How to prepare your quad or ATV frame for powder coating
We powder coat quad bike frames in Kent
Powder coating quad frames is the best way to spray paint quad bikes and ATVs. These pages will show how much better powder coating is compared to plastic coating and stove enamel.
Coated at Windridge Coatings in Kent:
- the quad will be painted quicker,
- have a smoother, thicker fusion bonded coating,
- which is more resistant to cracking and chipping.
If you have it processed at Windridge Coatings, there will no short cuts, it will be blasted back to new metal, checked for cracks, corrosion inhibited and painted with the most advanced coatings available. A certificate of conformity is available on request.
Only perfectionists strip a quad bike to get the frame painted. Now let perfectionists powder coat it.
How to prepare your quad or ATV for powder coating
Present your quad bike totally stripped of all brackets and fittings. Remove bearings. Remove grease and road-dirt as well as you can.
Threads
Windridge Coatings grit blasts with aluminium oxide, which will crunch under load, we do not use steel grit, which will embed and lead to stripping a thread.
You have two choices:
- Leave in the nuts and bolts, these will then get painted. The paint around the edges of the threads will be broken when they are removed, leaving a serrated edge but the threads will have been protected.
- Leave the threads alone, and we will mask them with conical silicon bungs.
We will protect as many threads as possible
It is advisable to run a tap or dye down the threads on aluminium.
How do we remove the paint from a quad bike frame?
Most quads are powder coated, which is difficult to remove by grit blasting. Excess abrasion can weaken the frame and should be avoided.
MILD STEEL QUAD BIKE FRAMES AND ANCILLARIES
Mild steel frames are placed in a pyrolysis oven. This thermostatically controlled oven slowly and evenly heats the frame to around 440 degrees Celsius until the paint and oil turns to ash, enabling it to be easily blasted off. The heat eliminates the risk of oil leaching through the new paint coating.
SEMI ANNEALING
440 degrees Celsius will semi-anneal the frame. The constant pounding and flexing of the frame produces internal stresses that will eventually lead to cracks. We have seen many frames that have suffered these stress cracks through work hardening. This process will help to relax and prolong the frames life.
ALUMINIUM COMPONENTS
The powder coating is removed by solvent stripping avoiding excessive wear to the aluminium when blasting off the previous paint.
Painting a quad bike or ATV frame
Windridge Coatings carries out the following:
- Paint stripped.
- Blasted to an even grey colour, to remove the residue paint and rust and produce good key for painting.
- Checked for bad welds and cracks.
- Repair damaged frame after we have emailed you with a picture.
- Protect threads.
- Corrosion inhibited to resist rust and sealed with a low viscosity acrylic resin, to further resist corrosion.
- Apply a powder primer.
- Fusion bond architectural grade polyester powder top coat to primer.
Fusion Bonded Tri-Resin™ Powder Coat System
Windridge Coatings applies the Tri-Resin System on quad frames. As described above this includes a chemical corrosion inhibitor and two coats of powder to produce a better seal against the infiltration of moisture, which can eventually cause corrosion. A thicker fusion bonded coat of paint is more aesthetically pleasing with excellent chipping resistance. This includes the application of a top grade architectural polyester powder, that should retain its' shine and colour for fifteen years.
Turnaround
Most jobs are turned round two weeks.
Colours
Gloss black is the most common colour for frames but we can apply a satin black finish. We carry many of the colours in the Colour charts page. These colours are also available in metallic finish.
How to spray paint your quad
There are times when spraying a quad bike has to be done with wet paint usually because the colour is not available in powder, or a custom paint job is required. Customers who require airbrushed tanks supply us the petrol tank to blast corrosion inhibit, powder prime and sometimes paint in a similar colour top coat so they can wet paint over the top. This gives the user the best of both systems, the protection and robustness of powder, with the right colour or decoration of airbrushing. It also saves the wet paint applicator a lot of preparation time.
The cost - how much to powder coat a quad?
The price to powder coat in standard black:
- Frame: £135 +VAT.
- Nerf: £15 +VAT
- A arm: £15 +VAT
- Front nudge bar: £20+VAT
Other colours are available, approximately 100 to chose from, please allow an extra £30 for other flat colours.
Powder coating ATV frame
With stripping, blasting and painted with powder coat ATV will have a better than factory finish. We have painted motor bike frames for over twenty years, for both trade and the enthusiasts, most are from recommendations.