Has Anyone Powder Coated Their 80/20 Aluminium Profile Rig?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Hello folks,

I've got a SimLabs P1 aluminium cockpit and I'm seriously debating having it powdercoated in black, with a red and blue RD stripe across the bottom.

However, I'm curious as to cost. Has anyone here powdercoated a similar rig before, and if so, would you be willing to give a rough idea as to how much it might cost to have it done to a good standard?

Many thanks in advance !

Paul

The rig at the moment:

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Just roll up your sleeves and get a spray can, Paul.

 

[Wolfzz]

Nice Setup I would leave it as it is, Looks Great. Besides all the work to dismantle it and then rebuild it. Nah!

 

[GOV47]

Powder coating might mess with the tolerances on the nuts fitting and certain brackets. Might not, dunno. You might have to get a piece done to test. What about anodizing?

 

[diablo2112]

If you want a single color, anodizing is a better option. It will reach all of the non-line-of-sight surfaces on the extrusions, won't mess with tight tolerances, and is slightly more durable than powder coat. Lots of fun colors available too, and it looks unique. Add Racing Stripe Tape later to get a two-tone or customized effect. Could look amazing.

 

[MirNet]

You'll roughly add about 70 microns with the coating. Heat stress wise anything ranging between 150/200 degrees on the curing bake depending on what powder they use. It's been about 18 years since I was doing it daily, so things might have changed. I'm a professional paint sprayer by trade, my own rig I just whipped on a urethane, harder wearing compared to pc. Don't know what they'd charge you though, been out of it too long.

 

[CC]

Hi Paul
I have a piece been sent to me in the post hopefully be here in a few days,
But it’s not too far away from the default colours I imagine RAL 9023 Metallic,
I’ll post a pic how it looks when it comes,

it’s like a dark grey pearl looks nice.

 

[Mr Latte]

There is an awfully nice chap on these forums deals with 3M products and you can do this with a wrap.
Not sure if you want to go this route though Paul?

@Brutal Deluxe

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Thanks for the response chaps, much appreciated!

To be honest I mention powder coating as that's all I'm half familiar with - don't have a specific preference to go that route, just wanting a solution that changes the colour, looks clean and like it is supposed to be that way, and doesn't screw anything up !

There is an awfully nice chap on these forums deals with 3M products and you can do this with a wrap.

Superb, thanks man that's outstanding! I shall PM him now and see what the situation is Thanks fella!

Will update more as I go.

I really, really want a black rig with RD strips and maybe even a little Union Jack and my name on

 

[Fennario]

Professional anodizing will cost you a couple hundred dollars. You will need to break the rig down for processing and the actual cost depends on how many loads they have to run/how many pieces can fit into each bath. In the end it may be easier/more cost effective to just buy a new rig and sell the old one.

See: http://www.qualityanodizing.com/faq.html

 

[Ruttman98]

Professional anodizing will cost you a couple hundred dollars. You will need to break the rig down for processing and the actual cost depends on how many loads they have to run/how many pieces can fit into each bath. In the end it may be easier/more cost effective to just buy a new rig and sell the old one.

See: http://www.qualityanodizing.com/faq.html

Thank you for posting this. I have considered anodizing my rig like the add-on orange Fanatec v.2 pedal plates ever since I built my 80/20 rig in 2011.

 

[Fennario]

If you want the Union Jack and/or complex designs, then checkout these guys as well: https://hardcoatinc.com/hard-imaging/

"This process eclipses other decoration processes as it produces a permanent image embedded within the anodized coating Mil Spec Type II (Anodize) and Type III (Hardcoat). That means the anodizing process can be applied to a multitude of shapes without adding undesirable surface thickness."

 

[JimLee]

Professional anodizing will cost you a couple hundred dollars. You will need to break the rig down for processing and the actual cost depends on how many loads they have to run/how many pieces can fit into each bath. In the end it may be easier/more cost effective to just buy a new rig and sell the old one.

See: http://www.qualityanodizing.com/faq.html

Maybe Florida is cheaper than the SF-Bay Area, because a couple years ago, the cheapest I could get mine (very similar to a PX-1) done for was not less than $800. Then I still had to disassemble and carefully reassemble (so as not to scratch/mar finish). A friend of mine has black anodized one from scratch (8020) and it primarily shows wear at the cockpit entry point (be careful with your feet while wearing shoes) and where bolt heads were tightened against brackets.
But, it will probably make you faster

 

[CC]

Maybe Florida is cheaper than the SF-Bay Area, because a couple years ago, the cheapest I could get mine (very similar to a PX-1) done for was not less than $800. Then I still had to disassemble and carefully reassemble (so as not to scratch/mar finish). A friend of mine has black anodized one from scratch (8020) and it primarily shows wear at the cockpit entry point (be careful with your feet while wearing shoes) and where bolt heads were tightened against brackets.
But, it will probably make you faster

I must be lucky then in Ukraine I designed my own rig including triple monitor mounts everything including powder coating just aluminum and paints comes to 451$ paints was like 80$ for everything painting excluding all the brackets and such.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

I must be lucky then in Ukraine I designed my own rig including triple monitor mounts everything including powder coating just aluminum and paints comes to 451$ paints was like 80$ for everything painting excluding all the brackets and such.

With average monthly salary across the country around $150 I guess.

 

[CC]

With average monthly salary across the country around $150 I guess.

Well yeah when I 1st come over 4 years back or something the average monthly wage was only around 80$ a month, since then it roughly doubled youll find the average now around 150-200 crazy.