Topic: for those of you who powdercoated your engine

[wenger828]

gotta a question about how much you guys paid to have your engine powdercoated.. i have mine at the powdercoaters now, all stripped apart and taken apart and he wants to charge $1100 for the upper & lower case, the jugs, valve covers and cylinder head. sounds pretty damn steep to me.. jsut want to get an idea what others have paid.

[wenger828]

he says its alot of prep work and blasting thats required, although i did soda blast as much as i could. i sorta udnerstand since there are alot of nooks and crannies he has to get and alot of places he can't coat like the mating surfaces.. but is it really $1100 worth of labor for all those parts?

[Ricky_Racer]

   IMHO, that's Looney Tunes!  BTW, I'd suggest wiping that soda blast residue off real well with acetone before you did anything!  RR

[wenger828]

would you know what you would expect to pay? i want a number i can work with this guy

[Mo]

I wouldn't pay over $500 total.

[ekpent]

Sounds like you may need to find another 'guy'. Be interesting to hear more opinions as I have never had any done.

[Freaky1]

Tell him to pound sand, that's nuts. Prices are all over the board but I never heard of anything that high. I didn't powdercoat my engine but I did my frame, swing arm, and associated mounts and it was under $150, and that was with them sand blasting it as well. I did have quotes up to $500, but I couldn't be happier with the way mine turned out.

[wenger828]

thanks for input guys.. he is very reputable in the 'tuner' market.. heres his link.. http://needpowdercoating.wordpress.com/ and people say his prices are very good, which is why i'm not sure if hes just screwing me or what.

[malcolmgb]

Why powder coat anyway? just spray with engine enamel from a can.

[phil71]

i would think that would be bad for an air cooled engine

[iron_worker]

People worry about how "thick" the powder coat is and how it may slow down the convective heat transfer... but I really don't think it should be a problem. We're still only talking a few thousandth's of an inch.

$1100 does seem high but there is a lot of labor there. If he is doing each piece separately then he has to mask off all the bearing surfaces, oil galleries, gasket surfaces, threaded holes, etc etc etc.

I was quoted $750 to do my frame, oil tank, swing arm, front caliper, misc brackets, chain guards, etc etc. That price is high compared to what I have heard but around here the market is inflated from lots of mining companies using powder coat on their industrial equipment because of it's durability.

I chose to spray bomb mine after I got that quote and I'm pretty happy with the results. Powder coat would have been nice though...

IW

[phil71]

yeah, sounds expensive, especially when you consider this> http://www.harborfreight.com/powder-coat-oven-46300.html

should fit the parts individually

[wenger828]

so for those of you guys who are familiar with the process and familiar with the intricate-ness (definitely not the right word lol) do you think 1100 is justifiable? i will pay what the work is deserved but i was just a little shocked to hear $1100. hes a very reputable person in my area and people say his pricing is fair.. i just don't want to really be a cheap ass to this guy and at the same time not be ripped off

[matt mattison]

He is jerking your chain. My powdercoater did my frame, swing arm , center stand and a few miscellaneous parts for $300. And that included media blasting. For $1100 you could buy the Eastwood powder coating system and an oven to bake it in. 

[iron_worker]

From his website looks like he does show quality powder coat.

If his shop rate is $75/hr then you're lookin at about 15hr of work. (this is ignoring the cost of any materials) Remember he has to mask it all off before blasting (which is probably different masking than what he uses for powder coating) to protect all the machined surfaces and threads from the grit. Then I'm thinking he'll probably take all the masking off, wipe and blow the parts down before powder. Re-mask with the appropriate heat resistant tape and then powder and bake.

To make it all look show quality I think his price is probably not too far off. You can probably shop around and get a lower price but you may also be getting lower quality work as well.

IW

[bjatwood]

Too much money IMO, but you are on the East coast. That probably has alot to do with that kind of price!

[wenger828]

From his website looks like he does show quality powder coat.

If his shop rate is $75/hr then you're lookin at about 15hr of work. (this is ignoring the cost of any materials) Remember he has to mask it all off before blasting (which is probably different masking than what he uses for powder coating) to protect all the machined surfaces and threads from the grit. Then I'm thinking he'll probably take all the masking off, wipe and blow the parts down before powder. Re-mask with the appropriate heat resistant tape and then powder and bake.

To make it all look show quality I think his price is probably not too far off. You can probably shop around and get a lower price but you may also be getting lower quality work as well.

IW

thank you, sorta answer i was looking for.. i briefly soda blasted a copule of the surfaces but ran out before i can get the old paint off so really, i didn't do any blasting at all haha.  i am looking for 'show quality,' figured it would be a couplle hours of prepping, just not too sure how long. like i said, i know the engine is very intricate and has alot of nooks and crannies and spots that he shouldn't powdercoat.. i dont like being cheap and the type of person to #$%* and complain about prices when they are sorta being honest about the amount of work required

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I paid $400+ for my engine powder coat without doing the head. Base black coat, satin clear coat with silver detailing and gloss black H O N D A on stator cover. I took stuff to him clean only and he prepped. Metallic silver on oil filter cover, oil pan and clutch cover.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

$1100 YIKES.  That seems high for any part of the country, and this is coming from Southern California where used bike prices are generally higher than almost anywhere else.

[78 k550]

Tell him to pound sand, that's nuts. Prices are all over the board but I never heard of anything that high. I didn't powdercoat my engine but I did my frame, swing arm, and associated mounts and it was under $150, and that was with them sand blasting it as well. I did have quotes up to $500, but I couldn't be happier with the way mine turned out.

Never had anything done either. But interested in some pricing.

Freaky1 did you have yours done at Blue Flame I think off Dartmouth ?

Paul

[78 k550]

Jerry,
That's looking very nice. I need to ride down and see it in person.

Paul

[jamesb]

Our local guy charges $200.00 per rack. What  ever you can get on the rack is a flat $200.00 his racks are 16 feet long by 5 foot wide. You can get a complete bike on the rack by the looks of it.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Jerry,
That's looking very nice. I need to ride down and see it in person.

Paul

Hope to see you soon

[crazypj]

If you told him your doing a $30,000 custom, he's looking to get a cut of your future profit

[tlbranth]

Why powder coat anyway? just spray with engine enamel from a can.

Exactly. I think powdercoat and ceramic are overrated.