Engine Powdercoating

[jwisniew]

What i want to do is powdercoat my entire engine except for the side covers which i want to polish the s*** out of and clearcoat. My question is has anyone done this and if so did you tear the engine down to nothing and sandblas and powdercoat the pieces or tear everthing out and then put the skeleton together and plug all holes then sandblast and powdercoat without getting powdercoat inside the engine..... im just trying to figure out what the best procedure would be or maybe it should just be painted?

[jwisniew]

any suggestions?

[xx3003xrdrxx]

dont try it , your engine gets MUCH more wear than you think it does and it wont hold up for ****

[HondaRacing23]

i woulndt do it because it wont last very long

[jwisniew]

are you saying it'd be a waste to paint too? what if i just powdercoated the side covers?

[HondaRacing23]

Ya the side covers might be okay. I myself wouldnt paint powdercoat my motor> the motor dont get to awful hot but I just dont think it would be a good idea. The paint would fade and maybe even melt off if it got to hot over time. It my be something to try and see. If it turns out good it would be sweet but I dont think I myself would waste money on it. Just my 2 cents. Let me know how it turns out if you do it. send some pics.

[K_Fulk]

I used this on my motor. http://www.nicindustries.com/page.asp?navid=162

Had to remove all seals and bearings, and completly dissasemble to do it.

[TwentyBelow131]

IMO I would not powdercoat anything on an air cooled engine except the side cases. Powdercoat holds heat and with an air cooled engine I think thats just asking for over heating problems. But if you have a liquid cooled engine it should be fine.

[Mechanix311]

I just had my inner cases on my 250r powdercoated. I stripped it all down removed all bearings and sandblasted them. They off to the powdercoater. He did a great job masking and they came out awesome. I wouldnt do the cylinder and head though. It may get too hot but your cases should be fine. powdercoat is bulletproof too. It should always look good if you take care of it. Just my opinion.

[Lethalhonda2]

I have my sidecases powdercoated and after a couple of races they show wear.They look great when new and they still dont look bad but unless you have the time and money to keep them looking that way I wouldnt do it.If the bike wasnt going to be raced then maybe I'd do it again but the cost and the time to get it done wasnt worth it.I would check with Pappy to see what he has done because I'm sure he has done some motor parts.

[z400roosteR]

I saw a banshee down in Winchester Bay, one of the best looking quads i have ever seen IMO. This bad boy had the engine all powdercoated a dark/sparkly green and the shocks were a-arms the frame...chrome swinger....with little covers of chrome here and there.....everything was either powdercoated or chrome that thing was B*tchin

[prepracing]

I'd say powder coat the inners and polishing the outers would be fine, no matter what you do to your outer cases there going to show wear if you ride alot, as to how to go about it I would ask Pappy on here that powdercoats, he can probably tell you the best procedure or if it would be worth it.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by prepracing
I'd say powder coat the inners and polishing the outers would be fine, no matter what you do to your outer cases there going to show wear if you ride alot, as to how to go about it I would ask Pappy on here that powdercoats, he can probably tell you the best procedure or if it would be worth it.

i agree.

and i wont do cylinders due to powdercoating being a thermal conductor. others have and have had zero issues bu its a problem id like to never have to deal with, especially on a quad.

whoever stated pc is bulletproof, it is not. it is a coating tht is superior to paint but thats it.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by Pappy
and i wont do cylinders due to powdercoating being a thermal conductor. others have and have had zero issues bu its a problem id like to never have to deal with, especially on a quad.

Don't be offended, I'm just correcting the details. I know what you're trying to say, but your terminology isn't exactly right. PC is a POOR thermal conductor.

For the rest of you that may not understand:

Poor thermal conductivity means it is a good insulator. It does not transfer heat very well. It holds heat in.

This is bad on an air-cooled engine. Very bad. Powdercoated jug=overheating problems.

The engine cases aren't a problem, because you're not trying to lose heat through the engine cases, so it's not a problem if they are insulated.

[Pappy]

sorry wilkin, thats what i meant to say (its a bad thermal conductor..lol)

[Dave400ex]

Well I guess I will have to see how my powdercoated cases hold up. Even if they do wear, they will still look much better then before.

[K_Fulk]

Mine with the nic artic black coating.

Should n't get dirt imbedded any more either.

[Pappy]

Dave400ex,your cases really did not look to chewed up, they were just badly stained. ive done a number of cases, some have been on for going on 3 years and they still look fine.

polished cases are ok, but it takes alot fo time to keep them looking that way. i guess its all up to what you want and what you want to invest in them. i know a few guys that blow up so often they should just gold plate them and use them as paper-weights until they get a new engine assembled:devil:

[Pappy]

Kfulk is doing what i feel is the right thing. he is using a coating that actually helps disapate heat. Its amazing what is available these days and most people can apply it themselves so the expense is kept down.

i know the sidecovers dont hold in any heat that would be harmful but every little bit helps.