Ducati Monster Forum

I'm about to strip the frame for powdercoat and had an idea.  Anyone seen what lies beneath the paint on our bikes on the frame?  I'm toying with the possibility of stripping the paint, giving the frame a brushed finish to match the swingarm and clearing over it.  Also, how is the swingarm made without clearcoat and it doesn't rust?  Thanks.

This was actually my initial plan.

I wanted a raw, brushed steel, or possible even gunmetal look to the frame on my Monster project, but upon initial stripping of paint I didn't think the surface was of a high enough quality to look good on its own and opted instead for paint once again...

I hope you have better luck so I will know whether I can go further next time I strip a Ducati to the frame.

A little more research shows it is a stainless material.  ALS 450 that is.  Which leads me to believe if the swingarm is the same material, there is no need to clear over it.  Hmm...could be interesting. 

ALS 450 is not stainless, though it is more corrosion resistant than most steels.  Some consider ALS 450 a chrome moly, but to a purist the real deal is 4130.  My guess is ALS 450 is chosen because it welds like mild steel. 

As previously stated, the frame is some steel/alloy, and the swing arm is some aluminum/alloy.  Not even close to being the same.

they are both metals. BYOOAKAAA!!! :D


When i strip the frame ( if i end up doing it to begin with) i wanted to (with powdercoat) chrome it and do a black chrome.

If the tail section rusts as easy as it does after a tail chop; I am going to venture to guess you can't get away with just stripping it all.

So would giving the steel a brush finish and leaving it uncoated be out of the question?  Or is this idea of a brushed finish completely out of the question altogether?  Is the quality just not there in the metal?

steel rusts.

if you strip is then brush it then clear it (with multiple layers) it might be ok. but there are a ton of ways for chemicals and oils to sneak in and oxidize the metal from under the clear, the most frustrating part is that it will only show up a couple days after you cleared the frame. its also going to be somewhat fragile once its done.

IMHO, powdercoat it, paint it, or plate it. clear/raw is going to be a nightmare.

^Couldn't the same be said about any time you paint something?  They also make a clear powdercoat.  Is this a bad idea to begin with? 

this is a photo I took a few years back of one of my favorite Monsters at the track:

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3626777234_c328e06978_z.jpg)

his frame is clear powdered, below is a cropped portion of my original photo, you can see a little bit of rust on the bottom rail.

(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5268101335_d8463668e3_o.jpg)

I've done the same to my gas tank.  Unfortunately the powder coater took too long to coat the tank, nor did he clean his fingerprints off it, and so they show through as rust.   With my tank, I used an orbital sander.  It was recommended by a friend of mine who fabs bicycle frames (http://www.brooklynmachineworks.com/), and he commonly clear powdercoats the frames.

here's my tank: (before powdercoat)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/3817129962_0cdd5ae3fd.jpg)

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/3817131750_71aaa19332.jpg)

after:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4850247169_5963f9b8e4_b.jpg)

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4850864202_6446f7c1f9_b.jpg)

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4850238567_524171c099_b.jpg)

I really like the look of that bike.  Any ideas why it rusted?  Is it as captain suggests, just left behind chemicals?  I had pretty much settled on the black till I saw this bike.  Man that looks cool.

I can't say for the frame.  Like I said my friend powdercoats his bicycle frames clear with no problems.

As for my gas tank, I had wiped my tank clean of fingerprints, etc (with acetone if I remember correctly, maybe alcohol).  But unfortunately it sat at the powdercoater for days!  And it's clear that the last person to touch it wasn't careful, there's "droplets" of rust from something that was splashed on it as well as some fingerprints all on the lower part of the tank, so it wasn't clean prior to the powdercoat process.  The top came out great.

Regular steels rust *very* quickly/easily if they're left naked.
Sandblasted is probably the quickest rusting.

indusrtrialgrrls post  is a great example of how good it can look when done right.

things like the slight rust and especially the fingerprints are the reason I would caution against it if you are a perfectionist or relying on someone you dont know personally to do your finish work. chemicals can seep from welds (especially in older frames) and if ANY oils from hands are left behind it will rust. All of this can be avoided if you (or whoever does it) knows about it and puts the care in to avoid it, but its a crapshoot. Even with proper treatment it can rust over time.

 if you are expecting it to look super teched out and clean you will be disappointed, if you want it to be more utilitarian/industrial then you will probably be alright.

if you want it done properly, you almost have to do it yourself. esepcially when it comes to powdercoating.

dont forget that most powdercoaters are industrial coaters. PC was never meant to look pretty, but be cheap and durable, looking good is just a byproduct, so unless you are using a PC'er who is specifically dealing with cosmetic pieces, chances are he wont handle it like so.

Just found a picture of what I have in mind.  Let me know how realistic/different it may be from what I can achieve.  Thanks.
http://pierobonframes.com/foto.asp?foto=pf061&nfoto=6&pag=1 (http://pierobonframes.com/foto.asp?foto=pf061&nfoto=6&pag=1)

That frame is made of aluminum so the finish will not be exactly the same. Aside from that your idea should be doable.

a satin finish polish job might give you what you want.