Some paint and powder coat questions

[AMechEng]

I picked up my '86 max about 7 months ago. I paid $1700 for a mechanically sound bike that was missing a bunch of random small parts and was wreched cosmetically (spray bombed). I've slowly been getting the bike put back together properly and now I want to strip and paint it. I'm pretty set on powder coating the frame, swing arm, wheels, and calipers. Not sure on the scoops yet. I have the hook up for hydro dipping so the panels are getting that treatment. This leaves the engine. I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm thinking that it needs to be media blasted and painted but I'm not sure of the process. Are the covers usually removed first? Any detail relating to engine prepping and painting will be great.

So I'm thinking of going with a flat black PC for the frame, wheels, calipers, and swing arm. The engine I want done in flat black also but probably painted. The fenders and faux tank I'm thinking a dark camo green type color. There are so many options but I know I want a dark, dull, aggressive look (no chrome or shine) so if anyone has some good color schemes or pics it will be great so I can get some ideas.

 

[Fire-medic]

Since it's all coming-apart, you will get the best results from removing the side case covers & having them done separately. It will come-out better, & the powdercoated parts should last longer for their finish. Now if you just want to make it a sealed-unit, you can just use some fine sand & a cheap Harbor Freight 20 lb. tank & sandblast it yourself, & paint the engine whole. If you take your time & tape well, your paint job should come-out fine, even if you use cans. The outlay for that method is probably about $150 for the HF tank, (assuming you already have a compressor), a couple bags of sand (kiln-dried) & whatever type of paint you choose, & some tape. I made my own block-off plates from some scrap AL plate, some AL tubing, & washers, screws, nuts, & bar-stock to seal-off the intakes & exhausts. The water fittings I just used some rubber tubing w/bolts to cap the open ends, or some rubber plug stoppers you can get at a good hardware store. I used ones sized so they fit about halfway into the openings, no screws in the middle or anything like you would use for pressure-testing a water supply or DWV (drain-waste-vent) line. You could probably try those for the intake/exhaust but I used the AL discs I cut w/a hole saw & edge-ground to fit the openings for the intakes/exhausts instead.

I think Sean may have a set you can use or rent too.

Myself, I am not a fan of the matte-look, to me it looks unfinished, but it's your bike to do the way you like. About the only time I think I would like the matte finish is if I was going to emulate a piece of weaponry, like a tank, plane, ship, or something. Unless you're going for the camouflage-look, I think some contrast makes the point a lot better than an entire monochrome scheme, maybe a flat silver on some strategically-located parts. Or, a desert-camo pattern on the bodywork, & choose one of the camo colors for the entire frame, & another for the motor. That way, things tie-together in a subtle fashion, & you could do the same for the blue/arctic or the forest-green camo schemes too.

Maybe the matte-black engine w/the bike in one of those camo patterns would look menacing, like the feeling a group of insurgents gets when they peer-over the ruins they are using for cover to see "what's that noise," and come face-to-face w/a Harrier on the deck, or an Apache w/it's mini gun rotated at their position...

 

[AMechEng]

I wonder how well one of those harbor freight blasters works. I already have access to the compressed air. I would think it would be better to use soda for the engine and sand for everything else.

I definitely want the engine to stand out from the frame. Maybe a flat black with a little gray for the frame and flat black for the engine. The covers are going to be done crazy since hydro dipping has a lot of possibility.

 

[Fire-medic]

Check out post #16. You may need to cut & paste into your browser. HFT results pics.
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=21096&highlight=Harbor+freight&page=2

 

[AMechEng]

Wow looks like it did a nice job! I'm trying to decide if I should use soda or sand. Did the sand cause any pitting? How effectively did it remove corrosion from aluminum? Thanks!!!

 

[Fire-medic]

The size of the media, the pressure, and your technique all play into the results. If you read my posts, I mention the media size. I have a 220V Campbell-Hausfeld 60 gallon upright compressor which does ~11+ cfm @ 90 psi, & for me it works fine.

The AL surfaces did get a bit of texture to them, but I think that would be lessened by smaller media, less pressure, holding the gun farther-away, etc. The thing is, you want to cut the paint or corrosion/oxidation quickly, but not by wearing a hole in the part, of course. I found the texture I got helped the paint I used to hold well, I got it at a auto body supply shop locally. The HFT setup worked just fine, no need for something bigger unless you want to use it for hours on-end. ALWAYS wear a rated respirator for sandblasting work!!!! DO NOT use a germ-mask, it is insufficient protection for your lungs. You are protecting yourself not only from the media, but what is blasted off your parts and is now airborne! Also, no exposed skin, it is always safer to limit your exposure, & this is an easy one to do.

The sand removed corrosion from AL just fine and I also did a DT-1 triple tree while I was at it. The bicarbonate of soda I would use for carbs, chrome, or anything more-'delicate.' When you use the bicarbonate on chrome, it comes-out looking like you just spent awhile on the buffing wheel w/rouge compound. It really does work great on something that perhaps has started to pit a bit, but hasn't developed big pits. I used it on a stock exhaust muffler & I was thinking of junking it, before I used the bicarbonate, but now I have it hanging as a spare for maybe some smashed system replacement if I choose. Patmax had some great shots of bicarbonate blasting recently, check his results.

 

[AMechEng]

I wonder if the 20 lb HF tank can use baking soda or if it is only for sand. They have another unit listed as a soda blaster so it has me wondering.

edit: I looked into this more and it looks like you need a soda blaster to shoot soda. It looks like baking soda works great for engine and it washes off with water!

 

[one2dmax]

We use plastic beads when prepping our engines. Check out the pics in the facebook albums (engines folder).

 

[Fire-medic]

I wonder if the 20 lb HF tank can use baking soda or if it is only for sand. They have another unit listed as a soda blaster so it has me wondering.

edit: I looked into this more and it looks like you need a soda blaster to shoot soda. It looks like baking soda works great for engine and it washes off with water!

I use the little $10 on-sale HFT hand-held gun for soda blasting, works great for small jobs, but you would have to fill it up a lot for the engine job.