Powdercoat or rattlecan?

[Zooligan]

I'm waffling back and forth. I can get my frame, swingarm, and wheel hubs/rims powdercoated for a decent price. It's durable, but if it does chip, well, it's kinda hard to touch up.

I can spray bomb them with appliance epoxy for a really decent price, and easily touch up, but not nearly as durable.

What else do I need to consider here to make a decision. What are you guys doing?

Z

[Nottso]

All my shit is black powdercoat with clear powdercoat over it. It's damn near indestructible. My guy charges "half again" for clear on top. Meaning if it's $100 to do the stuff just black, it's $150 to do black and clear. I'm happy I did it this way.

[punkrod]

Powdercoat all the way. 1000 times more durable than the best rattlecan I can ever hope to do. If you want to avoid chips, put the bike on a pedestal in the house under glass. You can touch up powdercoating with rattlecan if need be.

[wild04goat]

Powder coating has held out extremely well on my sportster. I powder coated the frame, tanks and fenders. Its super durable and reasonable priced. Just my .02 cents though.

[TurboRoadster]

Powdercoating is a million times better, how many bike frames you see chipped up, even old ones? very few. depending on the color chosen, easily touched up with a toothpick and paint if needed.

[Speed King]

Powdercoat man.

[Scavenger]

What about the in between,, mix some paint ,,put it in the gun and shoot

[OGGandhi]

Powder coat is how the factory does it.It's durable and unless you plan on skidding down the road,hazards are minimal.I'll spray bomb parts when I fabricate(just for design),but even with the bike on a stand they get scratched like nobody's biz.

[hogster]

if the factory powdercoats im all for rattlecans,plus im the only rattle-head and being different is different,you may now disagree

[trigger29]

I rattle canned my last frame. Regretted it after one riding season.

[Loffer]

Good gloss powder coat looks every bit as good as gloss clear , clearing over it makes no sense. It like covering steel with plastic .

[Zooligan]

Looking like powdercoat is in the lead!

[Scavenger]

Heaven forbid it gets muddy

[KF 56PAN]

Rattlecan! Depending on the build. Nice resotration then nice paint/powdercoat. Rat bike or rattletrap bike then rattle it!!! My last build is a 49 Pan and I rattlecanned it, no worries. I have a 56 Pan that is painted nice but it is my 49 that I seem to ride all the time. It is nice to have decisions like this and that is why we like the process of building them.

[hardkick]

Go for the rattlecan. They make real good spraypaint these days, and if you're so inclined, you can keep the can in your saddlebag for touch-ups as necessary. As above, unless you're planning a trailer queen, just spraybomb it. I have a buddy who even used rustoleum brush-on paint on his FLH frame, and it looks great. Nice and glossy. He used a $15 artist brush from a school supply store, and just painted it right up.

If you go low-tech and DIY, you can always do it again if you don't like it. I don't know if that's a ringing endorsement exactly, but if it looks good you'll be real proud of it, more so than if you just had it powdercoated by the shop.

[jakespade77]

Interesting people brought up the touch up... if you're going with a power coat you don't see in a paint color, how does one touch it up?

Also since going with an abnormal color, how well does the powder coat the clear powder coat hold up?

[scottericsonon]

I'm a big fan of spray bombs but I'm uber cheap so take that FWIW

[Loffer]

Originally Posted by jakespade77

Interesting people brought up the touch up... if you're going with a power coat you don't see in a paint color, how does one touch it up?

Also since going with an abnormal color, how well does the powder coat the clear powder coat hold up?

A good PC job withstands alot of abuse. Any paint will pop off without much force. Need for touch up is extremely minor. IT shouldnt even really be a consideration.

[Nottso]

Originally Posted by Loffer

Good gloss powder coat looks every bit as good as gloss clear , clearing over it makes no sense. It like covering steel with plastic .

The clear over the black makes it that much more durable, just like clear over paint. If there's a scratch or a chip, it will be in the clear and unseen.

[TurboRoadster]

powder blends and technology have advanced a lot in the last few years, make sure the coater uses a good quality, weather durable powder, I do a lot of custom multi layering powder work, they handle the uv rays with no issues.

Originally Posted by jakespade77

Interesting people brought up the touch up... if you're going with a power coat you don't see in a paint color, how does one touch it up?

Also since going with an abnormal color, how well does the powder coat the clear powder coat hold up?