Ducati Monster Forum

G'day All

I have been considering changing the colour of my S2R 800's Swingarm and rear set's, I am thinking of going with a black finish, similar to the colour of the S4R swingarm. I was going to powder coat the Swingarm/rearsets.

Now, I have as a customer who is a professional painter, who mainly deals with industrial painting and coatings, so he really knows his stuff when it comes painting and finishing.
He has offered to paint my Swingarm and rear sets for free (I'll give him a couple of Cartons of Quality beer as a Thankyou) as long as I purchase the paint (He has a preferred paint/coatings brand he uses, it's not cheap, but he said it will probably outlive the bike!)
He has said it won't be a high gloss finish, more a semi gloss finish (Which is what I wanted anyway) but it will be very strong and tough.

But a little voice inside my head is saying to stick to powder coating.
Am I wrong, or should I accept his offer and run with it?

What would you do? Paint or Powder coat?

I would imagine Powdercoating would hold up much better than paint.

I just had my rearsets redone, matte black, and they came out fantastic!

Can you post a pic of your rearsets?

:: paging monstermash to the white courtesy telephone ::

I would assume that Powder coating is tougher, but I looked at getting some Carbon Fiber Decal (24 x 24" Sheeting) and cutting a piece(s) to cover the most fragile areas, such as the smaller pipe that goes directly in front of the tyre, I do run a Hugger, but I notice that some small chips and marks on that top bar of the swingarm.
and I run C/F heel guards on the Rearsets, so I'm not worried about the heel guards getting marked or scratched.

As this painter friend said to me, worst case if you get a chip in the paint (He has said this paint is very strong)
a quick dab with a black paint touch up pen and it's all covered up.

I figured the original finish on the S4R is painted?

I'm trying to keep an open mind to all suggestions and information though.

I like paint for the same reasons your buddy mentioned and some others.

Paint has a primer which protects against corrosion, I'm assuming he's going to use epoxy primer...most industrial guys do....with a urethane topcoat. Powder doesn't.

You have a better selection of colors and gloss level.

No coating is perfect or forever...it's all just paint.

+ one on paint. It gives a higher gloss and is easier to touch up (and ANYTHING gets scratched and dinged). I don't use a gloss coat on wheels and swingarms because it's easier to color match without the clearcoat. Nail polish is my favorite touch up source.

+1. It is after all a motorcycle made to be ridden and no matter what you do it's not going to stay perfect.   Good question though and if it were mine I think I'd go with the coating that ends up costing less and with the donated labor that sounds like the paint.  But it sounds like your gut feel is telling you powder coat and you can't ignore that.  This seems like one of those win-win decisions where you can't really go wrong no matter what you do.

The only reason the voice in my head is saying Powder coat is because it's a very tough finish, but this guy has been doing this type of work for years (The company he works for can powder coat as well) But he prefers the paint finish for this type of job and application.

I can't remember the brand of paint he is going to use, it's an industrial brand and bloody expensive.

I think I will go with the paint option, I trust this guy, he is very good at what he does, and he if says paint is the best option, then painting is what I will do.
Just wanted to get a few other thoughts/ideas/suggestions from other experienced heads to make sure I was going down the right path.

Thanks guys.  [thumbsup]

I'd go with the paint. Oh wait..... I already did.  ;D

My reason was a bit different than what some of you have mentioned but I still think it was the right decision.

Along with the ability to touch it up if it gets damaged and the fact that there are many more color options I went with the paint because I had a small dent in the top of my swingarm from the 1098 shock I installed last year before I went with the Matris. I had to fill the dent and the powder coat wouldn't have adhered to the filler I used. I did hear there are metallic fillers I could have used but the powder coater didn't recommend doing it as he wouldn't warranty the job.

The paint should be durable enough if it's prepped right and the right primer is used. Make sure you use an apoxy primer. Also, I recommend a paint with a catalyzer as it will be much more durable.

Well I spoke to the Painter today, he is organizing the paint companies rep to come in and see the bike and to choose a colour and to place an order for the correct amount, As far as the surface prep and final coats he said to leave that all for him, he has a whole shed full of guys that do all that stuff all day.
He specializes in Industrial coatings, So when he says it will outlive the bike, I believe him.

Ask him to sandblast and epoxy prime it. Really.

I'm certain he's using a urethane topcoat.

 Thats how I did mine. Sandblast, epoxy primer and urethane topcoat.

Not that I've had any wear to it at all but I have ridden it and after I lubed the chain I had to clean the swingarm. I used simple green and it all came right off and still looks perfect.  [thumbsup]

Chances are he's going to do it that way anyway.

It's pretty standard in the industrial world because it works. Plain and simple.