[instructorpilot]

I'm so happy, Ole Bessies frame, her new steering head and stem, foot pegs and battery box, swing arm and stands are going for a ride to the powder coater today. My CB550 is also getting it's new frame powder coated. I was going to blast and paint them but my blaster is small and is glass beads. The powder coater has a huge blasting cabinet with a turn table and he can blast every thing at the same time. I am interested to see how it all comes out. My CB350 frame is powdercoated but it was done before I bought it and it still looks good. The KZ440LTD however was painted by yours truly and it looks good as well. I wonder which one lasts longer.

Al

 

[Casey Stangle]

Good question. I did my CB450 frame and small parts last winter and love it so far. Some people say there is a rust issue with it. There are some spots were the welding material seemed to hide a minute area that shows some signs if oxidartion. Also the thread areas can oxidize because they are plugged to not get the paint on the threads. I put a small squirt of WD-40 on those spots. The oveall finish is great and the prep, with everything being blasted is also great.

 

[Reg in Bristol]

I've always had reservations about PC.

It thicker and tougher then paint for sure, no argument but

I've pulled it off by the handful from underlying rust and corrosion

and yesterday I was working on a scooter which had PC casings which

were white with oxidisation under the PC which came off in chunks.



Every CX I've had or seen has suffered corrosion mostly from the INSIDE OUT

any external rust has been easily treated and I reckon PC can be a bit like

papering over the cracks so prefer paint myself.

I flushed my frame tubes with ACF 50 and even drilled small holes to make this

easier and when I repair swinging arms, I drill a small hole between the centre

section and thinner arm so I can flush it with old engine oil after painting



Just my opinion of course, you pays yer money and all that.

 

[instructorpilot]

hmmm, I never thought of rusting from the inside out. I think thay bake a part that gets PC so that would drive all the moisture out. Do you think that Honda dips the frames so there is paint inside and out?

 

[MikeT307]

I chopped the seat frame above the rear tire and there was no paint in those hollow areas. There was also no rust in them. They could dip them in some coating but it wasn't painted that I could tell.

 

[Reg in Bristol]

I've cut frames and swinging arms up and never seen anything to suggest

the inner tubework was treated with anything.



The upper frame around the seat probably would look fairly good

Its the lower parts that can rot like hell

the rear peg hangers and the engine hangers being the worst in my experience

those and the swinging arm.

Battery trays rot as well due to their thinness I expect, but they at least

are easily removable.

Mainstands can get pretty crusty too and also seize in the frame.



To be fair to Honda, I doubt they were thinking 30 years ahead when they built

the bikes and many other bikes of a similar age suffer the same way

 

[Cobram]

There is nothing out there (except maybe porcelain) that will adhere to an oxidized subsurface. Whatever coating or even plating that's done HAS to be applied to a surface that it can adhere to. We've all seen chunks of chrome come off when the underlying surface rusts or oxidizes, doesn't mean that hard chrome plating is less of a material than spray paint, it actually shows that it's a much better than a coating such as paint which would just flake off. Powder Coat is leagues ahead of any paint on the market, but it doesn't do miracles.

 

[Toehead]

I worked on the SAE baja car when I was an undergrad, and we bought a hotcoat DIY powdercoat system. We used acetone and made sure the parts were completely clean , and a home oven. We put the parts through hell and it never failed.



I've gotta vote for powdercoating. Cheaper, easier , and less messy than paint. The powder was so cheap and went very far. No drying time either! Cured as soon as it cooled down.



-Brendan

 

[CXSarnia]

I did the PC a couple years ago. They advised me to fill all the holes prior to the PC, as the stuff is a bugger to get out of threads, and the threads uncovered or exposed will have to be re-cut. (I missed a couple! )