Coating fork tubes (not the sliders!)
Thread Starter
|
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 577
Likes: 2
From: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Coating fork tubes (not the sliders!)
Hey everyone,
I plan on blacking out the rest of my bike this winter with powder (shields, ac, heads and pushrod covers) and recently starting thinking about my fork tubes.
I know they cant be powder coated because of the thickness, however I've heard and read a bit about PVD coating. It seems cool, but it only seems to make it a darker chrome. Ideally, what I want is black, like matte or semigloss black.
In my search for a local pvd coater, I came across a metal finishing company that suggests teflon coating (I know, I thought 'like my frying pan'? too). The finish is very thin (just like pvd).
my question/concern is, does everyone's fork seals leave a slight film on the bottom of their fork tube? or is it just mine and poor seals? Its barley noticable on the tubes because of the hard chrome finsh, however, I worry that with matte or semigloss fork tubes, it will become much more visible and stick out like a sore thumb.
Let me know!
Connor
I plan on blacking out the rest of my bike this winter with powder (shields, ac, heads and pushrod covers) and recently starting thinking about my fork tubes.
I know they cant be powder coated because of the thickness, however I've heard and read a bit about PVD coating. It seems cool, but it only seems to make it a darker chrome. Ideally, what I want is black, like matte or semigloss black.
In my search for a local pvd coater, I came across a metal finishing company that suggests teflon coating (I know, I thought 'like my frying pan'? too). The finish is very thin (just like pvd).
my question/concern is, does everyone's fork seals leave a slight film on the bottom of their fork tube? or is it just mine and poor seals? Its barley noticable on the tubes because of the hard chrome finsh, however, I worry that with matte or semigloss fork tubes, it will become much more visible and stick out like a sore thumb.
Let me know!
Connor
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 583
Likes: 2
From: KC
Look into Titanium Nitride or Nitrate coatings, commonly known as TiNitride or TiNitrate. They are big in the MX world and drastically change the color of the tubes. Quite pricey but like a rich man once told me "You can't put a price on cool!"
Thread Starter
|
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 577
Likes: 2
From: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
yah seems to be the same thing. I think Titanium Nitride is just the material, PVD is the method they use to apply it. It looks good, but my sliders and trees are flat black, all the pvd coatings are very shiny (similiar to black chrome), I dont think it would look right with all the flat black on my bike.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,082
Likes: 11
From: Long Island, NY
Hey Hickey,
Check out these guys: http://www.lifetimecoatings.com/index.html
See if they would send you some actual color samples.
Check out these guys: http://www.lifetimecoatings.com/index.html
See if they would send you some actual color samples.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 728
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
I would think that any matte or flat finish is going to get polished rather quickly from the constant wiping of your fork seals. You'll end up with the top half of your forks flat black and the area above the sliders shiny.
Trending Topics
Titanium Nitride is the only way to do it... i have tried shooting super thin coats on fork tubes with powder wetsanding and buffing and still not had luck, it is not just that they leak they will also not fit in the down tubes
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Southpaw Super Glide: A Left-Hand-Drive 1979 Harley FXE Built to Fit the Rider
Verdad Gallardo
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
