Paint stripping ... sandblasting steel frame ...

[DRietz]

Originally Posted by truth

I'm in the East Bay, who are the good and cheap powdercoaters?

Things that I care about, I take to Melrose in San Leandro. Things that other people don't want to spend money on, I recommend Leon's.

Originally Posted by edgerat

if you don't care about the final finish those are good metrics. However, I would be on the hunt for GOOD and leave cheap off the table. Just my .02 as someone who has a close friend that owns a PC business.

Agree very much with this sentiment. Go to Melrose - their prepwork is solid, they're good at masking/following masking instructions, and have a ton of powder in house that you can choose from. I've only had good experiences with them!

[rmhurley]

I found maybe the only powder coating company in Arcata, PAC Powdercoat .. I havent been able to touch base with them after a couple phone calls this week so I dropped by the shop today after work and they were already shut.. their answering machine says 5 but the window sign says 3.. The light was still on which gives me hope theyre still in business.

I took it as good sign that I was able to peep though the dust-clouded window what appeared to be a sparkly finish on an old non-descript bicycle frame.

[Deanhorsfall]

If you have a brand new BMC frame and you do not love the signal yellow I would not attempt to strip it yourself. Often the powder coaters want to do it themselves to ensure the proper preparation has been done. The local powder coater here has a sandblaster that uses water as well that does a good job. (There is a process called vapour blasting as well I am not sure if this is the same process as the local shop uses here). Usually a powder coater would be happy to strip the frame and put a new finish on it. I have heard that there are a lot of sketchy powder coaters out there so maybe ask around for who has a good reputation. You could always scuff up the frame with scotch brite pads and spray paint the frame yourself. That way you still have the powder coating protecting the steel.

[rmhurley]

Originally Posted by Deanhorsfall

If you have a brand new BMC frame and you do not love the signal yellow I would not attempt to strip it yourself. Often the powder coaters want to do it themselves to ensure the proper preparation has been done. The local powder coater here has a sandblaster that uses water as well that does a good job. (There is a process called vapour blasting as well I am not sure if this is the same process as the local shop uses here). Usually a powder coater would be happy to strip the frame and put a new finish on it. I have heard that there are a lot of sketchy powder coaters out there so maybe ask around for who has a good reputation. You could always scuff up the frame with scotch brite pads and spray paint the frame yourself. That way you still have the powder coating protecting the steel.

Yes! agree-have a pro do the whole job if its in the budget. I was glad to finally connect with the local powder coater.

They said the can definitely do a bicycle frame and it'll cost $150 to remove the paint and powder coat it and I would be able to see any color and finish they have ever done, which is also a plus seeing as its pretty hard to discern the actual color of anything when looking at an image of it. At that price, it is well worth having a professional do it. The only bummer is that it will take at least a month before they can get me in because we are coming into the outdoor-commercial-work season, but overall its worth the wait id say.

[Deanhorsfall]

Originally Posted by rmhurley

Yes! agree-have a pro do the whole job if its in the budget. I was glad to finally connect with the local powder coater.

They said the can definitely do a bicycle frame and it'll cost $150 to remove the paint and powder coat it and I would be able to see any color and finish they have ever done, which is also a plus seeing as its pretty hard to discern the actual color of anything when looking at an image of it. At that price, it is well worth having a professional do it. The only bummer is that it will take at least a month before they can get me in because we are coming into the outdoor-commercial-work season, but overall its worth the wait id say.

That seems very reasonable. I looked into getting it done here (In BC Canada) last week and the one powder coater's prices had doubled from a few years ago. (close to $300 Cad). The other company wasn't able to give me an exact figure which I really hate for I like to know what something will cost before I agree to it.

I had had quite a few frames done in the past and in my experiences the simpler colours turn out the best. I usually had off whites done, beiges and light classic green colours. I sort of want to try red and glossy black would be nice too.