Well what I learned as a painter was, the customer is paying, I did not say 'the customer is always right'. When I was custom painting, a client wanted a scene of a dirt bike breaking through a time warp, and landing on another planet, along with other graphics. So I took that and went with it. Thousands of dollars later he had the bike breaking through with San Francisco in the warp opening back ground, and him and the bike about 10 feet in the air ready to touch down on a planet with giant plant life, a huge iguana, and two moons set in a green sky. Did I like the subject matter, No, but he did, and the truck went on to make it in a custom truck magazine.
Moral was for me, if the customer wants Imron, I paint it, if they want powder coating, I paint it, I'll only 'suggest other' if I think what they want is crap. Or if it's going to damage my reputation as a painter/artist.
george argiris san diego, ca
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Donald Gillies Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 12:37 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Custom powder coating of cycling frames;
My understanding is that powder coating a frameset is like getting a tatoo. It can never be fully reversed (as far as I am aware.)
Let me know how your Tatooed Claud Butler frameset comes out. It will certainly look great for the next decade, but if the frame is still rideable in 40 years how do you think the next owner will feel about the powder coat finish ??
I hope your frame never gets bent and needs a repair.
I hope you never need a new fork for that frame.
I hope that the next caretaker is as happy with the colors as you are.
I hope you have all the braze-ons that you will ever need.
I hope the powder coat gives you more happiness than the unhappiness it causes to future owners of your frameset.
I hope that when UV or basic deterioration finally kills your powder coat, the next owner (who paid less because the frame was not saleable to a "restoration" buyer) will not just dump it in the trash.
On the other hand, for an aluminum or carbon frameset, powder coat will probably outlast the frameset, and is perfectly appropriate in my opinion. But I don't think its the best choice for steel ...
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA