Help and advice is required from the STW hive mind please.
I currently have a Cotic Soul, and it’s brilliant. We all know they’re brilliant. I’ve had it for 2 years and it’s my only mtb and it’s never let me down.
However, very recently I found myself thinking about a new frame. It happens to us all, no matter what you ride, you always look at newer machines and think to yourself “well, my bike is great, but that frame has x, and that frame comes with y” etc.
In the end I chose not replace it as the only thing I came up with that could even come close was a Solaris and funds wouldn’t allow the purchase of all the other kit required for the change up to big wheels.
So, the next best option I came up with was a respray of my Soul to freshen it up a touch as the standard black is sporting more than it’s fair share of battle scars. And in my mind there is only one colour I can go for, and that’s Solaris green.
Apparently the colour code for Solaris green is Pantone 376C as stated by Cy in this thread:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/straw-poll-best-cotic-frame-color
I’ve had a look on the usual suspects such as Argos Cycles and Bob Jackson, but they seem to only have set colour charts on their websites, no mention of being able to do colour to customer specification.
So, this leads me to my question, can anyone recommend a decent specialist for spraying my frame in a colour of my choosing?

Many thanks.

I’d recommend getting a decent powdercoat mate, I think Cotic bikes are powdered from the factory anyway. I’ve used Triple-S ( http://www.triple-s.co.uk/ ) in the past as they always do a fantastic job. They have a wide range of colours, although I don’t think PANTONE colours are used by most in the UK, you’ll have to find the nearest RAL match. Much cheaper and more hard wearing than a wet paint job too. Decals and head badges are available from Cotic direct.

Powdercoat makes sense to me too- paint can be very durable, but often it isn’t, powdercoat is more resistant to impact damage in my experience.

And go to someone good, with excellent references. Triple S definately qualify- I got them to do some motorbike bits for me, first class.

That green colour is mixed especially for Cotic, I doubt you’ll get an (exact) match I’m afraid.
Most paint shops will have their own HUGE range of colours that they can do you, pick one from their ranges.
You’ll end up with a one-of-a-kind frame without having to get a special mix done.

a aint shop will be able to mix you a paint to match, would be pretty close from a picture, near enough spot on from a paint sample.

Powder coating is a little more limited, your average commerical filing cabinet powder coater might struggle. so try some one like Triple s. Have a chat send them a picture

I’m interested in this as I have a (lovely) black Soul which is likewise battered which may get re-done some time soon. (Pillar box red?).

Is there a deal of heat used in the powdercoat process? Any danger of heat damage?

As Cotics are already powder-coated, you’ll need to get that removed first otherwise there’ll be a horrible build-up of paint. A chemical dip will be kinder to the tubes than a shotblast.

Thank you for all the responses so far, powdercoat definately seems to be the way to go.
Any recommendations for top notch powdercoaters with experience of doing bike frames?
A couple of big ups for Triple S up there, anyone else?
I’m based on the south coast but would happily courier the frame anywhere if they do a good job.

Had my soul frame done in (BS 18E53) by Bournes in Birmingham. They did a great job and it was dirt cheap to boot. Couple of closer pics…

After dropping my bike onto another steel frame with quite a bang, I can attest that the powdercoat is pretty tough.

Bettablast in newcastle are a fair bit cheaper than tripleS. Great service

Powder coat is baked between 180-220c usually. The heat isnt an issue for steel. Alloy can be but problematic, but I’ve never known any issues. You cant really powder coat over exisitng paint because the powder is attracted to the frame by an electic charge. So it all has to come off, down to metal.

As above. your limited to the colours they have in stock, unless you have them order in specially. Most big firms should have a fair selection though.

Make sure they know the importance of keeping cured paint off the threads, & out of the seat & head tubes. Its hell to remove if they dont. All thread bar, large washers & nuts will protect the head & bottom bracket, as long as they put them back after stripping.

I can recomend CJ Ward, in Burton on Trent. He certainly knows his onions, & is a top chap.

I havent used them, but after speaking to them, THIS place seemed pretty clued up also.

And that green will look ace if you can get it. 🙂

My (7 year) old black Soul could do with a spruce up, quite liked pillar box red as an idea, but love Orange’s neon yellow for the shock value.

I’m half an hour from Burton on Trent, hope I remember this thread when I’ve saved up!

Bournes had no problem with ordering in any colour. I think he said it would be around £30 on top of the £25 you pay for a standard colour. Still cheaper than most places I’d imagine.

I don’t work for or know anyone who works for them by the way!

That looks like a lovely job swingbing.

@swingbing
That looks good!
Were they happy to reapply all the decals etc?
How easy was it to get replacement decals from Cotic?

Thanks Kelvin and anklebiter. Very pleased with it.

Very easy to get the decals and head badge from cotic, just give them a ring.

Applied the decals myself. Not difficult, just take your time.

got a Soul blasted and powdercoated for my son a year or so back.

He chose a fairly dark colour and we went for a standard shade as it was cheaper.

For £50 it seemed like a pretty good job;

I have owned a powder coating company for 20 years now. Not touting for business but happy to offer advice. Pantone colours are actually a range of colours normally associated with printing. The range is massive and inks can be mixed, like wet paint in smaller quantities. Powder coatings are bought in boxes of usually 20kg or so and cannot be tinted or adjusted. The range is quite big but nowhere near Pantone range. RAL and BS colour ranges are used normally but a few Pantone colours are available. The cost to have a box specially made,to say a Pantone colour, is anything from £300 upwards depending on the strength of the colour. This is obviously uneconomical unless you have lots of frames to do. Have you thought about asking Cotic if the frames are coated in this country? Maybe they’ll be able to help.

I have e-mailed Cy and asked if there was a RAL no. for the Solaris green but apparently not as the frames are powdercoated overseas when they’re manufactured and they don’t use RAL paint codes.
He did confirm that it is Pantone 376C though.
So I guess I’m looking for somewhere that can get me the closest green to Pantone 376C, preferably with experience with bike frames as I would like to know they will be careful with masking off the headtube and BB threads etc, plus I would want them to apply the replacement decals and laquer over them.

@Teamslug – if this sounds like something you undertake then would be interested in getting a price from you.

Thank you for all the responses guys, I’m a long time lurker, first time poster and your help and advice is one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a mountain biker :o)

Looking at colour charts the closest standard Ral colour is 6018. Best way to descibe it is as Kawasaki Ninja green. Should give an idea of the colour. The pantone colour is a bit more subtle than this, if thats possible with shouty green!!. We have done lots of bike frames before although i wouldn’t say it was really our market. One of my ovens is 7.0m x3.0m x 3.0m so we aim for longer and bigger things.The lacquer would have to be a 2 pack wet paint as the stickers will melt if a clear coat powder was put on then put in the oven. My e-mail is in my profile if you want to get in touch I’ll certainly try to help.