Gun Kote Frame Coating: First Impressions
October 29th, 2009 by Guitar TedNow I have the frame in hand and I have taken a close look at it. It is pretty impressive looking! I will detail out my thoughts on it in relation to some of the claims Gun Kote makes and give a pre-view on my build plans.
The frame was sent up with its original finish which was Superior Blue and had all the decals on it. I sent it up to Ben’s Cycle and KG Coating took it from there. I chose a color based off of Chrysler’s purple hue they use on Charger models. Realizing that there may be some variance in what Gun Kote could come up with, I have to say I am very impressed with the color here. I will say that it seems to react to lighting in a unique way. Indoors and in shade it can appear as an almost black, tending toward eggplant sort of hue, but the brighter the light, the more purple it looks.
The coating job was complicated by the fact that I had specified a panel and requested a hand cut die to be made to simulate a Salsa pepper style decal. This caused extra time and delay, as KG Coatings is geared up for simpler bicycle frame jobs. However; this was just as much a test for them and Ben’s Cycle as it was going to be for Twenty Nine Inches, so time wasn’t too much of a concern at this point. Typically a one color job would take around three to four weeks. This one took quite a bit longer than that due to the complexity of this job and my having to approve certain aspects of it along the way. Again, it bears mentioning that if you are interested in pursuing a coating job, get in touch with Ben’s Cycle and let them know your desires.
Taking a close look it was easy to see that the entire frame got coated evenly. Even in the nooks and crannies of this frame which has some complicated places to cover. No such things as runs, orange peeling, or other anomalies associated with wet paint, and no areas that were faded, or covered too little as sometimes is the case with powder coating. Nice! The hue was consistent all over the frame, and only flaws associated with the metal were showing up. Even small scratches and tooling marks were visible in places! Not the fault of Gun Kote, it just doesn’t hide any of the “warts” due to the fact that it is such a thin coat.
I think the most impressive area I saw was the drop outs. Look at how crisp the stamp looks? That is due to the thin coating. Powder coat would have filled in this and wet paint would have tended to pool into the stamping. If this stuff is as tough as I am hearing that it is, I will be floored. Now I will be building this up and getting it dirty to find that out!
The build plan is to go single speed and use some nice parts in the build. White Industries ENO crank, Cane Creek short travel Thudbuster seat post, (a tester item for The Cyclist) , and a suspension fork yet to be determined. Stay tuned for further updates in the Gun Kote El Mariachi story!
Note: This product was provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. We are not being paid or bribed for this review. We will give our honest opinion and thoughts throughout.
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For the fork I vote for one of the new Rock Shox Reba XX forks with the hydraulic x-loc. Seems like a good choice for SS.
That frame is screaming for an endomorph front end.
This is a really imteresting topic. The Gun Kote looks incredible. Now to see If it’s tougher than a good powdercoat (by good I mean a good thin powdercoat, ala Ventana, most are way thick which makes them more prone to chips and corrosion undercutting). I also wonder about the comparative environmental impact- a powdercoat is really low in VOC pollution and toxicity, and I do care about this aspect. Coatings are generally much better in this respect than paint.
show the threads ted
Does the Gun Kote process only apply on Steel frames, or can it be used with aluminum and other metals as well?
@Anonymous: Really, the only threads of import on this frame are the derailluer hangar threads. You can see a close up of those here: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2009/10/gun-kote-frame.html
@Mike: Ben’s Cycle has had aluminum parts and frames done, and if the material can withstand being baked at 325 degrees F, it probably can be Gun Koted.
I have looked through previous comments and posts and have not seen a price range for a bike frame. What does this run and how much are extras like the ones on your frame?
@Nick: From my post “Gun Kote Q & A” this quote is from near the bottom of that post:
How much does it cost to have a frame Gun Kote treated?: Again, Ben’s is offering this Gun Kote finish only on Milwaukee Bicycle Company frames “officially”. That said, a ballpark figure for a one color job on most steel frames would be $300.00-$350.00. Turn around time averages about three weeks, but could take up to a week more, or less.
@t0m: Here is a response from KG Coating regarding enviromental impact and Gun Kote:
“Gun Kote’s VOC’s are very low. Our coating is made from materials designed
for as little impact as possible. When we moved to WI, we had to present our
air and waste emissions to the DNR. We were told that we were below the
States minimum limits and that we did not require any air pollution permits.
Our liquid waste, which consists of lab tests, color formulation attempts,
etc…is disposed of using gasoline blending programs handled by our
suppliers. In the last 10 years, KG has had less than .1% of its total
manufactured materials (including non-hazardous water-based products) that
have needed to be disposed of.”
Awesome info. Thanks GT. Wet paint really is pretty horrible stuff (I know a guy with a lot of health issues from painting cars for 5 years). Baked on coatings are so much better.
GTed- thanks for the little disclaimer at the bottom. It’s silly that I even have to write this, but it’s awesome of you to be so up front about things, and I appreciate it.