Powder Coating

[dirtbiker77]

Looking to powder coat some parts on the ol' rev but was wondering before i rip it back apart what goes hand in hand with the process. looking to do the A-arms and the rails. seeing that i have to take the suspension all off anyways i thought the rails would be simple. never have done before so was wondering if it was a big job, dont wanna miss first ride. finally wondering about a-arms with the heat and all i have to replace all the bushings correct? plus with the rails is there anything to change with sliders are mounting after powder coat? thanks ahead of time.

 

[pistonbroke800]

I just got a bunch of powder coating done on my Rev project im working on. When you have everything apart its a good time for new bushings for sure. They are cheap. I got the powder coater to make sure not to coat inside any of the mounting holes and everything went back together very well. The sliders went back on fine, a little tougher than usual but nothing crazy.

 

[dirtbiker77]

how much those bushings cost ya? and whats the work like getting the rails out? will be first time

 

[pistonbroke800]

The bushings cost like $30 if i remember right. You will get 16 of them, there is two per mount hole. Doing the rails is very easy. I remove the whole skid from the sled and then take the rails off from there. I would guess if you tried to pull them with the skid still in the sled you will have a terrible time. Other than that if your not sure take a couple pictures of how it looks before you take it apart and refer back when your putting it all back together. I recommend Loctite on installation.

 

[dirtbiker77]

i assume blue lock tight? but ya taking the shid out would be the simplest cause im taking suspension out aswell needs a rebiuld. did you happen to change up your suspesion on your build?

 

[pistonbroke800]

Ya i did, put a Holz skid under it and Fox shocks all the way around. Are you changing yours to something better? I use red Loctite but i'm always a freak with having bolts come loose or disappear while out in the middle of no where.

 

[RUDY]

approx. how much can a guy expect it to cost for powder coating the rails/skid?

 

[pistonbroke800]

Not sure about rails and skid. I think it all depends on the color and if they have to do a special batch just for you or if you can get in with other orders the same color you usually save some cash. I had my rails, A arms, chain case cover, bumper, running board edges and a couple other odds and ends done red for $200. Not super cheap but it looks pretty cool when back on the sled.

 

[dirtbiker77]

ya looking to beef up the suspension. i ride hard some days was thinking about the fox in the front but iffy on the air shocks but my rear just rebiulding the summit x shocks. i might as well go red lock make it solid

 

[neilsleder]

Be careful on powder coating the rails, there has been a few threads on this site were guys did that and took the temper out of the rails. That's just something to think about.

 

[brewster]

yup, you got that right. I went through a set of stock rails, and aftermarket iceage rails. Aluminum starts to anneal(become soft) around 370 deg f. Powdercoat from what I've heard can be up to 500 deg f. Had both sets done Matte black and they looked great. They didn't perform so well, after klm 6 @ Allen creek they turned into banana rails. Had to rent a sled from Valemount for the weekend. Anodizing rails is the way to go if your looking for esthetics. Btw, iceage rails r wicked!

 

[dirtbiker77]

Thanks guys. Never thought about the heat. Anyone know a good place to get them done? Will the front a arms become weak with the heat too?

 

[shoppingcart111]

If you've had things fail, are you sure its due to powder coating? If it was then you had a powder coater that didnt know what they are doing. I have a buddy that runs a powder coating shop and I powder coat everything and never had a problem. I've had sportbike rims done, do you think I'd trust a wheel on a machine that I can do 200km's + on if its been weakend by the coating process? I have my rails and a arms done with no issues, my truck wheels and other parts with no issues, mtn bikes, you name it. PM me for contact and details.

 

[TheMuffinMan]

For aluminum parts I would go with anodizing over powder coating any day. You don't have to worry about the heat, it doesn't crack and flake off at all, you don't even need to bother with masking off threads and mounting holes, and doesn't add any weight. I had a bunch of stuff including the rims anodized on my CRF a couple years ago for 90 bucks, and they still look great. Just my two cents.

 

[4x4racing]

it all depends on the aluminum and wether it was heat treated or not if it was heat treated stay below the temp it was treated at to avoid changing its mechanical properties some aluminum is as low as 311deg some as high as 1200 deg(nontreated) prob dosent help much but that my 2cents

 

[linzoid]

so whose the guy for the powdercoating and what's the prep? sanded down or acid dunked or what. what would i have to do?

 

[dirtbiker77]

thanks for all the feed back guys much apriciated. im going to skip the hassel and worry and get em anodized. ill get the a arms powder coated tho dont think those will have any issues. thanks again guys