Powder Coating options in/near Oxford

that looks very tidy, much better that nitro/wire brush/sandpaper hell. what colour will she be!

paint bump

oop sorry - here you go.

The blue was described as "french blue" and is (at least on my screen) slightly better represented in the 2nd photo. My only gripe is that in the top photo I forgot to cover the crown race and since powder coat + clear lacquer is quite thick I then spent a few hours carefully filing it back down to bar metal again - even more frustrating by the fact it was entirely my fault. Otherwise the guys at Vale powder-coating protected all the threads and although I don't have much of a basis for comparison, I'm very happy with the finish. When I picked it up it was very carefully wrapped as well. £30 IIRC.

In the 2nd photo you can see a slight blemish below the mock-up decal but again this happened after the painting - I was driving the frame to the lbs when some f*ck*r almost ran me off the road - the scratch happened as everything in the boot took on a mind of it's own under heavy braking!!

Got a couple of frames done at PPS nr Aylesbury (as per much earlier in this post) and will put some photos up later. Pretty happy with the results, I must say, though the guys at PPS have a rather interesting interpretation of customer service when it comes to keeping people up to date. It may have been miscommunication on my part, but no one ever seemed to know what was going on over the phone!

£60 per frame for the works: blasting, masking, and coating. Packaged up nicely too.

Not sure if PPS are keen to do small batches of frames in the future, to be honest. My frames were in a batch of 4 or 5 that flowmont took up, and there was a bit of grumbling on the phone to me about it being a bit inconvenient for them. Still, they got paid and did a good job.

Thats looking good, what are the colour options like at Vale ?

PPS??? inconvenient??? In the current fiscal climate I would powder coat my granny for a few quid ;-)

Here's one of the frames I got done at PPS, as part of a recently completed build for someone.

Have got some close up shots of just the frame too. Pretty decent paint job, I think, but then I've not got any first hand comparisons. Will upload them later.

Looking good Liam!!!

Ewanmac.....I like the sound of the sand-blasting. I have an alloy frame I want stripped. I don't have time to nitromorse it and shot blasting, I think, would be too abrasive..... I'll buzz them tomorrow!

I'm afraid other than what the man told me, I don't know much about it but I couldn't tell you that they aren't the same thing. Still my impression is that it wouldn't damage the frame but as I say I know nothing.

Am moving up to near oxford/aylesbury in Aug and am considering getting some frames done....any advance on these guys mentioned above in the intervening year?? Cheers!

not done mine yet, been getting into some "patina"

Any recommendations for south Oxfordshire...I'm in Henley and need to get a Viking frame sand blasted or dipped and then powder coated?

I've got several frames that want turning into actual bicycles for people. I reckon they could all cope with the same colour too, if it made life cheaper (so long as we don't ever have a cycling get-together). Red, I think. They should all be red, so as to make them faster. Although black would look slickest, obviously. ;-)

I won't be taking them in for a while though. Anybody else interested in making up a large batch job sometime in the coming months..?

^ Primetime Coatings over in Bicester would give you a good deal, they always seem up for a little price bartering.

I've got several frames that want turning into actual bicycles for people. I reckon they could all cope with the same colour too, if it made life cheaper (so long as we don't ever have a cycling get-together). Red, I think. They should all be red, so as to make them faster. Although black would look slickest, obviously. ;-)

I won't be taking them in for a while though. Anybody else interested in making up a large batch job sometime in the coming months..?

Am interested in doing a couple of frames in a light blue of some sort....based in Aylesbury for the moment.....you know your friends would like a Gorgeous Baby Blue bike more than some menstruating fire engine.....

might have gone too far

Lol I might be up for a frame or two as well mass sand blasting as we'll?

Definitely up for some mass sand blasting.

It never occurred to me before, but I should probably remove the steerer cups too, shouldn't I.

yes, everything must come off. if the frame has chrome, u need bead blasting, softer and less likely to kill the details, might be ness for aluminum also

one of my frames is chromed....the other not, so I am able to work either way. Would be nice to get the chrome one re done too though....

I'd be interested to know if there is anywhere you can get chrome plating of bike parts done around here. Anyone had any bicycle related work done in the Oxford area?

I have a number of ideas/future projects and they all need either metal plating or super-shiny polishing (which is part of the plating process). But bike stuff is tricky because of the fiddly bits on the inside angles of the frame, that are difficult to get polished, pre-plating.

Has this been resolved yet?? I would be right keen on getting two frames done soon....only issue being that I am car-less at the moment and working for the next few weekends (this sunday excepted).....when are you other folks thinking of time-wise??

Don't look at me, I'm stuck in vintage bike hell - a special place reserved for people who are stupid enough to try bringing nice old bikes back to life, without prior experience of doing it.

I bought/found a few old wrecks and discovered that my wife, my daughter and I have all fallen for one or other of them. Now I have to work out if I can update them without having to sell a kidney to pay for them.

Only after that will I be getting the frames done. So it's probably not worth waiting for me. (Plus you suckers end up road-testing the painters for me. MWAH-HAH-HAAAA!!!!)

Hey ewanmac like the look of your french blue frame! Is the colour still quite robust? Do you know if they are still up for doing bike frames at Vale? I have a 90's Raleigh Royal that is looking a bit grubby!

Yes, it seems to be holding up very well. It's my GF's every day bike and so gets thrown around a lot. I've not looked closely all that recently but when I converted it to SS a few months back it was in great condition.

Not sure about Vale, I haven't had any contact with them since getting the frame done.

Awesome. Doing the c2c next weekend so after that may treat the bike to a shiny new lick of paint!

Fairly new to this kind of thing. Any advice before I take the plunge? Did you strip and re-assemble the bike yourself?

Cheers