Removing Powder Coat | GTAMotorcycle.com

Removing Powder Coat

Mike-the-Bike

Well-known member
Mods, feel free to move if this is not the right place.

I picked up a Yamaha TT500 that I'm in the process of rebuilding. I always liked them, my uncle had one when I was a kid, and the price was right.

The previous owner powder coated the frame and swing arm bright purple. It looks like a good job, it's just that it's bright purple. I want to restore it back to black.

Ive tried aircraft stripper but it will take forever.

Has anyone had to remove powder? What the the best way?

TIA

Mike.
 
Sandblasting will take it off, but it will take everything off. Then you'll have to powdercoat it black again.
 
+1 for sandblasting. For projects like that I have taken it to people with big sandblasters in the past. Pay them a small amount of money and get it back in a few minutes instead of spending a few days with a small sandblaster trying to do it yourself.

Can you apply a different color of powdercoat over the purple?
 
Media blast... and the guy is gonna hate you. Powder coat is a royal PIA. (I usually pay $75 to blast a frame, $200 if it's powder coated).

I suggest you do not re-powder coat it.
That thing has a mild steel frame with welded joints. Powder coat will hide cracks in the frame. The TT500 I had used to crack the frame under the seat and around the swing arm pivot... might have had something to do with the way I rode it....
 
Chemical stripping baths works way better, and faster than blasting.
I would also advise against powder coating on top of the existing coating.
It will not adhere properly and it will start to crack and flake off.

...you could try selling the swing arm to @joebass , he likes purple things
 
Thanks to All.

Seems like sandblasting is the way to go.

Miggs, any idea who does chemical stripping? Agree that I shouldn't go over the existing coat. I just want to shoot a thin coat of some 2K gloss black we have at work. I think it will be very close to the original finish.
 
Just curious.....

but can't you just scuff up powder coating enough for paint to have something to bite into, once scuffed up put on a coat of primer, and then your paint and clear ? or use POR15 and apply after scuffing up the powder coat...

I don't know why you would need to strip it back down to bare metal ?

.
 
I guess I could if I scuffed it up and applied a good tie coat. It's very, very thick though compared to what Yamaha put on, so I'd prefer to take it off if I could.
 
Could try PM'ing JohnnyP636 on here. He does coating, but not sure about stripping.

I had my car wheels, and some other stuff stripped and coated by Colourfast Coatings in Concorde last year (...say that 5x fast. Haha) and they are MINT.
I could text you pics of them if you like.

Even with scuffing it will not adhere optimally. Will still crack and look terrible within a few months. It's best to strip to bare and re-coat.

Picture putting latex paint on top of oil paint as an example...
 
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Use the aircraft stripper to soften it and then sandblast?
 
You do not want to sand blast powder coat, first of all its way too tough, so it will take forever. Then because it is so tough you will make waves in the metal, especially on aluminum parts. I have had this done in the past when a set of car rims didn't come out the way Id like. And everything looked ok after the blasting, but then when I re coated them you could see waves in the metal that looked terrible. I had to spend hours sanding the face of the rims down to get rid of the waves that the media blasting left in them. The glossy colors will really show the waves, you can probably get away with it on textured color.

Since then I have invested in a specialty chemical for dipping powder coated parts, everything we strip that is previously powder coated gets chemically dipped to strip off the old powder coat, then get media blasted to clean up and prep for re coating..The chemical I bought is specifically formulated for stripping powder coat, so it just eats the powder coat and does not attack the base metal.

I invested in my own chemical because the shop I used to use in Mississauga for chemical stripping doubled their prices in the span of a year. It was way too expensive and it didnt always come out 100% clean. S
 
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Could try PM'ing JohnnyP636 on here. He does coating, but not sure about stripping.

I had my car wheels, and some other stuff stripped and coated by Colourfast Coatings in Concorde last year (...say that 5x fast. Haha) and they are MINT.
I could text you pics of them if you like.

Even with scuffing it will not adhere optimally. Will still crack and look terrible within a few months. It's best to strip to bare and re-coat.

Picture putting latex paint on top of oil paint as an example...

You are correct I can coat over previously coated parts, but it is not the right way to do it and I will not give you any promises on the finish if you make me do it that way. Once a powder is fully baked/cured another coat will not properly adhere to the 1st coat. That is why all 2 coat colors require the 1st coat to be only 1/2 cured, so that the 2nd coat can still adhere to 1st coat.

Looks wise you can achieve the same look, but you will not have proper adhesion/durability, which is the reason you do powder coating over paint in the first place
 
Just curious.....

but can't you just scuff up powder coating enough for paint to have something to bite into, once scuffed up put on a coat of primer, and then your paint and clear ? or use POR15 and apply after scuffing up the powder coat...

I don't know why you would need to strip it back down to bare metal ?

.

That helps but is not the right way, if I am forced to coat over powder without stripping I do scuff the base coat. However powder is designed to adhere to bare metal or to 1/2 cured powder for double or triple coat colors. I personally dont see the point of spending the time and money on a nice finish, if you dont spend the time and money to make sure its applied and adhered properly.

In the case of rims, imagine they come out looking great, but in the first week you get 5 rock chips in each rim because you didn't strip/prep them properly. Waste of time and money IMO. Or while you are re assembling the parts you just had done, it starts chipping and flaking off around bolts as you tighten them...

Powder coating is just like painting it all starts with good prep work!
 
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