High Calibre Coatings!

If powder-coat and standard paint just ain’t good enough, who ya gonna call? Scoop may have the answer.

- Steve Cooper

Just suppose you’re looking to sort out the running gear of your bike but wanted something a bit more robust than, say, the more traditional routes.

Powder-coating is a fine thing but just like any professional finish it needs to be done right or it can create more problems than it solves. Two pack paint generally looks more like the original finishes and it’s very often the medium chosen for those who turn out show standard machines. But let’s say you want to build a good looking bike that’s also going to be actively ridden, in a variety of conditions and not necessarily overly pampered. How about a finish that can take a bit of wear and tear and not show every little mark; what are the options then? When the classic movement took off two decades ago there were still many companies carrying out stove enamelling and by all accounts it’s a damn good finish. Sadly the basic economics of the set-up meant it was costly and when health and safety regulations changed many of the old time enamellers decided to call it a day. And this left a gap in the market which, until recently, few have sought to fill.

Fortunately, in a parallel market, similar H&S changes saw the use of many metal passivation systems either outlawed or severely curtailed and this hit military applications especially hard. The use of manganese, chromium or zinc compounds had disproportionate environmental impacts and most were either banned or heavily restricted. Yet for all that, as the saying goes, it’s truly an ill wind that blows no one any good.