VHT paint sucks (I went into a bit more detail in my overhaul thread at the end) but their customer service seems to be OK - they're (supposedly) refunding me my money.

As such, I need to do something about the tank, and maybe the wheels if I want them to match. That means I'm back to my quandary from before I decided to rattle can it. I could have everything powder coated, or I could try to take it to an auto body shop and have them spray it with auto paint.

My concern with powder coating is that I won't be able to have a clear coat over the decals, which makes me wonder both if the paint will hold up and whether the decals will.

I'm concerned about the durability of the auto paint, but have to admit that my car paint holds up pretty well, so it's probably reasonable to assume the same paint on a bike would too.

Any thoughts?

 

I've never actually heard of anyone powder coating their tank... I guess it is metal on the f4i, so it should work right? One of the previous owners painted the wheels on my bike, he said he used engine enamel paint and it seems to have held up alright, could definitely use a touch up though after a few years (no clue how clean the wheels were kept, they have some spots I can't tell if it's dirt, or the factory black paint showing through).

Powder coating is definitely the norm for wheels on cars and bikes, seems to hold up very well from the examples I have seen in person, but I don't have any personal experience with having anything powder coated .

 

if powdercoating is an option then its the only way to go. i do my own stuff and it is awesome.

 

The wheels on my 94 cbr were powder coated by the previous owner, and they look outstanding, It's been a year since it's been on there and it shines like serious business. I priced a few parts from a local place, I was thinking of having the swing-arm done because it's paint is Flaking off. Costs 65 bucks to have it done. Not bad considering a paint shop would charge waaaaaay more. probably 3-400 bucks

 

Any thoughts on how I could protect decals stuck on top of the powdercoating?

Also, thanks for the advice all

 

you could always just spray regular clear over the decals.