Powder coating the NX250 swingarm?

[hhgfnx]

Hi,

I got the main frame sandblasted and powder coated, it became quite decent:

IMG_6751.jpg

Still, the workshop did not protect is too well so I had to spend few hours to undo the paint from the steering bearing base as some had gotten through the adhesive tape. Not nice, but now it's done, though.

However, I didn't get the swingarm painted yet. The reason being that I did not know how to remove the inner bearings, that seems to require some kind of special tools from Honda. Don't have that, and I was uncertain if the bearing or their casing (plastic?) can endure the heat that gets applied as a part of coating process, if I just would leave the bearing attached. Any knowledge or experience from this?

I am planning to wet paint the swingarm if there is any risk of damaging the bearings.

[scrambler]

I would go with a wet paint, sandblasting is too dangerous.

Replacing the needle bearings is not possible without a workshop press and suitable pressure pieces. If the (new) needle bearings are damaged when being pushed in, the long inner collar will quickly become seized. The same happens if fine blasting dust gets into the bearing. And this collar is sold out https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-nx250-domin ... _2100.html .

Therefore, some preliminary work is necessary for powder coating. The most important thing: the bearings and the inner tube must be degreased meticulously. Otherwise the grease will run out during heating and ruin the coating. In addition, the degreased bearings are easier to clean from blasting dust because the fine dust somehow always finds a way inside



After cleaning, the pipe is closed as tightly as possible. Of course, the whole thing is of no use if the coater removes the cap before blasting despite the threat of hellish punishment A good (i.e. not too thick) powder coating does not cover scratches; depending on the requirements of the finish, scratches can be sanded out beforehand.



Since Honda NH146M accurate silver is not a RAL color scheme the old paint served as a guide for the coater. And luckily: a comparison with a very well-preserved NX250 swingarm shows that the color Star Silver Satin is practically identical - but I can't guarantee that it will work as well with other coaters.

[hhgfnx]

Thanks! Yes, I guess the wet painting would do here.

I didn’t even match the frame color code to original, I picked one in the workshop that looked close enough. Still better than rust and bruises

Just can’t find those Prolink stickers anywhere.

[scrambler]

I had a few stickers reprinted back then. They are a bit darker than series, these metallic paints are difficult to reproduce. I could see if I still have a few

[scrambler]

I still have a few NX250 swingarm decals left for €3 each. They are also available here in different colors https://www.rsm-stickers.de/Aufkleber/A ... r-set.html but I haven't tried them yet

[hhgfnx]

Great, I could buy couple from you. Let me try to send pm. Try, because I’ve had issues with those leaving my outbox.

[amk]

Hello, I have been looking on this forum for a while now. Recently picked up a NX250 MD-25 and I took everything off so I can bring the frame and swingarm to a powdercoater to be coated. There's a lot of rust so I wanted to take care of that.

So if I got this straight, you need to degrease the inside where the swingarm moves on the frame so that the entire process doesn't ruin it? How would I go about greasing it afterwards, because you said you need special press to put the collar back in if I understood that correctly.

[scrambler]

Hi,
welcome to the club. The swingarm must be completely free of grease, otherwise it will run out during the burn-in process and ruin the coating. The swingarm's internal needle bearings should also be free of grease. For another reason: if they're free of grease, you can simply blow out the blasting dust. Of course, you should cover the bearings well before blasting, but somehow the dust always finds its way inside.

How would I go about greasing it afterwards, because you said you need special press to put the collar back in if I understood that correctly.

I meant that if you want to replace the needle bearings you need a press, the end caps are just plugged in.


needle bearings

[amk]

welcome to the club. The swingarm must be completely free of grease, otherwise it will run out during the burn-in process and ruin the coating. The swingarm's internal needle bearings should also be free of grease. For another reason: if they're free of grease, you can simply blow out the blasting dust. Of course, you should cover the bearings well before blasting, but somehow the dust always finds its way inside.

Thanks for the welcome!

Oh okay, I think I can do that. How can I most easily degrease it? Any spray or chemical etc?

So I basically degrease the insides, put on the end caps and get it blasted/coated that way? Afterwards I blow out whatever dust is inside, and then smack a glob of grease in and done?

[scrambler]

So I basically degrease the insides, put on the end caps and get it blasted/coated that way? Afterwards I blow out whatever dust is inside, and then smack a glob of grease in and done?

Exactly. But it's very time-consuming to completely remove the grease. I use a toothbrush and benzine, then rinse with brake cleaner spray until it's really clean. Instead of the original cover caps (which would be damaged, I use old ones), you can also use washers. You just have to try to get it to seal with rubber washers or the like. It's best to talk to the powder-coater beforehand about protecting the needle bearings; they also have special heat-resistant plugs.