Topic: Powder coated fork tubes......bad idea!

[nccb]

Thanks for the helpful replies and suggestions guys. I think in just going to look for some used fork tubes. Keep it simple. And yes I know this was a dumb mistake, let's move on from that. I don't need to be reminded every other post.

Thanks again

You big DUMMY!

[fendersrule]

No my god.

[Powderman]

Unless you get those tubes polished and rechromed I doubt they will ever be usable again.  The blasted surface is very rough and the surface of the tube needs to be very smooth and hard in order for the seal to do it's job and be able to survive.

I had to get new forks because of bad pitting and they were about $150 I believe.

IW

I would have liked to seen his forks after blasting. Most home blasting equipment will not remove chrome, you might dull it at best. It is a very time consuming process when my commercial blaster does it and he is pumping about 120psi at the nozzle. Most home blasting might be at 10-15psi.

[Powderman]

Anton - try removing the PC with Acetone. It should soften up and allow you to wipe/rub it off. If you want your uppers colored, try anodizing instead.

Nope, acetone won't even touch a proper powder coat job. Hell I don't think air craft stripper will touch it. The only things that will take it off are super heating for a long period or abrasion.

You sir are totally incorrect. Aircraft stripper will easily remove cured powder coating. To super heat it to burn it off will requires temps of upwards of 900*F, I would not subject any part on my bike to those kind of temps. I never strip powder coating with anything other than chemical strippers. You are correct that acetone will not get the job done if the powder is fully cured. Aircraft stripper is not as time consuming as some make it out to be. 10-15 minutes will strip it clean.

[Powderman]

Now while I will admit it is a bad idea for a street driven bike I have successfully coated fork tubes in the past. I did a set in Candy Yellow for a CBX show bike. It is never ridden and the only action the forks see is when the bike is wheeled around from the trailer to the show area and they are still good after 5 years. In this application if it is done correctly the tube will only be 1-2mil larger (.001"-.002"), if you have an open slotted triple tree you can spread the opening just enough to get the tube in.

[754]

How's tick is powdercoat. Today?
 Used to get 10-20 thou buildup..

[lucky]

My question is who in their right mind would do this for you without asking first, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Obviously your guy does not know much about motorcycles or suspension components.
Or maybe he has inhaled too much powder.

The employee was another young guy that knows nothing but acts like he knows everything?

[MRieck]

Thanks for the helpful replies and suggestions guys. I think in just going to look for some used fork tubes. Keep it simple. And yes I know this was a dumb mistake, let's move on from that. I don't need to be reminded every other post.

Thanks again

Exactly....good decision.

[Powderman]

How's thick is powdercoat. Today?
 Used to get 10-20 thou buildup..

Most powders ask for a 1.5-2.5mil (.0015-.0025"), 10x's less than what you mention.

[754]

Ahh that is like regular paint.. The 750 frames have about..006 total on their frames. With factory paint, i assume it was wet paint, not powder.
 Although I did not remove. It to measure. Bare tubing.. I am assuming the tubing is +- .001.

[Lostboy Steve]

Anton - try removing the PC with Acetone. It should soften up and allow you to wipe/rub it off. If you want your uppers colored, try anodizing instead.

Nope, acetone won't even touch a proper powder coat job. Hell I don't think air craft stripper will touch it. The only things that will take it off are super heating for a long period or abrasion.

You sir are totally incorrect. Aircraft stripper will easily remove cured powder coating. To super heat it to burn it off will requires temps of upwards of 900*F, I would not subject any part on my bike to those kind of temps. I never strip powder coating with anything other than chemical strippers. You are correct that acetone will not get the job done if the powder is fully cured. Aircraft stripper is not as time consuming as some make it out to be. 10-15 minutes will strip it clean.

It probably has a lot to do with the type of aircraft remover. The rustoleum stuff take a while, and needs to be scraped with a plastic scraper. Or at least it did for me.

[Powderman]

Twisted, I'm going to still have to disagree. The active chemical in the strippers is Methylene Chloride. It's the same thing in the Rustoleum stripper. I use an industrial liquid Methylene Chloride that is much quicker than the paste type. Kleen Strip at Home Depot now offers their stripper in an aerosol spray paste/gel. The funny thing is if you read the directions on just about every aircraft stripper out there it says "Not to be used on aircraft"

Rustoleums product is actually called Aircraft Remover. When you spray it on does the aircraft disappear? The paint stays there but the airplane disappears.

[FuZZie]

LOL 

[Lostboy Steve]

Twisted, I'm going to still have to disagree. The active chemical in the strippers is Methylene Chloride. It's the same thing in the Rustoleum stripper. I use an industrial liquid Methylene Chloride that is much quicker than the paste type. Kleen Strip at Home Depot now offers their stripper in an aerosol spray paste/gel. The funny thing is if you read the directions on just about every aircraft stripper out there it says "Not to be used on aircraft"

Rustoleums product is actually called Aircraft Remover. When you spray it on does the aircraft disappear? The paint stays there but the airplane disappears.

Yes, it is ridiculous. It does indeed say that on the label.