Has anyone gone with Heritage Bicycles for powder coating?

Currently I'm working on a build to get an 86' Trek back into shape as a proper road bike. I'm trying to do this on the cheap, so Heritage's $100 frame/fork powder coat is looking pretty attractive. Has anyone used their powder coating services and could speak to the quality?

Thanks!!

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Permalink Reply by zmp on January 7, 2015 at 12:18pm

Yeah I definitely would not recommend it. They absolutely ruined my frame. It wasn't anything great ('86 Trek 460) but it was my first road bike so it has a bit of sentimental value. I'm guessing whoever they use doesn't know anything about bikes and is just an industrial powder coater. Nothing was masked and the seat post was baked in and the integrated seat post bolt was also coated over. Everything had to be faced and chased, bottom bracket, head tube, and the downtube cable stop mounts and dropouts had to be filed to get the cable stops on and to fit hubs into the dropouts. Luckily I'm a mechanic, so I was able to get the frame back to usable myself, but it still was a couple of hours of work and you'd easily spend more than the cost of the paint job to have a shop do so. I wouldn't recommend their work even for a beater bike. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on January 7, 2015 at 12:57pm

This is a new definition of "absolutely ruined" for me.  It sounds like the frame was not permanently damaged and simply needed more prep work before building up than you had expected. 

When getting a frame powdercoated I've always had to do these chasing/facing chores myself at this price point.  If you want that stuff done you are going to pay a lot more, and many powdercoating places really know very little about bikes. I don't think I'd want just anyone doing this work on my bikes.  It's not really a chore but it can be done badly if someone has the tools without the knowhow and experience to use them correctly.  Then again I don't let anyone touch my bikes except for the stuff I can't do myself (like powder and tube replacement/major frame surgery that I don't have the jigs for or the experience.)   

Also, it's usually necessary IMHO to use Frame-saver or other treatment on the inside of the tubes because you really don't know how they removed the old frame finish or if they left any corrosives inside when they were done.  You don't want to leave any of that crap inside there or even a dry unprotected steel waiting for moisture to start rust. 

I'm alsoconfused by what you said about "seatpost baked in" did you give them your frame with the seatpost still in it?? That seems to be a recipe for disaster if you ask me.  Or are you saying they got overspray into the inside of the seat TUBE?  


zmp said:

Yeah I definitely would not recommend it. They absolutely ruined my frame. It wasn't anything great ('86 Trek 460) but it was my first road bike so it has a bit of sentimental value. I'm guessing whoever they use doesn't know anything about bikes and is just an industrial powder coater. Nothing was masked and the seat post was baked in and the integrated seat post bolt was also coated over. Everything had to be faced and chased, bottom bracket, head tube, and the downtube cable stop mounts and dropouts had to be filed to get the cable stops on and to fit hubs into the dropouts. Luckily I'm a mechanic, so I was able to get the frame back to usable myself, but it still was a couple of hours of work and you'd easily spend more than the cost of the paint job to have a shop do so. I wouldn't recommend their work even for a beater bike. 

Permalink Reply by zmp on January 7, 2015 at 1:00pm

Well considering I'll never be able to adjust the seat height I'd consider the frame ruined. It's certainly of no value to anyone other than myself at this point. 

Permalink Reply by MLK on January 7, 2015 at 2:13pm
Hm, that doesn't sound so good. How did you seat post get stuck? Were they supposed to disassemble your bike and just.. Didn't? As far as the paint proper, did they lay it on too thick, or was your biggest issue the seat post?
Permalink Reply by Michael A on January 7, 2015 at 2:31pm

sounds like he left the seat post, and seat post pin in the frame and is mad because they did not remove them before powder coating... even if this is the case, a sharp razor blade will cut the coating and you can pull out the post and screw, and replace them.....

Permalink Reply by MLK on January 7, 2015 at 2:37pm
Sort of what I figured, but still makes me wonder why no one painting that pup thought to remove it? In any event, I'm probably only going thru with the powder coat if I can have a plan b for a worst-case scenario, and a razor blade sounds like a good enough plan b for me. (Tho I'm a little nerv about proper facing/chasing, mostly because I don't know how to do it/rectify it myself should it be done funny.)
Permalink Reply by Michael A on January 7, 2015 at 2:40pm

any decent bike shop would be able to prep the frame for you, I just had a professional repaint of one of my bikes by a top notch painter and it still needed all the threads to be chased, and the seat tube smoothed. I treated it like I would any new frame, built it right and it will last a long time...

Permalink Reply by MLK on January 7, 2015 at 2:52pm
Cool, that's kinda what I was thinking/going for. And I'll actually be disassembling at a shop, so I should be on the prep in. Thanks for your input!
Permalink Reply by zmp on January 7, 2015 at 3:21pm

I wouldn't have minded prepping the frame myself, but I assumed that would be the painters job. When handing them the frame it would have been nice if their mechanic would have noticed it hadn't been prepped and asked me to do so.  Also if you're aware of the process of powder coating and the high heat involved then you'd understand removing the seat post is not as simple as cutting the powder coat with a razor. Yeah it was probably not the wisest to hand them the frame with the post in, but again, it should be professional courtesy to mention I shouldn't have left it with them.

Now some advice, prep it very carefully, especially any cable guides or cable ends. They lay on the powdercoat VERY thick. After a lot of filing I could finally get a brake cable through the guides on the top tube and after a lot of work to the cable stop for the rear derailleur cable, I still can't get a ferrule to fit in the cable stop.  I'm really not sure why MA feels the need to be so critical over this, maybe I was a bit optimistic, but if I'm paying for a service, I expect it to be handled professionally. In hindsight I wish I hadn't been so lazy and had done a rattle-can job myself, it would have turned out much better.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 7, 2015 at 3:29pm

They dented a friend of mines frame and didn't do much for him as compensation.

But they are cheap; so there is that.

Permalink Reply by Michael A on January 7, 2015 at 3:30pm

I am sorry if I came across sounding critical, For $100 including materials I would not expect ANY prep work other then what is needed to make the powder coating adhere... Media blasting a frame properly takes about 1 hour, and powder coating has to be at least half that...  I cannot imagine much profit there for the shop. I still cannot imagine how heating this frameset up to 400 degrees would permanently bond your seat post to your frame. Have you tried removing it?

Permalink Reply by zmp on January 7, 2015 at 3:41pm

Yeah I'm done replying to you Michael. Of course I tried to remove it. Using pretty much every method. I gave up on the post and threw it in the vice and its definitely bonded to the frame. After a bit I quit torquing on it since I didn't want to twist the seat tube. I ended up cutting it and turing a 31.6 post I had laying around into something similar to the Madone seat caps. Its worked surprisingly well, but its still really difficult to adjust.

And to be fair to Heritage I think this was one of the first frames they took in because they were shocked at how it came back. They gave me a refund and an espresso before I had a chance to ask. That said, even though I got the powdercoat technically for free, I would have preferred my frame not to end up that way.

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