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Hi all,
Ive just been quoted £35 to shot-blast and powder coat my frame.To be honest, I think that's a bargain!
Is there anywhere I can go to have a look at a RAL colour chart? I need some inspiration and, to be honest, don't want to decide from pics off the net as there are sometimes differences between what it looks like on a screen and how it comes out at the end!
Cheers
Morgs
There is a powder coater online that advertises they do bikes, and I'm sure they have a RAL chart (though online accuracy will depend on many things). Actually I think they have frame sections in each colour.
I would just give you the link but I'm not on my PC so you'll have to Google.
And yes, that does appear very cheap.
Edit: Lol, doh, sorry, didn't fully digest your post! I'll leave my cock up live for everyone to have a good laugh at anyway!
Where is this?
I got my 5 spot done for 30 quid in a place in East Manchester about 6 weeks ago and that was a reasonable job. I didn't get to choose the ral color though but they had a colour near enough to what I wanted.
This could help
Buzz, call me @ work, I know somebody local who does this
I think this is what TuckerUK was refering to:
[url= http://www.liteville.de/t/25_66.html ]Hardtail[/url]
[url= http://www.liteville.de/t/25_46.html ]Full Suspension[/url]
Really useful for getting the general scheme you want, then I stick the RAL number into google images and it turns up pictures of every day objects in that colour to give you an idea of what it will look like "in the flesh".
That's what the guy near me quoted a year ago. I went for a more expensive finish in the end.
As you suggest, viewing a RAL colour chart online is slightly pointless as it depends on your monitor what colour you actually see. Googling possible RAL colours is a good idea as it comes up with everyday objects with things in the back ground to give you a frame of reference.
I have access to pretty much all colour standards in existence in the world today through work which is convenient but doesn't help you. Still I picked a colour turned up and changed my mind when I saw his colour samples on the wall of actual paint applied to tubes (looks different to flat cards).
My advice would be to see if your powder coater has samples. He should have some colour charts or similar for you to look at.
What sort of frame is it? Shot blasting can do nasty things - in my experience with having 3 different frames done at 3 different places, you do get what you pay for. £35 for my old Cotic looked like a £35 job whereas my £100 one for my Blur 4X looks (and still is after +2 years) perfect. Both my Blur and my Pashley which I've just had done were dipped I think - shot blasting bike frames with thin walled tubing can lead to bad times...
Thanks guys - all appreciated.
It's a place up in Nort Yorkshire, RNR Coatings
mmm - RAL 1028 looks nice 🙂
I got this done in a ral colour in west yorks and asked them to drop a silver fleck into the last coat![img] 
[/img] 🙂
looks great in the flesh.
and this one as well.
[img] 
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Ive been thinking that primer grey with a heavy metal flake would look great.
If you're in Yorkshire and want to pay a bit more and get a really top notch job, I can reccommend Triple-S in Bingley who did my Blur (£100 to strip and coat, mask off all bearings etc - normally do car and motorbike stuff so really know what they're doing) and Creative Colourings in Sowerby Bridge who did my Pashley frame and forks (£60 to strip and coat, any colour you want and dead quick turnaround).
I can 2nd Triple S for the quality of the work. I had my Mercian done by them and the finish was outstanding. Portlyone had his Heckler done is a lovely metallic blue too which is excellent and proving durable.
[IMG] 
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Powder might be limited in the colours available or the stock the powder coaters keep, but it is far more harder wearing than Automotive paint and for a mountain bike would be a better call! IMO 😉 But nothing wrong with either!
Creative Colourings gave me a RAL chart and told me to pick a colour. They could do anything in the whole range... I went wild and chose...... white.
if you go on the liteville site they have a frame 'painting' option where you can select from the ral chart and watch the changes appear. hours of fun. no really
Davey!
😆
Anyone done there fork legs?
Would be good if I could make my fox 36 lowers satin black rather than poo brown.
Crowns as well for that matter.
Manchester or Leeds location would be good also?
Would a fork crown not be difficult cos you wouldn't want to dip the stanchions along with the crown to strip?
Been thinking about forks and think careful wet and dry work followed by a 2 pack spray job might be best way forward.
That £35 quote will probably be based on a colour that the powdercoater has on the shelf, so I'd maybe try starting your search for inspiration with colours he already has. If you set your heart on an obscure deep metallic flipflop misty buff that he has to order in, and that now one else will ever buy, you'll get charged for the whole pack of powder ontop of that £35
There's a thread from London fixie forum LFGSS - that show-cases all the bikes that people have had coated from a rather good place in London - Armoutex - Not suggesting you have to use these guys but the thread is useful for seeing some real-world colours on bikes..
http://www.lfgss.com/thread17439.html