Current state of Powdercoating steel frames

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So it’s nearly 2025 and I was wondering what the current state of steel frame powdercoating is like.

I sort of know the liquid paint situation and rough costs. I’m also familiar with most Powder places generally specializing in Car Brake calipers, Bumpers, and junk like that.

I haven’t done anything in Powder for a long time. I remember issues with spider rusting and coating thickness on lug frames. Is the situation generally any better nowadays ?

Thanks and Happy Holidays,
MF in SF

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Good powdercoat jobs are 95% as nice as wet paint at a fraction of the cost and 10x the durability. I powdercoat most of the bikes I make since they are all going to get packed and shipped multiple times for events.

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I powdercoat a lot of my frames. It took me a while to find a good facility. The biggest issue is that most places are used to handling big, heavy metal not thin walled bike tubing.

If you go with powder coating, you’ll have the option of using primer. If you’re in icky, gross, wet areas, do the primer.

A good facility can lay down a fantastic clear coat on top of the powder with minimal orange peel (some powders require it… e.g. Prismatic Illusion series). To me it seems like the clear coats aren’t as hard/durable as automotive clear coats but they’re far better for the environment, etc.

Clear powder on top of a sand blasted frame will always end up having some spider rust.

Here’s a MTB I did a year or two ago:
Elysian Bike Co. (@elysianbikeco) • Instagram photos and videos

Whatever you do, build a relationship with your powder coater. Bikes are a time suck. Most powder coaters make way more money slapping black onto gates and wheelchair ramps . . .and they do it 2x as fast. In other words, if you find a good coater, recognize that they’re doing you a favor not the other way around.

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Mike, I can recommend West Coast Powdercoating in South San Francisco. I had a frame/fork/racks done there ten years ago - it was very reasonably priced and it still looks great. John of Fitz Cycles in Santa Rosa recommended them - he does all his frames there I think.

-Jim G

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I prefer a two stage coating (base coat plus clear) for durability. The extra layer of clear helps a lot to keep nicks and cable rub from going through to the metal. Plus, I can get a satin or matte finish on any color, which I like a lot. Many coaters only want to do a single coat and won’t even consider extra time-consuming work like masking for logos or multiple colors. I’m lucky to have a coater who is familiar with bike frames and willing to do the job. He has even done a two-color fade for me. Beyond durability, powder is just so economical.

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+1 They come out 95% as nice as wet paint.

Has anyone tried Ceracote? My powdercoat guy is starting to offer it.

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If you like matte finishes and earth tones they’re fine. A guy I’ve ridden with got his gravel bike cerakoted and it still gets chips in the coating at the bottom of the down tube where debris gets flung up from the front tire. IMO it’s not worth the extra expense.

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