powdercoating question

[awsomeaussies]

I'm going to be getting my frame powdercoated soon. But decided to strip the paint off myself to save some money. I've done my subframe already with paint stripper and sand paper. The question I have is does all of the paint need to be off or just the majority of it. It's almost impossible to get all the paint off in the hard to reach places. It took me two days to prep my subframe and can't imagine how long it will take me to get all the paint off my frame.
I'm also considering buying a fairly cheap sandblaster, but don't know much about them. Are there any decent ones under $100? Do I need an aircompresser?

Thanks

[yamahonda]

the better you prep th better the finish will be...i would wanna make sure i got all paint off so the powder coat will bond the same all over... but i have seen ppl powder with some paint in the corners... as for a sand blaster you do need air and it'll do the job... but it would prolly be cheaper just to pay someone... to sand blast it unless you plan on blasting alot of things to make it worth buying a sand blaster.... most powder coaters will do it for ya for a fee... i have never had this done personally but have seen alot of ppl that have so this is my opinion

[2000ex]

The only way to sufficiently strip the frame for a good PC job is a final media blasting to remove ALL remaining coatings. Most people do not fully understand the intensive labor involved in PC'ing a frame.

A few of the boys on here who PC will attest to that :o

[awsomeaussies]

I was planning on having my frame, subframe, a-arms, and swingarm sandblasted. I got some quotes and they wanted to charge me more than what it would cost to powdercoat everything. I called American Powdercoating in WA and told me they would powdercoat everything for $180.00, but that I would need to prep everything first. I've seen some of their work and they do a really good job. That's why I was trying to get away with stripping everything my self. I think I might just buy a sandblaster. Does anyone know of a good sandblaster that's not to expensive? And would I have to build something to catch the sand? I don't know much about sandblasting, could someone fill me in.
Thanks

[yamahonda]

to sand blast you have to screen the sand to get the fine stuff so it will not clog the blaster...plus you want the sand to be fine as possible so it does not leave big *** pits in the metal.. which pc should cover anyways.... then you blast your frame and swipe up the mess and throw away or whatever you wanna do with the sand....

[2000ex]

You need a very high volume air supply from a quality compressor to blast.

It is possible to blast your stuff with a chepo blaster, but that is like jerkin your willy with a pair of tweezers :eek2: It will take forever and you will go through a chitload of media.

If you could find a PC shop in your area that does the whole process you would be much better served than attempting to do it by yourself or having two different places do your work

[Woodsrider]

Originally posted by awsomeaussies
I was planning on having my frame, subframe, a-arms, and swingarm sandblasted. I got some quotes and they wanted to charge me more than what it would cost to powdercoat everything. I called American Powdercoating in WA and told me they would powdercoat everything for $180.00, but that I would need to prep everything first. I've seen some of their work and they do a really good job. That's why I was trying to get away with stripping everything my self. I think I might just buy a sandblaster. Does anyone know of a good sandblaster that's not to expensive? And would I have to build something to catch the sand? I don't know much about sandblasting, could someone fill me in.
Thanks

Call stripmasters in Buckley, they are pretty reasonable for sandblasting. I send a lot of my sandblasting there before I powdercoat. I'm not too fond of standing in front of the blast cabinet for hours at a time. There are also places locally that do better work and are cheaper than American powdercoating.
I live in Enumclaw, and I can put you in touch with stripmasters and also a few good powdercoaters.;)

[440exnacsracer]

i reccomend, like many others, that you just pay someone to sandblast it for you. with open sandblasters, you sandblast for about 5 minutes, then spend 10 sweeping the sand up, and filtering again. it will literally take you a full day to do it with a cheap sandblaster. proffesionals obviously know what they are doing, and it will be done right. its alot of hassle, but if you are determined, go ahead:ermm:

[awsomeaussies]

Call stripmasters in Buckley, they are pretty reasonable for sandblasting. I send a lot of my sandblasting there before I powdercoat. I'm not too fond of standing in front of the blast cabinet for hours at a time. There are also places locally that do better work and are cheaper than American powdercoating.

If you could give me stripmasters number I think I'll give them a call. I've called several places for quotes on powdercoating and American Powdercoating was by far cheaper than everyone else. Do you know they name of any local places that do a good job powdercoating.
thanks

[honda400exman]

You don't have to strip the paint on a ex at all. even at the temature that you are running in the oven for the powdercoating it won't bubble or anything and it doesn't even show through on the other color that you are putting on it. I just powdercoated my frame yellow and it never showed any bad spots at all. you just have to make sure that it is clean, an dry ice blaster works really good for this. but that is about it.


02 400ex
440 big bore kit
stage 2 cam
megamaxx 2 pipe
dyna jet kit
alba rev limiter
ac racing pro peg nerf bars
houser +2 a arms
lonestar axle
holeshot xcr tires
renthal handlebars
air scoops
k&n filters
powdercoated frame
dg front bumper

[chucked]

sand blasting is a b^tch and takes forever, unless you have a very nice one along with a high output air compressor. A decent sand blaster will be 150-200 for a job like this, and an air compressor that will put out enough pressure could be over 800, When i did mine, I got some paint stripper from pep boys, sprayed it on there and then pressure washed it off, then I sand blasted the small areas it didnt get.