The Powder process...

I've had a lot of folks email me asking the difference in finishes for bicycles...how does powder coating differ from paint, are metallics possible with powder, what colors are available, and why is paint more expensive?

As I've been inundating y'all with pics of my paint booth construction, I thought I'd explain a bit about the powder process that I use, what it's strengths and weaknesses are, and what is possible in the world of powder today.

So, grab a cup of joe, and pull up a chair, and let's look at the process of powder coating a bicycle frame here at Groovy.

We begin by hand stripping the paint off of the existing frame and components, in this case, the shop demo Bigwheel. The primer I use is like concrete when you try to strip it off, super tough, so I do not relish this part of the process. Typically, there are portions that just will not come off, kinda like here in this pic...

The frame needs to be immaculately clean before any finish can be applied, both for quality of finish as well as durability. So, the next stop is the blast cabinet. The frame has to be totally closed up so that the abrasive material does not get inside the tubing, so all vent holes are taped over and water bottle bosses filled with bolts.

Here's a shot of the frame, fork, and bar all blasted and cleaned. All handling from this point on must be with gloves on so that the oils from your skin do not contaminate the base material. The abrasive blasting gives the finish a superior texture for mechanical adhesion.

Every thing gets wrapped in plastic and off to Chupp's powder coating we go. Vernon has a facility that has done many production runs of bicycle frames for large manufacturers as well as working for general industry. Vernon custom designed this facility and invested mucho bucks in the set up; the result is consistent finish quality and efficient operation.

We're going to start with Willy, Vernon's right hand man. Willy and I masked off the important aspects of the frame; the dropout faces, the steerer tube, the bottom bracket threads, the inside of the head tube, and the seat tube gets a expanding holder to hang from. All the parts get hung on a rail system that carries the pieces through the whole facility.

The next stop is the wash station. The parts enter a contained chamber that has high pressure wash fixtures that move parallel with the parts. The first application is a heated acid based solution that strips away all the oils and dirt from the parts, followed by two series of cleansing washes that leave the parts minty fresh.

Here's a shot of the acid solution tank...

and the two rinse tanks...

When the parts exit the wash station, everything gets a sealer coat to protect the base material and chemically prep the parts for the powder application.

Willy applies it to the parts using a simple pneumatic pressurized sprayer.

Then it's off to a heat chamber, to set the sealer and bake off all the moisture. The parts will stay for 20 minutes and the temperature varies dependant on the powder to be applied as some adhere better with the frame hot contrasted to warm to the touch.

Next up, it's off to the spray booth, where the rail carries the greatest static charge to help the parts attract and hold the powder. The gun also carries a variable charge that helps the powder attract to the frame.

The powder it's self will sit in a vibratory feed unit, gently shaking the powder in it's box allowing for it to be easily drawn up the tubing to the gun.

The powder comes in a variety of sizes...here's but one stack of stock that Vernon has available.

For this frame, we'll be using a metallic rootbeer with antique brown clear coat, it will give the white of the decals an aged look, kinda like document paper that has weathered and browned. I'm running some different material decals through the bake oven as well to test their capacity for the process.

Everybody, meet Freida...the chief applicator here at Chupps. The paint booth is a two step process, utilizing two filter walls. The powder is applied one side at a time, shooting toward the filter wall. The application is shockingly short, taking about 45 seconds. Quite the revelation, as a liquid paint job requires multiple application steps and loads of time.

The actual finish material is statically attracted to the base metal, but is very tenuous at this state. If you were to rub it at this time, it would simply come right off or smudge, leaving bare metal...one of the reasons the pieces are sprayed one side at a time, as the parts cannot rotate or be manipulated by hand.

Here are some shots now that everything is evenly covered. Notice the powder looks very grainy. As it is basically colored plastic dust, it will not take it's final shape until it is baked and melted, adhering to the base material's grain structure.

the parts move to a staging area waiting for oven time. One of the things that hits home is that this process has a lot of "hurry up and wait". Each part in sequence must complete it's time at each step and the stages reset for the next piece requirements.

The oven is set for a half cycle cure for these parts, as an antique brown clear will be applied overtop.

In the oven they go, and back out 15 minutes later...

Here's the first shots of the root beer powder fresh out of the oven. The grainy texture is gone, now replaced by the metallic gloss that is so much fun. The flash of the camera washed out the picture a bit, but you get the idea :)

Once the parts cool, the decals are applied and it is back to the spray booth for the antique brown clear.

Here's a close up look at the siphon tube that sits in the powder...

Parts are all sprayed and ready for the full cure bake cycle.

The final result...

You are going to have to wait ;) ... the final result will be a surprise. I can tell you this though, the finished product is very cool.

I'm waiting on some White Industries Eno Disc hubs to build the wheels, and then the big unveiling will happen.

Overall, powder offers an environmentally safe process, an incredible durable finish, and well over a thousand different colors that can often be matched to it's liquid brothers.

The finish is not as "show quality" as liquid paint and for the standard coater, the intense graphics are still unattainable. However, the price point for powder of this caliber is closer to most people's ability to commit.

Price for a standard powder job is $100.00, metallic or illusion colors bring $150.00.

So, what's next for Vernon's crew? It's a bike of another nature :)

Cheers,

rody

Goodbye my friend...

Monday morning a friend and father figure in my life passed away.

Herb "big ring" Winters was instrumental in my development as a cyclist close to 20 years ago.

I met Herb on my first Stark County Bicycle Club ride in early 1989. It was a cold rainy day, starkly in contrast with his persona; I was immediately won over by his friendly demeanor, firm handshake, and fatherly smile.

For the next 5 years, Herb and I rode together a lot, peaking in 1990 with over 12,000 miles shared.

When I married, Herb was my best man.

When he needed a new bike, I helped build it.

When I had children, he was as happy for me as I was.

We shared each others families as we shared our place on this earth, now, I'll wait until a time we can ride together again.

Goodbye my friend.

rody

Luv Handles getting close, sold out

Hey folks,

We're finishing up the latest run of bars and they are sold out. I've been doing my best to keep up with emails, but if I've missed you or you have not heard from me in more than 2 days, please follow up.

Here is the list of recipients for this run;

- Eric Angermeier of Slippery Pig (a kick-ass shop in Phoenix, gotta see it if you are there!) 3
- Jeff Scott 1
- Christian Artman, Germany 2
- James Wick 1
- Jason Bela 1
- John Keiffer 1
- Eduardo Marques, PORTUGAL...been free from Spain since the 1100's, oh yeah! 2
- Sascha Marinogele, Germany 1
- Tim Long, Woo town represent! 1
- Neil from Rohloff 2
- Jason Reinhart, Reagan Park overlord 1
- Rick...raw bars going to Hunter 1
- Denise Garro, my sister in arms! 1

If you have paid and do not see your name on this list, please email me rody@groovycycleworks.com . That means you are slow to join the party and are set for the next run or I've been human again and missed you.

cheers,

rody

Random happenings...

22 inches of snow fell in just under 24 hours with blizzard conditions and howling winds. This is what I came upon this morning...about an hour of shoveling to get a place to park and into the door. The wind had blown so much, there were areas with no snow and drifts that were 5 feet high!


Today, I continued my long and arduous journey towards completion of the paint booth. Good golly, everything ALWAYS takes longer than you think it will (well, I can think of one exception, wink wink)

Got all the joints taped and the first coat of joint compound down. I also fully installed the double paned glass panels...it is going to be sweet when finished :)


Worked a bit on a custom one piece Luv Handle and stem combo. Denise Garro has got a kickin new 650b built for her by her hubby Steve of Coconino Cycles in Flagstaff. Steve kitted it out with as much US built components from vendors of NAHBS but fell short in the handlebar and stem department. I could not resist twisting their arms into using some sweet luv. This bar/stem will get a custom sunflower paint to match the Spectrum powder job on Denise's bike. Should be cool. I'll deliver it when I head to AZ in April for my yearly escape from Ohio weather.

Here's a close up shot of the weld bead for those that like bike fab porn.

Got an email from Chris saying it's time to "give the people what they want...more bike pics!", so here you go. This is the first road frame I ever built back in '94. It was purchased by a friend for his wife and ridden over 60,000 miles before it was retired due to worn out parts. It was cheaper to buy a new Specialized than to refurb the bike :(

Eventually, I mentioned that I needed to build up a bike for Kalten for this years GOBA adventure and this frame made it's way back to me...thanks Anne!

I stripped and resprayed the frame, using a oxy/acyt bullseye pattern under a transleusant metallic blue paint. In the sun, the bullseyes show through really well, making for a neat effect. Old school parts compliment the build. Should be an excellent ride for Big K.

A really cool old Salsa stem that I've been hoarding for the last 20 years... I knew I'd eventually find the right project :)

Old school Dura-ace drive train

And finally, the random shop pic for the week...my recycle box. Can you tell what I drink a lot of?
Til next time...

rody

I've not been slacking!

Just because you've not heard from me, doesn't mean I've not been busy :)

Lots of stuff to get y'all caught up on.

Paint Booth:

Well, things never move as quickly as I'd like them too. I've been working away on the booth in an attempt to get it completed this week. Just goes slow when you are by yourself...one of the downers of the "one man show". Got most of the fire resistive drywall up and will be mudding soon. Once dryed and sanded, the windows will go in, filter wall up, wash down everything, and we'll give it a trial run. Really looking forward to having a well lit booth to lay down some sweet color luvin.

Restos:

I've got a slew of repaints/restos to do here in March; Bob's Yo Eddy, Todd's Yo Eddy, Jeff's Bruiser, a Wicked, an Assault, a Grove Ti, and the shop demo Bigwheel. We've been busy stripping them to prepare for the structural work and paint.

One of the best frames is a Fat Chance Monster that came in...gotta admit, I've seen lots of Fats without "clothes" on, and the Monster is the best constructed frame I've seen. The miters of the monostay are so much tighter than the typical seat stay design, allowing for smaller welds and a cleaner look. The design lends it's self to this, as well as a softer ride. It's definately what I'll be looking for when I get a new Fat for myself.

One of the worst is a Wicked that's lived a hard life. I've talked of the need to really be aggressive with your preventative rust treatment in steel frames (one of the reasons all my frames are internally vented and sprayed with chemical preventative) to have them last a lifetime, this Wicked is good evidence of why. Below are some pics of the Bottom Bracket...I literally had to resort to the BIG pursuader's to get these bearings out. Hopefully, some diligent work with the files and blaster will bring this frame back to where it needs to be.

My OTHER job:

Some of you know, my "other" full time job is working as a shift commander/paramedic for the City of Wooster Division of Fire. Occasionally, we have the opportunity to assist neighboring departments with large conflagrations, this week was one such opportunity. An arsonist started a fire in an old manufacturing plant; brick and large timber so there was lots of fire load. The temp was somewhere between zero and 10 degrees; while the fire was dramatic, it was VERY cold. Everything, including us, had a layer of ice at least an inch thick by the end of the operation. I'm the guy 100' up in the platform...our job was to suppress the fire on the East end of the structure and keep it from extending into the two connected buildings. Thankfully, we were successful.

Enjoy the pics...

Fire upon arrival;

Our position;

A good solid stream;

The wind shifted...look out!

Lastly, the last shipment of Luv Handles went out last week...US, Germany, and Japan all have some coming to their shores :) Next batch will hopefully be done in about 12 days, once the booth is operational.

cheers,

rody