# Prepping steel frame for powder coat questions



## e39540is (Apr 10, 2009)

I have an old Miyata that I am getting ready to get powder coated, and want to make sure I get it ready for the shop that is going to media blast, and powder coat. 

What is the best for the steer tube? Should I press the headset races all the way out? Or press them most of the way out, but still attached. I have herd of some people rolling newspapers in the steer tube, and bottom bracket. Does that work? Also as far as the bottom bracket, I could put an old worn out cartridge bottom bracket to protect the threads. Would that be a good idea?

What do you do with the bottle cage holes? Do you leave the bolt in there, but loose, or take them out, and clean up the threads later?

Also, can someone tell me how to get the chrome spacers between the DT shifters, and the frame. I cant seem to get them to budge.

The shop doing the work, said that they have done lots of bikes, but I fear they dont quite understand what is important like keeping the threads clean, and such.

What do I need to ask them, or tell them?

Thanks in advance for the tips and advice. I am a little nervous as this is my first frame redo, and I want it to come out sweet. :thumbsup:


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## frpax (Feb 13, 2010)

When I did mine, I completely removed the headset & BB. I masked off all the threads. I left bolts in the water bottle bosses. The guy that did mine, had only done a couple of bike before mine, and it turned out fine. If the place your using has done lots of bikes, I'm sure you'll be OK.

As of getting the chrome spacers off, maybe a thin screwdriver blade?


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## bicyclerepairman (Mar 12, 2003)

I stripped the bike of all parts. I had a shop do the standard thread cleaning (re-tapping?) and re-facing of the bottom bracket, as well as installing a NOS headset. Myself, I had to FILE the inside of the seat tube to get the original seatpost to fit; next time I'm installing a junk headset and a junk seat post. I should find out how hot the oven that the frame bakes in gets before I make any decisions about stuffing various lugs and tubes with newspaper.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

When I had a frame powder coated, I removed everything and the powder coater took care of everything.. he did the masking of the threads and BB area... I didn't have to chase anything afterwords... but this guy had experience with bike frames and knew what he was doing


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

e39540is said:


> I have an old Miyata that I am getting ready to get powder coated, and want to make sure I get it ready for the shop that is going to media blast, and powder coat.
> 
> What is the best for the steer tube? Should I press the headset races all the way out? Or press them most of the way out, but still attached. I have herd of some people rolling newspapers in the steer tube, and bottom bracket. Does that work? Also as far as the bottom bracket, I could put an old worn out cartridge bottom bracket to protect the threads. Would that be a good idea?
> 
> ...


Why powder coat and not paint? Just wondering.


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*very curious*



High Gear said:


> Why powder coat and not paint? Just wondering.


I am planning 
on saving a frame the same way. What is the concern with powder coating????


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## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

ttug said:


> I am planning
> on saving a frame the same way. What is the concern with powder coating????


usually when you powdercoat a lugged frame, you lose some of the lug detail. if you have fancy lugs, or windows in the lugs, i would go paint. powder will fill in the gaps. depends on the powdercoater too. i've seen some lugged powdercoated frames from Spectrum that were really nice and sharp. when i had a frame powdercoated, i wasn't so lucky in that i lost some cool details under the layers of powder.


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*benefit?*



moschika said:


> usually when you powdercoat a lugged frame, you lose some of the lug detail. if you have fancy lugs, or windows in the lugs, i would go paint. powder will fill in the gaps. depends on the powdercoater too. i've seen some lugged powdercoated frames from Spectrum that were really nice and sharp. when i had a frame powdercoated, i wasn't so lucky in that i lost some cool details under the layers of powder.


So the benefit, is cost or not?

As I am in the midst of budgeting for sdaving a frame, I am again on the low low low end of the knolwedge bell on this subject for certain.

Example, you find a cool old frame, needs some resotoration and this will involve a repaint, powder coating from what I have seen, gives a cost benefit, but is that all, or do I have this all wrong?


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

Dave Hickey said:


> When I had a frame powder coated, I removed everything and the powder coater took care of everything.. he did the masking of the threads and BB area... I didn't have to chase anything afterwords... but this guy had experience with bike frames and knew what he was doing


Same for me with three lugged frames. It depends on the powdercoating shop. The one I used has a long history with bicycle frames and the detail of the lugs was just as good as a wet paint job. I've seen work by other, cheaper outfits that left a lot to be desired.


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

ttug said:


> I am planning
> on saving a frame the same way. What is the concern with powder coating????


I just don't know what the big deal is with powder coating, when paint usually gives a better finnish. I do know that PC is more durable than paint. I had suspention parts for my 4x4 PCed back in the 90's. I'm not trying to slam anyone for choosing it. Below is a bit of a interview with the master Joe Bell.

Full Interview @ : http://www.campyonly.com/joebell/interview.html

RR: Powder coating is more durable. What do you think about it? What are its limitations? Do you get requests for it?

JB: Powder coating is a good, durable paint for many types of metal finishing, including bicycles. I don’t offer it because I don’t have the equipment. The bikes I’ve seen come in for repainting that are powder coated have been rather thick looking. That’s okay for TIG-welded frames, but not for fine lugged ones. The details get lost, and you can’t see the lugs as well. 

One way powder coaters save time and materials is by omitting the primer (powder coating doesn’t require it). But the thing is, primer is crucial to corrosion resistance. I’ve seen powder coated bikes come in with no outward signs of rust, but when the frame was stripped you could see rust crawling around everywhere under the finish. The paint held together well, but a little chip in the paint had left the door open for rust to move freely underneath it.

Wet paint lends itself to custom colors, decals, fine masking, and more intricate work. The gloss is always better with wet paint. I think powder coating is a good reasonable finish for mountain bikes, beater bikes, and general use stuff. I just don’t recommend it for really fine lugged frames. Sometimes people call me looking for a finish for $150 or less, and I steer them to the local powder coater.


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## e39540is (Apr 10, 2009)

Those are some good points. There is some detail on top of the back brake bridge, that I dont want to loose. This will in no way be my last frame that I am painting, or coating, so I am considering paint also. I have looked into HVLP spray guns, etc, but when it comes to the paint itself, there are so many choices. Its a little overwhelming. 

If using an automotive paint, how much paint would you need for just the frame, and no fork? Shouldnt take more then a quart should it?

Maybe I should start a painting bike frame question thread...?


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

e39540is said:


> Those are some good points. There is some detail on top of the back brake bridge, that I dont want to loose. This will in no way be my last frame that I am painting, or coating, so I am considering paint also. I have looked into HVLP spray guns, etc, but when it comes to the paint itself, there are so many choices. Its a little overwhelming.
> 
> If using an automotive paint, how much paint would you need for just the frame, and no fork? Shouldnt take more then a quart should it?
> 
> Maybe I should start a painting bike frame question thread...?


Yes, I would start a frame painting thread. There has to info out there. I'm sure many RBRer's have taken on this task.


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## e39540is (Apr 10, 2009)

Double post.


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## martinrjensen (Sep 23, 2007)

Remove all the parts of the frame. Powder coaters will blast the frame for you. As far as filling in lugwork, If you don't do a clear coat (powder coat clear I mean) it shouldn't fill it in. 
I've had 2 frames PC and am very happy with both. It's a very durable finish, looks great and is cheap. You really can't tell any difference unless you were going to maybe compare it to some super fancy high gloss paint job. For a single color it can't be beat (in most cases). Multiple colors, I this I might go with paint.


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