Powdercoating trees question

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May 7, 2008 | 01:13 AM

#21

raaaaaa

Road Master

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 920

Likes: 1

From: Northern NJ

RE: Powdercoating trees question

so it is possible to do it without removing the ebarings, you just have to clean out the grease and use HI-TEMP Tape wright?

May 7, 2008 | 01:48 AM

#22

MICHALISLARNACA

Cruiser

Joined: Jun 2007

Posts: 167

Likes: 0

From:

RE: Powdercoating trees question

Bear in ind that you will need to replace all bearings and assemble the trees with proper lubrication. Also take into consideration the extra thickness the power coat will add. I had my wheels coated and the first time I tried installing the bearings it was a nightmare. Had to blast them and do them again.

The power coat adds a couple of mm on the surface. Also have
a real professional do it because the trees will hit the frame and if the coating cracks it will real bad.

Take care

May 7, 2008 | 05:48 AM

#23

powdercoater

Road Captain

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 748

Likes: 1

RE: Powdercoating trees question

Quote:

ORIGINAL: fxstbharley2008

Just a quick note - Powder coating only lasts about 3 years or so- depending on where it is on your Hatley

WHAT?!? That is absolutely false information! If you have powder coating that only lasted three years there was something else that caused it to fail, but it wasn't just because it was powder coating. My '76 Shovel has been completely powder coated since 1996 and could enter a show today. All Harley frames, swingarms, engine parts, etc have been powder coated from the factory since the mid 90's. True, at first they had problems but that was because they were using the wrong type of powder on their engines and their preparation wasn't the best. They have since figured it out.

If you have had a bad experience with powder coating, or just have questions I'd be happy to help... just ask!

May 7, 2008 | 05:57 AM

#24

powdercoater

Road Captain

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 748

Likes: 1

RE: Powdercoating trees question

Quote:

ORIGINAL: MICHALISLARNACA

Bear in ind that you will need to replace all bearings and assemble the trees with proper lubrication. Also take into consideration the extra thickness the power coat will add. I had my wheels coated and the first time I tried installing the bearings it was a nightmare. Had to blast them and do them again.

The power coat adds a couple of mm on the surface. Also have
a real professional do it because the trees will hit the frame and if the coating cracks it will real bad.

Take care

As I stated earlier in this thread, check out your powder coater BEFORE dropping your parts off. Make sure they are familiar with the parts they are about to coat for you and know what must be masked off. There should have never been powder coating inside the hub where the bearings go.

My advise on choosing a powder coater is to talk to your local HD dealer and as many indy shops as you can to see who they recommend. Then, go check out their work and talk to the person, or people that actually shoot the powder. There are industrial powder coaters that specialize in production work (a thousand widgets per day) or wrought iron fencing. They can offer you a very cheap price to get your parts done but trust me, you get what you pay for!

May 7, 2008 | 06:19 AM

#25

blackness

Cruiser

Joined: Jan 2008

Posts: 105

Likes: 0

From: Knoxville, TN

RE: Powdercoating trees question

Quote:

ORIGINAL: MICHALISLARNACA

Bear in ind that you will need to replace all bearings and assemble the trees with proper lubrication.

As I said, I didn't replace any bearings. I simply reused my stock ones with no problems so far. I can't imagine 375 degrees for 15 minutes would do permanent damage to the neck bearings. I can see it on a sealed bearing but not on an all steel bearing. I'm not saying it won't, I'm just saying I was willing to take the chance and so far I've had no problems...