Anodising or Powder Coating - which is tougher?

[Paranoid Dave]

I want to change the colour of my belly pan, currently it's anodised black at the front as it's aluminium but it's almost worn down to silver at the front where the stones get it! :mad: I can't see the point of having it done again as it will only get pitted once more. Would powder coating be harder wearing and last longer?

Thanks to Pedro for answering my similar question about the yokes, seeing as he was the ONLY one to reply I thought I'd better start a new thread for this one and maybe get more replies this time ;)

I have lots of bits i'd like to colour black, is there any advice on good and pad points of eaither method or which parts to avoid doing?

Thanks

PD

[A Yerbury]

mr ped he speak the truth... leaving further replies redundant! I've no experience of anodising but my old cx 5oo had a powder coated gloss black frame. no chips, even down there, there was a small tear at the back of the frame though. this was ten yrs ago and the process must have moved on a lot since then. Most P C places should be able to offer some guarantee (longevity wise) of their work? could you boot up some pic s of kylie so as to remind me of this belly pan? its the RR foldy metal one JAH?
Alex.
ps. 3 swingarms on ebay at mo, one polished although u r no doubt frying other fish at the mo. was going to get some ebc hh the other day but the chap said "yeah they re good but try the -gold something?- pads, a bit cheaper and just as good" will keep posted.

[Paranoid Dave]

I'm glad mr ped speak the truth, I much preferrd the P C idea as everything would have a unified look then rather than anodised the ali and powder the rest. I only got confused as someone who will remain nameless that I spoke to swore blind anodising was tougher and better by far. Pah!

Yeh its the metal belly roadrace one like mancskank has in his avatar. I've already taken that off, the headlight brackets, U bend, little plate off the top yoke. More to strip as yet :D

[Pedro]

What I said earlier...

Powder coating very durable so should survive stone chips - you could always put some clear tank protector film over it.

Ped

[sidrat]

Poweder coating is a very hard finish. As a test when we powder coated steel tubes we would bash them together until they were dented beyond recognition and the paint would not come off. The plastic in the paint allows it to give a little intstead of chipping. The downsides are that if you have any cracks in the metal underneath you cannot see them, thats why it is not recommended for wheels and frames. You also need the metal to be very very very very very clean!!, we are talking acid baths followed by many detergent washes and rinses, otherwise the powder will not adhere to the surface. Finally if you do get some of the paint starting to flake, usually the edges, then the corrosion will occur under the paint without you seeing it and will come away like a snakes skin!!

[DesmoDom]

Not meaning to sound pedantic, but you say that powder coating frames and wheels is not recommended. Is that why they are the 2 most commonly powder coated items on a bike ??? and have been for years. :confused: ;)
I've had lots of stuff done over the years and never had any problems and as far as corrosion is concearned, what you described will happen with any finnish, if you don't look after it. The best thing I've come across to touch in chips etc is the wifes clear nail varnish.

Baz

[sidrat]

None of the Ducati frames or wheels are powder coated, they are stove enamelled, and you will find this of most or all manufactures. The reason for this is that powder coating, because of its plasticity will stretch, and cover up cracks in the frame or wheels, with obvious catastrophic results. Once a chip appears it is almost impossible to stop spreading, as the corrosion will seperate the coating from the metal underneath quicker than it will wear the edges of the paint, which is how you stop your chips with nail varnish as other paint finishes do not have this problem.

[DesmoDom]

Who mentioned manufacturers powder coating frames or wheels ???, all I said was that they were the most commonly powder coated items on a bike, because of longevity of the finish and as I said I've had lots of stuff powder coated over the years, including wheels and frames, without problems. Also if a bike has been involved in an accident, it's only common sense to have frames, wheels forks etc, checked professionally before any new finish is applied and surely if the accident was severe enough to cause the frame or wheels to be cracked the only thing to do is renew or repair the parts affected. I know wheels can be repaired, as can frames, but personally I wouldn't entertain repairing wheels.
Anyway, for the purpose of answering the original question, I strongly believe
that powder coating would be the best way to go, as annodising wouldn't last 5 mins.

Baz

[stef]

i would have thought anodizing would be the stronger finish, as its a bond at molecule level. I never tried to sand a anodized part down, but i would imagine going through a lot of sheet before getting rid of it ! but maybe i am wrong.
on the other hand, i agree with the general idea. PC will give you good deep gloss finish.
if it was me, i'd try anodizing, and i'd even do it myself.
(piece of cake to do at home)

[Pedro]

i would have thought anodizing would be the stronger finish, as its a bond at molecule level. I never tried to sand a anodized part down, but i would imagine going through a lot of sheet before getting rid of it ! but maybe i am wrong.
on the other hand, i agree with the general idea. PC will give you good deep gloss finish.
if it was me, i'd try anodizing, and i'd even do it myself.
(piece of cake to do at home)

Anodising is indeed a hard surface finish but it is also thin (perhaps as little as 5 microns) so for parts likely to be exposed to stone ships, powder coating is best. It's actually pretty easy to sand anodising off too primarirly as it's so thin.

Ped

[stef]

wouldnt changing belly pan be cheaper ?

[stef]

sorry, just read the thread again..
well, if its anodized now, why not setup an anodizing bath and get it done this way ? you can even choose your colour, and re-do it every year.
would be much, much cheaper than PC.

[A Yerbury]

stove enamelle or PC then seems the best options to me, the chips should be deflected by the PC and after all its not under stress wheel/frame wise so none of those woes? yes! do that! do it now!

[stef]

I like those useless threads where people have so different opinions on things.
Now, wtf should you do ?
i say just loose the ice-cream scoop.

[A Yerbury]

daves is more like a folded metal door stop than an ice cream scoop though...

[Paranoid Dave]

my rearsets are anodised ali, and they are rubbing back to silver where my foot rests on the peg and ankle rubs the inside bracket. My folded doorstop (cheers Al) is only anodised on one bit at the front, the sides have always been bare ali. I want it all one colour but seeing as how the black has stood up to the last 10k miles I think PC is by far the best way to go. I'm not so keen on the plastic belly pans, mines a pointless bit that has no effect other than a visual additive to Kylie, that's the way I like it :D

[A Yerbury]

gloss or matt? there's the rub....
Al's mr whippy emporium.

[DesmoDog]

Got to be matt - that'll look the dogs on a belly pan. Would the forks have to be stripped down to be PC'd? I've been thinking about other bits of the bike but I like the idea of getting rid of the silver lumps at the front.

[A Yerbury]

yes stripped completely, given the costs of stripping then pc costs it may be cheaper to get some 2nd hand gold mazochs? if you want some bling! what are the fork compatabilities anyone? just had mine resealed but had to sign a disclaimer as the legs are a bit pittied at the front, next time Ill upgrade instead but which ones fit?
ta.
Ale.