Powder coating - Aurum / Vaz / Armourtex / Respray gallery

I would like to strip my frame (It’s a Langster) back to bare aluminium and leave it to tarnish over time – I was considering getting it powdercoated but the forks are carbon fibre so I would only be able to get the frame done and I cant be bothered with the hassel/cost of getting new forks (plus I’ll probably get round to updating the frame one day).

I don’t want the hassel of stripping it myself so have a couple of questions

Will the Armourtex dip and blast look OK uncoated?
Any other “stripper only” supplier recommendations? (In London)
If I’m only getting it dipped and stripped will I still need to remove the headset race on the forks (and if im feeling really lazy the frame) As I’m not planning to get it coated?
Finally am I mad to think of leaving it uncoated - should I at least clear coat the frame?

clearcoat it or it will corrode like a bitch

also, the look is not that good just stripped, they have plate or 2 down there with some examples of strip and gloss and flat laquers that will probably come out like you want

yea, at least get a clear coat, you will have to rub and paper it down to take the rust off it every week

Thanks for the quick advice, I'll take it down and have a look at their examples and ask their advice. Just need to works out what to do with the forks now...

kingfisher, you can always find a Giant Bowery fork instead, they're alu (or steel, dunno) and should match the Langster;

clearcoat it or it will corrode like a bitch

No it won't, it's aluminium! Metal corrosion knowledge fail.

Aluminium is a fairly inert metal. However, it reacts rapidly with oxygen in the air to form aluminium oxide. So basically, the aluminium goes a bit dull. This oxide layer will protect the metal from any further corrosion in the same way that surface rust on a steel bike protects (to a degree) the steel underneath, with the exception that it doesn't continue to corrode with exposure to the air. Water/road dirt will not corrode the frame, unless you pour acid all over it on a daily basis, or live in a part of the world where caustic soda rains from the sky.

At least that's what my A* in GCSE chemistry tells me.

phhht, A*. kids today, exams must be getting easier

At least that's what my A* in GCSE chemistry tells me.

• I think you forgot to add the footnote.
  

Maybe a silly q:

is it possible to powdercoat with flakes in it?

chris

flakes? as in the sparkles? if so yes

Maybe a silly q:

is it possible to powdercoat with flakes in it?

chris

see OP for sparkles :)

@ titof if you mean 'glitter', then yes.

@ Kingfisher
When i spoke to Steve at Armourtex last week he said their 'stripping' wasn't the same prep process as say the like of Colourtech. It was more about preparing a key for the powder coating so i would'nt rely on Armourtex to do that side of it. Colourtech on the other hand would properly shotblast it back to bare metal. Have a chat to both direct rather than relying on hearsay though.

Although an alu frame won't corrode like steel if left unfinished, it might oxidize. Depends want look you want. If a consistent 'nude' aluminum finish is what your after, maybe ask Armourtex about a mat/satin clear coat.

Oh yeah, you'll need to get new forks too tho'.

as in sparkles, yeah.

Cool, so I can realise my thoughts :D

thanks guys!

A few more rattle cans:

O_O
U have made the humble unipack look FTW.

O_O
U have made the humble unipack look FTW.

@ Bigfoot, If u ever sell this bike the new owner is gonna get very confused once they get a few scratches! It was green, no it was white, no it was grey....

thread recognition fail... rattle can is not powdercoating.

Well the title of the thread does say powercoat/armourtex/respray gallery and that is a respray.

Can Amourtex remove braze on's. The frame I just brought has those horrible suicide gear mounts.

^diy_dremel? shave it baby, shave'it!

@ Bigfoot, If u ever sell this bike the new owner is gonna get very confused once they get a few scratches! It was green, no it was white, no it was grey....

The green was sprayed onto bare metal. they'll be more confused by the rattling BB and no crank threads to fix it ;)

Has anyone got photos mid grey RALs? Something like 7046, 7000, 7023 preferably in metallic. Its amazing the differences you get googling the same colour.

When my new frame arrives I'm going to go down the Colourtec route- powdercoated metallics have no depth to the colour, just a bit of glitter on top.

[quote=Bigfoot;715309]The green was sprayed onto bare metal. they'll be more confused by the rattling BB and no crank threads to fix it ;)

ha, ha!

What process do the colourtech guys use?

I think its spay on stove enamel. Not quite as durable but if you go into 14, where they use colourtec and armourtex the difference is staggering.

Does anyone know where you can buy actual powdercoat power/paint. Armourtex don't have the colour I need so Steve said that if I brought some he'd apply it with a discount. My google skills seem to be somewhat lacking as all I can find are powdercoaters.

Does anyone know where you can buy actual powdercoat power/paint. Armourtex don't have the colour I need so Steve said that if I brought some he'd apply it with a discount. My google skills seem to be somewhat lacking as all I can find are powdercoaters.

Presumably, Steve would know where to get it?