Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all

Wondering if someone can give me some advice on powder coating and polishing. Have a 1957 Enfield 350 in what I believe is the general black frame and maroon tank, tool boxes etc. with original numbers. The bike is in general reasonable condition and complete drawing favourable comments from spectators when out. Certainly not oily rag although paintwork does show its age with inevitable chips and so on. Frame has been hand painted in black matt years ago by someone and not particularly well as runs here and there. As 'custodian' was thinking of restoring it as have had about 10 years and it has been brilliant in terms of running with no major mechanical problems since my original top end rebuild and repaired brakes/cush drive etc. (thanks Bob for the advice over the years). Only modification has been 12 volt conversion after much debate but at least horn can be heard and lights brighter. The bike came with Borani 18 inch wheel rims in a sort of brushed aluminium (can these and original hub paint be polished up and how?). Was wondering what type of powder coating is available for the frame in terms of quality of finish and what the rough cost would be. I'll take on challenge of stripping frame down and reassembling though never done before. Any advice from the sages on this site on what to watch out for as don't want to make a mess or cut corners so job is wasted within a short time. I will then sort the maroon for tank etc. Realise this is not get your money back venture if I do it but has been a true and trusty servant so maybe deserves pampering after nearly 60 years and is fun to potter around on. Over to you and thanks for any tips. Regards and compliments of the season to all. Hugh
PS would have liked to have posted a picture but not sure how to do it.

A full bare frame blast clean and powder coat is about £100, (some people have a crack testing done after a blast clean and before the powder coating is done but I have no idea of the cost of that.)

Hi Hugh, I had a frame, minus the swinging arm, blasted and powder coated about a year ago for £72 (inc. VAT) by a firm near Edinburgh. It looks a decent job although time will obviously tell. If your swinging arm has silent bloc bushes you'll need to remove them before powder coating as the heat applied during the process would destroy the rubber. I painted the swinging arm myself which meant I didn't have to remove the bushes. To get the bushes out you'd, almost certainly, damage them and therefore have to install new ones which I'd guess isn't a particularly easy job. To keep costs down when I restored my bike, I decided to paint the cycle parts myself; with as bit of patience an excellent job can be done but a lot of labour is involved, especially rubbling down old paintwork and removing rust. It took me about 12 months to complete the restoration although I didn't go at it 'hammer and tongs'.

Just choose a powder coater who is used to doing bike frames. Also, pay attention to all the places you do NOT want coating and make plugs/mask off these areas (steering head etc) It's difficult to get a tidy job afterwards if you need to remove the coating.

Powder coating can close up lugs and other mounting holes so if you have any that are really snug it might be worth easing them out before coating.

Lastly, is there anything that needs adding/removing in the way of mounting lugs etc? Obviously this needs doing before coating.

There's quite a lot of preparation involved and the power coated won't do this. If you just strip the frame and hand it over it'll all end in tears.

I think a powder coating finish is too shiny and perfect but that's just personal preference.

Powder coating?, Stove enameling?, Tried both in the past and stove enameling wins hands down!, BUT, I now use a good quality coach enamel, pick a warm dry place to do it use a top quality brush and stand the paint tin in hot water to get it good and warm, a bit of care in the preparation and it will be nicer than powder coat and just as long a life, also far cheaper and no nasties where you don't want them.

What brand of coach paint do you use Dennis?

Hi Pete

Tekaloid is the one I use but I guess any good coach paint will be OK.

Hi Hugh,

I remember reading a very good article in a very early edition of "The Classic Motorcycle" magazine (pre Morton's MM) on motorcycle frame and tinware painting and the recommended product to use then was "Tekaloid", with lots of rubbing down between coats to get a very deep shine.
It was stated that it had excellent flow properties, but one must use a very high quality brush and to condition it before use by vigorously brushing it (dry) back and forth on the edge of a house brick to remove all the loose hairs then wash it in soap and water and allow to dry completely before use.

I have used powder coating in the past but the trouble is that if you get a stone chip, it is very difficult touch up.

I once had a frame powder coated and then I flatted it down with wet & dry, then painted it with aerosols ending up with a very nice durable finish.

Before the powder coating was applied I inserted wooden plugs into all the threaded holes and headstock etc.

Hope this helps.

REgards Dick.

Big problem with powder coating is that any puncture or perforation in the coating can lead to corrosion tracking under the surface. Its a non reparable coating and in an environmemt where stone chips are to be expected and things are bolted tight to the frame it is less than optimal. I used a POR15 chassis paint on my most recent restoration but Im not sure I would again as it has a satin finish. Previously I have used a two pot polyurethane clear gloss over a base colour coat and that looked superb. It was an early 50's bullet which had a frame the same clolour as the tank. It was a vert robust finih and relatively easy to touch up on spots where assembly had caused chips.