[UiUiUiUi]

ok need some help

anybody tried powdercoating his 04 888r?
a friend of mine is thinking about it.
the lowers are some kind of magnesium alloy, he's not sure whether it will withstand the temperatures during that process or not.
any info about this?

thanks a lot!

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

ok need some help

anybody tried powdercoating his 04 888r?
a friend of mine is thinking about it.
the lowers are some kind of magnesium alloy, he's not sure whether it will withstand the temperatures during that process or not.
any info about this?

thanks a lot!

i would NOT do that. PC bakes at like 350 degrees F for up to 30 minutes.

Since the 888 is a matte base, it seems that a traditional painting process would work better. Prepare, prime, paint and seal. That would look cool, done right!

joel

 

[UiUiUiUi]

he wants it to look like polished aluminium to match his polished frame.

you think this can be achieved with a regular paintjob?

 

[buildyourown]

he wants it to look like polished aluminium to match his polished frame.

you think this can be achieved with a regular paintjob?

Silver powder actually looks worse than silver wet paint. Powder has small surface ripples that really show in silver. Wet paint will be smoother if applied properly. Niether will come close to polish though. IMO, silver paint looks cheesy next to real polish.

 

[UiUiUiUi]

Silver powder actually looks worse than silver wet paint. Powder has small surface ripples that really show in silver. Wet paint will be smoother if applied properly. Niether will come close to polish though. IMO, silver paint looks cheesy next to real polish.

its not my fork...
personally i wouldn't do it
but oh well...

thanks for the input

 

[MikeD]

What about just stripping the lowers and polishing them...?

I've seen some powder that looked very chrome-y, too.

 

[buildyourown]

I deal with a LOT of powder at work. Silver is tough. It can look good and have a "chrome" look. But next to real polish, it doesn't stand up at all. I don't think actually polishing the lowers is a good idea. They are aweful thin to start and mag has corrosion issues.

 

[wirly]

I don't think actually polishing the lowers is a good idea. They are aweful thin to start and mag has corrosion issues.

I gotta second that. There are already a number with the leaking pin-holes, you may not want to risk taking just enough metal off the surface to expose any unseen air pockets then having Marz tell you sorry on the warranty.
Would look sweet though, the casting on those lowers is really beautiful IMO.

 

[Kornphlake]

Can magnesium be nickle plated? It seems like that would be the best looking if you really wanted a shiny mirror like finish. Nickel plate will only build at most .0005" or so which shouldn't affect the ID tolerances but I don't know what the tolerances are to begin with so maybe it's not really a good idea.

 

[buildyourown]

Can magnesium be nickle plated? It seems like that would be the best looking if you really wanted a shiny mirror like finish. Nickel plate will only build at most .0005" or so which shouldn't affect the ID tolerances but I don't know what the tolerances are to begin with so maybe it's not really a good idea.

I don't think you could nickle plate mag but even if you could, you would have to polish the mag first. Kinda defeats the point.

 

[Brian Peterson]

If you were to paint the lowers, you would have to go with a wet paint. Powder coating and magnesium don't go well....

I have never heard of Mag being plated, but probably not a good idea...

I have seen mag polished, but I would advise against it due to the corrosion issues already mentioned...

Brian

 

[Kornphlake]

I don't think you could nickle plate mag but even if you could, you would have to polish the mag first. Kinda defeats the point.

you could polish the mag smooth and nickle plate so that you wouldn't see the ugly corrosion stains and the nickle plate would prevent further corrosion. I guess it was a long shot, I don't think I've ever seen magnesium any color that isn't painted or raw.

 

[UiUiUiUi]

If you were to paint the lowers, you would have to go with a wet paint. Powder coating and magnesium don't go well....

I have never heard of Mag being plated, but probably not a good idea...

I have seen mag polished, but I would advise against it due to the corrosion issues already mentioned...

Brian

Brian,

thanks for your reply
do you know the exact "alloy" of magnesium Marzocchi is using for the lowers of the 888?

 

[Brian Peterson]

Sorry, I don't know that exact alloy...

Brian

 

[UiUiUiUi]

Sorry, I don't know that exact alloy...

Brian

is there a way to get that information?

because it seems that certain Magnesium alloys can be powdercoated.
at least thats what several companies claim who do powdercoating...

 

[k9handler]

powdercoating can be done and at temps up to 450...but do not plate it becuase this will weaken the materials. I am not sure with bike parts, but I am positive with mag car parts that plate work (chrome or otherwise) is not good for it when strength of the part would be an issue.

 

[Tom DH]

I was going to get my Boxxers powdercoated, but reading this I am having second thoughts.

The only thing is that the boxxers are magnesium but they come powdercoated don’t they. so I would have thought that it would have been all right?

On polishing Magnesium, I did it to my boxxers they came up really well but you have to polish them after every ride to keep them looking good, that’s why I want to powdercoat them.

 

[UiUiUiUi]

I did it to my boxxers they came up really well but you have to polish them after every ride to keep them looking good

it looks great but repolish after every ride?
damn you spend half the day polishing...

 

[Tom DH]

It takes about ten minutes if you keep on top of it but its still a hassle.