here's mine that was done eons ago, and now has many more upgrades since it was first built up... some art that denis made for me that i had olympic color up to using leftover powder from my frame... (lighting has distorted the color, looks more 'pink') olympic is fast, affordable & does great work & also provides awesome customer service. here's a better shot showing the brilliance of the color...
I would think that heat soak from the brakes would far exceed the PC initial curing temps(around 200deg C). I can't see how the above would hold true.
DOn't let everyone here know you can use your brain, whos knows what it will do for your reputation. All i know is since i have batches of scooters and parts getting p coated almost every week alot of my bikes are getting changed up, because nothings better then a free paint job
freekengo, I'm talking brand new frames/swingarms that were stripped to be repainted another color that formed cracks as if it exploded. not exactly sure about the process but it is scary to see what has happened as a result from the stripping process. no way you would catch me throwing a leg over something that was stripped and re-powdercoated. not only that, throwing something in an oven after being heat treated is a little dodgy too imo.
I can understand chemical erosion, but creating cracks? How does chemicals create dynamic forces large enough to crack a frame/swingarm? I'm really curious to find out. I'm always willing to learn new things.
I had one of my boutique MTB frames stripped and re-powder coated about two years ago. This was done for me by the manufacturer of the frame. If done by a company that knows what they’re doing, the chemical stripping process should only be acidic enough to remove the powder coat and in most cases it barely etches the aluminum. The frame should in no way be compromised by chemical stripping - if done correctly. As far as re-powder coating goes, the heat used to cure powder coating is much less that the temps used to heat-treat a frame, so there should be no concern there. If the temps were indeed a concern, then there's no way so many bike manufacturers would powder coat an aluminum frame in the first place.
Well E-Man, this whole process was done by a company who knows quite well what they are doing and they had no explanation on why these cracks formed after stripping. And for the record i am not saying anything negative about this company because they do the best powder coating i have ever seen. What I am saying is the chemicals and process are very harsh and things can and do happen. I have seen it first hand and have never seen anything like it. it could be a freak thing but i have seen it happen several times.
Cracks created during any part of the powder coating process= they don't know what they are doing.:?:
The frame may have been cracked before you dropped it off and you didnt notice it ???.... I have seen that happen a few times! The chemical stripping process your shop uses may differ from mine, but your smokin crack if you think chemically stripping aluminum would cause any type of fractures or cracks in it that weren't prexisting. The heat treating process as someone stated earlier is far beyond the temp's used in a powdercoating process and aside from the shop mishandling your frame thats the only true danger to worry about.
well salter 77, if anyone is smoking crack it's you because i work for a bike company and i know about heat treating and powder coating. and i also know that things happened from chemical stripping that caused damage that was not there before hand. so believe what you want to believe
Well pasadena MTB'r I have been a metal fabricator by trade for the last 5 years and having spent countless hours working with different alloys both welding and machining I am well aware of the heat treating and annealing processing of alloys and steels. The only possibility of damage would be a corrosive element in the solution that would slowly deteriorate the alloy over time if left exposed, but that is damn near impossible to equate into a fracture or "crack". If powdercoating was such a stressful and harmful practice to bicycle frames I'm sure the company you work for no longer does it right?
let's get back on track.... here are a couple of shots of my steel desalvo 29er set up fixie. had dennis duty add a disc tab and remove the v-bosses. the original paint was pretty nice. anyways, i think the ral is 6019.... no cracks.... got a new groovy luv handle bar to replace the h-bar. it's made of steel. if it works out, then i will have it coated to match the frame/fork.