Springs and heat

S

sesamestreet

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Hey, I'm toying with the idea of removing the chrome springs off my bikes shocks and getting them powdercoated for a certain look.

My main concern is wether being subject to extreme heat in order to bake/cure the coating could potentially damage the spring in anyway.

Thanks!
 
IMO it should not get hot enough to have any impact on the tempering, etc. of the springs. The process is well under (not extreme at all) the threshold for steel.

Personally, I would just paint or plasti dip (best) the chrome springs.
 
Well I sorta wanted a lifetime coat. Plastidip is definitely not permanent enough and paint eventually chips. After all springs flex. I was thinking either gold powdercoat or brass plated for that shiny reflective gold. Just some ideas, I've got both a plater and a powdercoater in mind, maybe getting their input would be good too!
 
You'd have to strip the chrome first, then talk to the powdercoater, he should be able to keep it under 300 degrees if he extends the cure time a bit. Are you sure powdercoat won't crack wen the coil compresses?
 
three part problem, paint sticks very poorly to chrome. The heat isn't enough to affect the tempering, there is also UV cured powdercoat so no heat, (its how they powdercoat wood) . Brass plating would have to be polished (uugghhh) . A gold chrome would look good but expensive. I would talk to the plater.
 
Thanks for the input people! I was told the heat wouldn't be an issue but one coaster said he can't do it over Chrome, saying it would need to be sandblasted first, which I thought was standard practice anyways. Even though I told him I'm ok with that, he still said he can't guarantee the work because it can't adhere to Chrome well...I thought we had just established that it would be stripped to bare metal first...confusing stuff

skapan said:
You'd have to strip the chrome first, then talk to the powdercoater, he should be able to keep it under 300 degrees if he extends the cure time a bit. Are you sure powdercoat won't crack wen the coil compresses?
Click to expand...
yes I realize you have to strip it first. About it cracking, aren't virtually all coloured springs powdercoated? It's pretty flexible and durable.
 
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I've had the spring on my Ohlins shock coated two years ago and it still looks good.

PM JohnnyP636, he'll hook you up.
 
I used to work for brightside customs for a few years, as a side gig.

I powdered many springs. totally safe as the max temp it would ever reach, is 400 deg, but that's the oven temp, not the part temp necessarily. the part in the oven is typically cooler than the oven temp when curing.

Whoever told you that you cant powder over chrome, well I wouldn't use them. Ive powdered over more chrome than you can shake a stick at. If its in good shape, its an amazing result. Ever heard of candy colors? Best results are on top of fresh chrome, check out the brightside website for the sample pics.

If the chrome is in good shape, like not peeling, the results are better than if it was bare metal, very smooth finish, with no bubbles that can typically happen with older metals that spew gasses when they get hot resulting in little tiny volcanos in the powdered surface. Especially aluminum, steel should be fine bare. this is overcome by layers of primer and sanding before the final colour.

Id give it a light sand blast to clean up the chrome and at the same time give it a little scuff to ensure better adhesion, then powder.

If your chrome is peeling or corroded badly (ie. surface has deep pitting), it needs super aggressive media to blast it off. There may be some hand work in there too to peel/chisel/grind off stubborn chunks. This is where things get expensive. the price is in the prep, not the coating. Prepping bad condition springs is a major PITA because of the hard to reach spots. Chrome does NOT blast off very easily. Its very time consuming, and thus reflected in your quote.
 
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