for all the great advice and reassurance that the pc will look and maintain better than painting. theres a shop that i recently found through internet surfing called "olympia" or olympic down in santa ana that does a good job. might have to pay these guys a visit this weekend.

now my next two questions are: 1) do you know what tools I need to get off the cranks and bottom bracket and which way to turn to remove? 2) how to remove the headbadge w/o mangling it

thanks as usual, gents!

[4x4mike]

You've got cotterless cranks so you'll need a cotterless crank puller. I imagine you have an adjustable BB so technically you can get it out with some channel locks but they do make special tools and you'll need those tools to get it back in and adjusted.

You'll need this to adjust and get the adjustable cup out
http://www.parktool.com/product/crank-and-bottom-bracket-wrench

And this to get the non drive side fixed cup out. This one has the spanner (assuming it's the right size) to adjust it when time.
http://www.parktool.com/product/crank-and-bottom-bracket-wrench-1

Here is the puller
http://www.parktool.com/product/universal-crank-puller-for-square-taper-and-splined-cranks

Do you still have that Fed Ex hook up? If so I can ship you the tools. The largest one is around 12" long.

[some_odd_girl]

Well I saw this thread and was like 'I'll tell him it will look awesome!' But it looks like everyone already has. :P

[Obi..]

[Pro-Tech/Bike Geek Content]

More than you might need to know, but definitely worth knowing about anyhow.

*His B-Stone's steel, so this doesn't matter for him, but for everyone else's reference if it's an alloy frame of any type it needs to go back through the heat tempering process.

Bob, make sure it isn't done in some pizza-oven type setup. Cure heat should be kept w/i the 220 degree range.

Depending on how they strip the frame you're looking at anything from $60 for a single-stage commonly stocked RAL color up to $200 for a two-stage or multi-color setup.

Also, the "Vintage" forum in forums.mtbr.com has a great resource listing for restoration decals.

I've powdered most of my steel race frames at one point or another, all depend on the person doing the work.

Big thing here too, if the inside of the frame has been treated with BoeShield or another type of rust inhibitor (Most if not all B-Stones were at the factory) you will need the frame to go into a light hot-tanking to remove it as when it offgasses at 100-125 degrees it'll corrupt the hell out of the paint and the cure room will have to be cleaned which can cost a shop a lot.

[Bob98SR5]

NorCal,

Whoa, that's some good info, thanks. I'll let the shop know about the rust inhibitor. They quoted $69 and up, depending on the paint color(s).

Mike,
Thanks for the offer, very generous of you as always. I'm going to call two shops in the area to see how much they'd charge to remove, recondition and reassemble in two stages. If pricey, I'll probably take you up on your offer. Thanks.

[Obi..]

All good. Now here's where I play "pusher". ;)

How far into restoring do you want to go because I have an all original 14.5" Trek 850 MTB (http://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/91/1991TrekCatalog.pdf) with all the LX 7 speed kit from it, ridden once before we forgot about it in storage. I'd started to pull parts from it to turn it into another singlespeed but then got a new frame from Surly to play with instead. I also have a complete LX/XT 8 speed drivetrain never used and not as tarnished b/c it's all been packed in a bag with that bike. :D

If you want any of the parts or even another classic bike make me a good offer b/c it's all going to sell off pretty quick once it goes to mtbr's classifieds/vintage site. *Note, none of it is that blasted bio-pace crap.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/5326018981_c9d031f284_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5326017813_9f0f303d17_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5326623294_5f655bf710_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5326017171_40e5ec0698_b.jpg

**No it isn't blasphemy to part this bike out, it's mine and honestly I need the $.

[Bob98SR5]

norcal,

component wise, i'm ok. theres only a few things non oem i dont have, one of them is the headset, the seatpost locking cam, and thats about it.

i just need to refresh the paint at this point and put it all back together.

[Bob98SR5]

Over 1 year later :hillbill:

Finally got off my ass and got it powder coated. Pleasantly surprised at how good powder coating comes out. Obligatory pics:

[paddlenbike]

Bob, looks awesome! Now put it together and we'll plan a weekend in Mammoth in July for 4wheeling, hiking and mountain biking. :)

Oh, and I found you some decals. :tongueout:
http://www.astickerheaven4u.com/catalog/HuffyBikes.jpg

[Bob98SR5]

haha, huffy bikes are the shit! july sounds good. this bike will be set up as it was when i bought it, no front suspension. the ride was never the same w/ front suspension as it really jacked up the geometry/angle the bike.

[Obi..]

*I WILL SHOOT YOU IF YOU RUN THAT STICKER SET* :D

The O/E repro's are available online.

http://www.bicycledecals.net/

[Bob98SR5]

Obi,

Too late i bought it. Your vendor link doenst have Bridgestone :(

so whats bad about the vendor i went with? They seem to have good reivews on quality, but not on turn around time

[Obi..]

I didn't look at who made the Huffy decals. :D As for Bridgestone, there's plenty of people out that do those. Heck, Grant @ Rivendell gave me my last two leads. ;)

[4x4mike]

Cycleart in Vista, CA might have them/make them/have a lead for you.

[paddlenbike]

I think even a desperate crackhead would pass up on a Huffy. I would put them on for theft prevention, as well as looks and class. :prod:

[4x4mike]

The high school team I coach and wrench for gets first crack at the bikes in police property. While there are some Huffys most crackheads, drug dealers and homeless folk prefer much nicer bikes. Some of which are nicer than mine.

[paddlenbike]

Even the homeless have iPhones, why would they settle for a Huffy? Sorry for the OT Bob.

[Bob98SR5]

wtf has this thread turned into? crack ho's on stolen litespeeds! :confused:

[4x4mike]

Who ya calling a crack ho? I've got a titanium bike but it ain't no Litespeed.


Can I have the other half of your bacon?

[Bob98SR5]

haha mike, actually i feel alot better eating more green veggies. i poop like a champ now. trader joes makes it so easy with their microwave in a bag veggie things. i ain't buying those coconut juice things though. what a rip off!

[4x4mike]

No shiz. Since I last razed you about it we have a second case of that stuff. Someone is making a killing but oh well, what can I do? It's actually supposed to be really good and Marin is on a kick with the pregnancy so I can't complain too much.

In an effort to fully derail this post let me tell you about steamed veggies. We eat a ton of them. Broccoli (I prefer raw), kale, spinach, corn, carrots, chard, etc, etc. Most of all that we grow in our garden but it's all pretty cheap from the store. All you need is a small pot of water and a steamer tray and by the time you squeeze out a steamer of your own you'll have more veggies ready to go.

Maggie loves steamed broccoli and edamame. She downs 3-4 cups of broccoli along with her dinner. Talk about pooping like a champ.

[paddlenbike]

I was about to fault you guys for talking about poop on a family forum, however I think I started it talking about Huffy, which is poop's closest relative.