Powder coat or anodize frame

jonahc_42
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jonahc_42
Edited Date/Time 11/4/2021 5:07pm
I have an aluminum frame dirt bike and I love the look of black frames but I’ve read mixed reviews on both anodized and powder coat frames, so I wanted y’all’s opinions on which is best or if it’s just not worth it to do either
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JBernard_401
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JBernard_401 10/23/2021 10:51am
10/23/2021 10:51am
Ano will most likely show different shades of the color you ano with, due to frame sections and welds being different alloys, and will be really nasty on the cast sections as it doesn't take ano well. Will cost probably 300+ if you can find someone to do it.
Powder is to thick and will take a lot of masking.

I'd go Cerakote.
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JWACK
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JWACK 10/23/2021 11:01am
10/23/2021 11:01am
Just my opinion but, Don’t do it!
That is unless it’s only a show bike and then that’s cool.
It will look like poo in a very short time.. Plus the beauty of having an unpainted aluminum frame is that it can be cleaned and refreshed with an sos pad.
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Camp332
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Camp332 10/23/2021 11:14am
10/23/2021 11:14am
On an aluminium frame, I support JWACK's message. I've never powdercoated any of my aluminium bikes.

I restored an 04 YZ125(steel frame), and I have my frame powdercoated black. I have Light Speed carbon frame guards where my legs are rubbing. It's held up incredibly well over the last couple years.
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Sr_Vet_Rider
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Sr_Vet_Rider 10/23/2021 4:55pm
10/23/2021 4:55pm
JWACK wrote:
Just my opinion but, Don’t do it! That is unless it’s only a show bike and then that’s cool. It will look like poo in a...
Just my opinion but, Don’t do it!
That is unless it’s only a show bike and then that’s cool.
It will look like poo in a very short time.. Plus the beauty of having an unpainted aluminum frame is that it can be cleaned and refreshed with an sos pad.
^^^ THIS ^^^

Aluminum frames and swing arms don’t look great for very long.
Anodizing would be a Terrible idea, IMO
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kb228
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kb228 10/23/2021 5:04pm
10/23/2021 5:04pm
Neither. They both wear and look like junk
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wm741
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wm741 10/23/2021 5:47pm
10/23/2021 5:47pm
If you really want to do it, hard anodize it. Powdercoat chips too easy
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hbdesigns913
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hbdesigns913 10/23/2021 6:19pm
10/23/2021 6:19pm
My vote would be hard anodize. I would polish the frame first before anodize. This would give you the best finish. Then every steel bearing race or thread insert would have to be removed which is a pain in the ass. Powder coating I would not recommend. I did it once on a 2014 Honda and will never do it again. Looked terrible after a few rides.
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Moto_Geek
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Moto_Geek 10/26/2021 6:57am
10/26/2021 6:57am
jonahc_42 wrote:
I have an aluminum frame dirt bike and I love the look of black frames but I’ve read mixed reviews on both anodized and powder coat...
I have an aluminum frame dirt bike and I love the look of black frames but I’ve read mixed reviews on both anodized and powder coat frames, so I wanted y’all’s opinions on which is best or if it’s just not worth it to do either
Polished it.. done..
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Radical
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Radical 10/27/2021 2:40am
10/27/2021 2:40am
wm741 wrote:
If you really want to do it, hard anodize it. Powdercoat chips too easy
I'm a huge fan of hard anodize. It's almost impossible to scratch.
But keep in mind that it will add a slight amount of stiffness to the frame.
I know that sounds strange.
If you take a small plate of soft aluminum like 5052-H32, and hard anodize it, the plate becomes harder to flex. It's significantly stiffer. It was shocking to me that a plating can do that.
Whether you'll notice the difference on a bike, I don't know.

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Broseph
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Broseph 10/27/2021 10:19am
10/27/2021 10:19am
Just a note: Hard anodize decreases the fatigue strength of aluminum by a very large amount. The thicker the anodize, the more it is affected.
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SEEMEFIRST
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SEEMEFIRST 10/27/2021 6:05pm
10/27/2021 6:05pm
Broseph wrote:
Just a note: Hard anodize decreases the fatigue strength of aluminum by a very large amount. The thicker the anodize, the more it is affected.
This!
Hard anodized or plasma makes a very hard surface that is very "slick". You can barely scratch it with a file, and nothing sticks to it.

Great for static parts, but you have now changed the flexibility of the surface material.

Sounds like a bad idea on a dirt bike frame.

Skid plate? Hell yeah!
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Broseph
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Broseph 10/27/2021 6:52pm
10/27/2021 6:52pm Edited Date/Time 10/27/2021 6:55pm
Broseph wrote:
Just a note: Hard anodize decreases the fatigue strength of aluminum by a very large amount. The thicker the anodize, the more it is affected.
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
This! Hard anodized or plasma makes a very hard surface that is very "slick". You can barely scratch it with a file, and nothing sticks to...
This!
Hard anodized or plasma makes a very hard surface that is very "slick". You can barely scratch it with a file, and nothing sticks to it.

Great for static parts, but you have now changed the flexibility of the surface material.

Sounds like a bad idea on a dirt bike frame.

Skid plate? Hell yeah!
Exactly. The thin anodized layer is very brittle. As soon as the part flexes a little (as frames will do) thousands of tiny cracks form in the surface. Each of these small cracks is a stress concentration and a great place for larger cracks to begin to form in the aluminum itself.

It won’t make your frame crack in half right away, but it will accelerate the process and ultimately shorten the life of the frame.

An interesting side note: If the aluminum is shot peened before anodize, the resulting fatigue strength is pretty close to what the bare aluminum was to begin with. The residual compressive stress on the surface after shot peen offsets the effects of the brittle anodize layer.
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 10/28/2021 9:23am
10/28/2021 9:23am Edited Date/Time 10/28/2021 9:23am
My Crf 450 super moto is hard anodized frame and swing arm and i love it. had no issues with it either.
Brett evans
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Brett evans 11/4/2021 8:50am
11/4/2021 8:50am
I highly recommend powdercoat...as you can see my factory 2022 HONDA CR250R turned out great....i'm gonna powdercoat the airbox and lower tubes next...👍


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spimx
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spimx 11/4/2021 9:42am
11/4/2021 9:42am
Brett evans wrote:
I highly recommend powdercoat...as you can see my factory 2022 HONDA CR250R turned out great....i'm gonna powdercoat the airbox and lower tubes next...👍 [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/11/04/517165/s1200_FE7C680E_EF76_46B1_8FA7_67CA4EF7E9AC.jpg[/img]
I highly recommend powdercoat...as you can see my factory 2022 HONDA CR250R turned out great....i'm gonna powdercoat the airbox and lower tubes next...👍


very bad

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motokiwi
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motokiwi 11/4/2021 10:07am
11/4/2021 10:07am
Neither. Colouring alloy frames is trash.

If you are that way inclined tho - I highly recommend some spoke skins. Hell chuck some slater skins on there too bro. And some sixpak skull graphics to top it off brah! Mulisha 4 lyf.
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Broseph
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Broseph 11/4/2021 2:50pm
11/4/2021 2:50pm Edited Date/Time 11/4/2021 2:53pm
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
My Hard anodized frame and swingarm. Looks good to me. 450r. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/11/04/517183/s1200_50CA0097_B95C_437C_B753_48251EEAFED1.jpg[/img]
My Hard anodized frame and swingarm. Looks good to me. 450r.
That looks like a decorative clear anodize. Hard anodize is a gray/green/tan color.

The thinner decorative stuff (like what you see on triple clamps) doesn’t hurt fatigue life nearly as much as hard anodize.
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Radical
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Radical 11/4/2021 5:07pm
11/4/2021 5:07pm
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
My Hard anodized frame and swingarm. Looks good to me. 450r. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2021/11/04/517183/s1200_50CA0097_B95C_437C_B753_48251EEAFED1.jpg[/img]
My Hard anodized frame and swingarm. Looks good to me. 450r.
Broseph wrote:
That looks like a decorative clear anodize. Hard anodize is a gray/green/tan color. The thinner decorative stuff (like what you see on triple clamps) doesn’t hurt...
That looks like a decorative clear anodize. Hard anodize is a gray/green/tan color.

The thinner decorative stuff (like what you see on triple clamps) doesn’t hurt fatigue life nearly as much as hard anodize.
Hard anodize can also be black.
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