powder coating

[beekstersocal]

im gettihg ready to powder coat my rims black, i would also like a very thin red stripe on each side [outer part]. my question is, is that stripe painted on or pinstriped. and will i also have a few options on tires that have the simular stripe. and finally hows the durability and finish of pwder coating on rims

[boxermania]

I have coated the wheels on my Bandit. There are a couple of things that I need to make you aware of:

The coating is very strong and durable

Make sure you deal with somone that knows what they are doing

Make sure all the thread holes are masked, as well as the mounting surfaces where the rotors will seat against the rim.....it is a beach to remove the coating and you don't want rotor wooble

I would run taps on all the threads as a precaution, you don't want to crack the metal by forcing a bolt against the coating.

I chose the stick on pinstripe method and applied it with the wheels on the bike. It looks very nice and if I don't like it or want to change the color can be done easily....and inexpensively.

[darthrider]

Beekster -
I had mine painted (red) rather than powdercoated since I wanted to leave the outer 1" of the rim in stock silver/gray, both for looks and possibly less chance of chipping when changing tires.

You can't leave a raw powdercoat edge like you can paint, or so I am told buy a professional who does both. To cover & protect the raw paint edge I had hand laid black stripes applied, ~1/8" wide.

They are a nice compliment to the red & silver "old school" simple, parallel stripes on the black body work of the bike.

An advantage paint has over PC is that while PC is tougher than paint it can also chip from stones & road debris. It can not be practically repaired and paint is easy to touch up.

My rims were painted 30K miles and 4 years ago and have picked up a few small and one large chips, ditto the black painted fly screen. Rims & screen will be touched up this winter, ready for 4 more years!

Paint is usually cheaper too. PC takes more prep work including sand blasting to bare metal.

I'd always recommend real hand laid paint stripes, not even machine laid stripes. Properly applied, enamel stripes are as tough as the base paint.
Striping tape always just looks like...striping tape. Proper hand laid stripes will never be perfect. There will be just enough irregularities so you know a human and an artist carefully applied them.

A badge of honor among old school pin-stripers is having the smallest signature, or signature logo. A good one can perfectly sign his work so small some will need a magnifying glass to read it. My favorite striper signed his name on another BMW he did for me inside a 1/8" stripe, so small it took less than half the width of the stripe. They will generally sign or not sign, your choice. But they are honored when you ask them to.

He used a 4" wide house paint brush with all but 2 short bristles cut off, standing & signing "upside down" to the direction of the signature on the bike.

Alton Gillespy always gives the lookers-on a good show and thier money's worth!

[R4R&R]

An advantage paint has over PC is that while PC is tougher than paint it can also chip from stones & road debris. It can not be practically repaired and paint is easy to touch up.

I've heard that also, but I haven't 'experienced' it - my wheels are stock.

One disadvantage to having custom wheels is since they attract attention, they need to be somewhat clean. Mine aren't. Everytime I wash my bike, it rains!!!!

[beekstersocal]

thanks for the tips ,i am going to consider the paint theory sounds like a easier way and also to maintain . i'll keep you posted on the outcome

[beekstersocal]

t

[jamming]

Beek, pinstripe it your self, look for a swordbrush at mackbrush.com
get some sign paint and practice. Its really not that hard, I'm self taught.
If ya screw up, a little solvent and it wipes off while wet, and start over. I've made beer money by doing bikes and cars. I can't do all the fancy stuff, but I can use a tape line to line it out and draw straight lines and curve around the body lines. As soon as it cools down here so the paint does not flash off so fast I'm gonna do my truck.
Rog

[darthrider]

Hey Jamming -
If we ever meet up I'll get you to lay on some stripes for me!
If that Speed triple ever gets in it may need a few...

[roxrider]

go with duracoat
http://www.lauerweaponry.com/duracoatco ... tegory=230

almost as hard as powder
bakes at 140 degrees - no need to remove and replace bearings
scratches can be toutched up

[darthrider]

Hmmmm....I took a look at the Lauer/Duracoat site. Interesting.
I didn't know they were making assault rifles for gay people!?
Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[BMWChef]

WoW!
A Lavender AK....now there's a conversation piece!

Chef

[jamming]

Darth, next time I'm Texas way. I'll pack the brushes, you get the paint and beer, the more beer I drink, the straighter the line ...
Rog

[darthrider]

Rog -

Darth, next time I'm Texas way. I'll pack the brushes, you get the paint and beer, the more beer I drink, the straighter the line ...

I just got set up in SmugMug (I think)...thanks Arkline! This will be my first shot at uploading images on the "new" R1150R site, so here goes.

Thought I'd show you what my pinstriper looks like (yes, he is crazy) and what my bike looked like after he "lined up about 14 empty beer bottles" striping it and a helmet. All the paint on the helmet is done by hand. The last image shows the striped fender and the painted & striped wheel.

Hope this works...

[jamming]

Darth..NICE WORK!...BTW..all good pinstripers are a lot bit short of a full tank I don't know why, its just that way, maybe I'm not crazy enough to be real good. I've drawn up a flame stripe template for my truck I'll attempt when the weather cools.
The bike is next after I practice on the truck.
Rog

[beekstersocal]

the rims loo k sharp dave , thanks for the tip ,i may have to copy it a little

[beekstersocal]

the rims look sharp dave , thanks for the tip ,i may have to copy it a little

[darthrider]

Roxrider mentioned a gun coating product called Dura Coat. I think he plans to paint his Harley with it.
I have a friend who is a master painter and an amateur gunsmith. He did a pistol with it last weekend and was pleased. I still think I would use (1) Paint or (2) Powdercoat due to the extreme surface prep required and cost. All they did to prep my wkeels for painting & striping was a light sanding and solvent wipedown.
But it does sound like an interesting option.

Here is what he says:

I had an old S&W model 36 chiefs special that has been getting pretty ragged looking so I took it all apart and re-blued it. I tried a new product called “Dura Coat” and it’s supposed to be the latest and greatest for gun finishes. It is actually sprayed on after the gun has been cleaned and lightly blasted with ultra fine sand. I will have to say that the finish is some tough stuff and it is what they are putting on a lot of the military weapons now – in fact you can order it in almost any color that you want. The gun came out pretty good and I enjoyed the project.

<snip>

That Dura Coat should work good for wheels……it is some really tough stuff. They make it in a “high temp” version also in various colors and it would be interesting to use on an engine. Only thing, it’s as expensive as hell, but if you want to do it only one time it’d be the stuff to use. Goes right on the metal, no primer needed. They do make a special “cleaner” to use, smells like acetone but they claim it leaves absolutely no residue.

Actually the finish came from a development process for aluminum frames and such (like windows and doors), but it is now being used on guns and knives.

[Bobby A]

They look good and the outerlip is chrome to avoid chipping.

[beekstersocal]

nice looking bike , like the rims ..what type of exhaust is that how does it sound

[UHGORDO]

Tell me again why you bought a waverunner???

Beekster, you can't leave anything alone! Is the construction biz slowing down or what...

Can't wait to see the outcome!!!

PS--I used to ride a BMW...