Spray painting over powder coating

[Stevemr]

I want to paint the swing arm on my 2003 T100. It appears to be powder coated from factory. Am I going to have any issues spraying over it with rattle can gloss?
I will give it a sand over first to key the surface.

[Legacywr]

Is it still fitted to the bike?

A quick shot blast will give you a good key.

Many years ago I burnt the powder coating off an item, which was quite quick.

[tricky1962]

I think you will want to prime it after sanding too, otherwise, even with sanding, the spray paint might not key.
I can't recommend any particular primer and the internet isn't coming up with anything in particular.
I'd suggest talking to a car paint supplier shop near you

[Stevemr]

It’s off the bike. I was going to spray it, then realised as I was rubbing down the rust spots it’s powder coated.
I don’t really want to remove the bearings, as it will destroy them, it’s £100+ for new ones.

[tricky1962]

If you've got rust spots it's gong to need priming anyway

[Stevemr]

Yes definitely going to put primer on.

[Biker9090]

Honestly, it's a waste of time in my experience.

Take it off and get it blasted and coated. The primer and good paints will cost as much. You can remove the bearings otherwise get them from a bearing supplier - usually much cheaper than "oem" which are just repackaged branded....

[OutInTheShed]

'powder coat' can be many things.
Some plastics don't take paint at all well.
Others are more amenable.


A proper job is expensive, what does the OP want? Stop things getting worse or optimum finish?
Not everyone wants to spend a big fraction of the bike's value on a pretty finish on one component.

[Stevemr]

Sorry. May not have been clear with this. I already have some paint to spray some parts I have made. I was intending to remove the swing arm, grease the bearings and spray it to tidy up some corrosion. Normally no problem, and I would expect to get a very good finish.
But it’s thrown me a bit of a curveball in that it’s powder coated not painted. Looking online there seems to be mixed views on if you can spray over powder coat.
I just wondered if any one here knows if it will react badly or anything else I should know.
My intention is to grind out the rust, sand the rest down, anti rust paint bare metal then prime and spray.
If I go down getting it re powder coated, it’s £75 plus bearings and seals, which if I buy triumph will be another £110.
I would actually prefer to just paint it, because although not as durable will be easily touched in.

[archie456]

A wire brush in an angle grinder will take it all off fairly quickly (don't forget the goggles).

You can then prime and paint the whole thing, it will be a much nicer job.

[Redline88]

archie456 said:

A wire brush in an angle grinder will take it all off fairly quickly (don't forget the goggles).

You can then prime and paint the whole thing, it will be a much nicer job.

Is there any reason to remove the areas where the powder coating hasn’t been compromised? It looks like it’s held up really well so would it not be possible just to touch up the area that is corroded?

[s p a c e m a n]

Is it just that bit there? I'd remove the coat from that 'panel' then just paint that bit.

[Stevemr]

There are more patches of rust, but that’s the worst.
I did try taking some more of the powder coating off with a wire brush on an electric drill, it gets the paint off, but it’s actually marking the steel quite a lot as well.
Painting over the existing powder coating is what I want to do. That’s what I’m trying to check is ok.

[Obison]

Simoniz tough black will go over anything and doesn't need a primer, takes a good 24hrs + to dry and needs to be at least room temperature.

[cliffords]

I sprayed over powder coating with whatever I had in the garage,Matt black about 3 years ago . Went from silver to black . I keyed the surface with wet and dry all over first, albeit not excessively. It's still fine today.

[Stevemr]

Thanks for all the replies.
Ended up stripping it completely with a wire brush on an electric drill, then spraying it.
Turned out pretty well I think.

[Legacywr]

Nice!

[Obison]

Like I mentioned earlier, for anyone else facing the same issue, simoniz tough paint is very good.