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I'm thinking of changing the colour of the spring in my Fox DHX 5. Maybe to a snazzy shade of white.
IE: use paint stripper to get the old black paint off, give it a bit of a key, then couple of coats of primer and couple of coats of white paint.
Any technical reason why I shouldn't do this?
Is pointless technical?
not an expert, not at all but
1. i'd imagine your painting the spring will hardly harm it?
2. finding the right 'paint' for the job would, i reckon be tricky - surely the coating needs to be flexible or it'll wrinkle and break at the first bump?
cheers for the sensible reply marsdenman. Some kind of rust resistant paint should suffice.
I did have a quiet bet with a colleague on how long it would take for a typically STW useless reply. Well done ThePodge: 2 mins
[i]Some kind of rust resistant paint should suffice[/i]
most paints will crack with the flex - try it on a coke can prior to the real thing.
the Plasticote spray paints are fairly flexible. not sure how durable they are though.
I've been led to believe that you can have them powedercoated, and its supposed to be pretty tough/flexible.
A couple of guys on car forums have had it done, and they look pretty good. If the paintwork can cope with the forces a car exerts on it, I'm sure it'll be fine on a bike.
Also, you'll get a better, more consistent finish than painting by hand.
Powdercoating is your best bet. Rattle canning it might work if you find the right primer/paint, look for something flexible.
Would also like to know if this is viable.
Not sure if the spring on my bike's Van R is painted or powder coated if it was painted I'd be happy to just paint strip it and laquer it.
I'd suggest you don't fully strip it, just rough up the existing paint finish with some wet 'n' dry to provide a key then apply a few thin layers of white primer (Hammerite rattle can stuff), if keyed to the existing flexible finish it might not crack and fall off so much... Right?
will powder coating work? My experience is that most PC finishes are quite brittle, spidering near frame connections, I suppose it all comes down to the type of paint...
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I had the springs on my T4 Powder Coated when they were new, as the previous ones snapped through rust on the pigtails.
That was 45,000 miles ago, and I had them out recently to change the shocks, and wiped them clean and they look good as new. No cracks/damage/rust.
CAS Coatings in Bradford are bloody cheap for Powder coating, and very good too
I've had (car/van) wheels done there a few times and they always come back looking perfect, must be the cheapest in the UK too.
found some info on this: [url= http://www.eatonsprings.com/powdercoating.htm ]http://www.eatonsprings.com/powdercoating.htm[/url]
Looks like powder coating is indeed the way to go (as long at its not too hot).
I'll report back when I get this done.
run your coil raw for some weight savings!
run your coil raw for some weight savings*!
*savings increase with time.
Sorry AdeC - I'm powerless to resist...
**nixie - Member
run your coil raw for some weight savings*!
*savings increase with time.
** the value of your savings may vary, subject to the amount of pies and beer you do / do not ingest