Kona Paddywagon powdercoated by JD, built by ScottS. Baby blue, 90% gloss
Looking to turn a tired and scratched frame into a like new bike? Don’t like the current color scheme? Let The Bicycle Shack strip the paint and/or rust and powdercoat your frame/fork in your desired color. Powder coated paint is generally more robust than liquid paint and the powder coating process is ecologically safer too. The Shack has teamed up with professional sand blaster and powdercoat outfits that are very good at what they do. Because of this professional relationship, we can pass the savings on to all of our customers.
What is the Powder Coating Process?
Powdercoating is a multistage process. Step 1: Remove all paint and rust from the frame – this is necessary because a small electrical current needs to pass through them. Step 2: Hang the frame in the painting bay and run an electrical current through it. Step 3: The frame is “painted” using a gun that charges powdered paint particles with an opposite charge than the frame. The particles stick to the frame and completely cover it. Step 4: The frame is moved to the oven where it is baked at about 400 degrees until the paint particles have all melted into the metal. The frame is then taken out of the oven and left to cool. Step 5: All of the threads on the frame are chased, then the bottom bracket and head tube are faced for precision installation of bottom brackets and headsets.
DIY Package $125
- Customer strips frame and fork of all components, bolts, etc
- Frame and fork are sandblasted or beadblasted to remove previous paint, gunk, and decals
- Frame and fork are powdercoated in color of choice (one solid color)
- All threads are chased and the bottom bracket shell and the headtube are faced to provide a precision fit with components
- 2 to 3 week turnaround, depending on workload
- Customer builds bike
For $200
- The Shack accepts a fully built bike with the old paint still on it
- All components are stripped from the bike
- Frame and fork are sandblasted to remove all paint rust or gunk
- Frame and fork are powdercoated in color of choice (one color)
- All threads on frame/fork are chased and the bottom bracket shell and the head tube are faced
- Bike is reassembled, all parts are cleaned, new cables and housings are used, and all brakes and derailleurs properly adjusted (equivalent of our $100 pro tuneup).
- 2 to 3 week turnaround, depending on workload
A La Carte
- Sandblasting of frame only $40
- Sandblasting of fork only $20
- Sandblasting of frame and fork $50
- Powdercoating of frame only, one color $60
- Powdercoating of fork only, one color $40
- Powdercoating of frame and fork, one color $75
Available Colors
We use the standard powdercoat colors from Cardinal. For a little more money, we can also special order RAL colors as well. Here is the Cardinal PDF of colors: Color Chart
Notes about Sandblasting and Beadblasting
The sandblasting process uses a composite of different types of very fine silicon grains. If the metal doesn’t have any rust, usually only a few microns thick are scrubbed off (3/1,000,000 meter), leaving a smooth bare metal finish with just a little bit of texture (great for the paint to adhere to). If there is rust, the sandblasters will attempt to eliminate it, which might leave a little pocking of the metal. Powdercoating over rust is not a good idea – the rust will probably bubble up under the paint, leaving a less than desired outcome. If a frame has deep rust, the sandblasting process might illuminate a weak structural integrity. Between The Shack and the sandblasters, the integrity of the frame can usually be determined before starting the whole process. Even though sandblasting will take a very small amount of material with it, a very high end thin tubed frame might be better off with a chemical stripping or beadblasting. Beadblasting uses a plastic media to blast off the paint but will not take off rust, and will not smooth out minor scratches in the metal.
