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Mission Bicycle Co. in San Francisco makes custom bikes with a powder coated finish. PRODUCTS FINISHING — PFonline.com 19 Mission lets its buyers design their bike on its website, right down to the color of the powder coating. The frames are made overseas, but it is built in San Francisco from the frame up. "We want to give our customers a true personalized expe- rience, and color is such a big part of that," McCarley says. "We used to sandblast and apply a liquid paint, but powder coating is just way more durable, and these bikes are going to be used every day, so the finish needs to last." Color Selection, Finishing Quality Mission started producing bikes in 2009, and McCarley says that the wide variety of colors available through powder coating builds the excitement for the owners as they construct their bikes on the website. "The color selection is great, but more importantly, we let them know that the color won't fade with the powder coating, and it will pretty much stay vibrant," he says. "The coating quality is outstanding." Not all customers want to spend the time designing the bike, which includes picking out the frames, rims, seat, grips and other components that make the machine work, on top of the color scheme. McCarley says his company has several bike designs already put together that customers pick from an online showroom, and Mission will build the bike exactly like it. Originally, Mission offered up a swatch book with over 250 colors for its customers to choose from, but McCarley says it was a bit too much for them to consume. "It was overwhelming of the senses," he says. "It was coun- terproductive because it was too much. Over time, we saw what colors our customers really loved, and we narrowed it down to 10 or 12, and that is where we decided to start. If someone sees a red, but wants it darker, then we can work with our coater to get them what they want." West Coast Powder Coating Mission and Low both use West Coast Powder Coating, located just south of San Francisco. Owner A.J. Costa runs a 30,000-square-foot facility that features sandblasting and a powder coating line that has serviced the Bay Areas' commer- cial, residential, marine, architectural and industrial clients since 2000. McCarley says he enjoys a great relationship with Costa because the shop owner also expects a flawless high-quality finish, and Mission—which sells about 500 bikes a year— knows that West Coast Powder Coating will give it to them. "Our customers just expect the most pristine finish because of what they are paying for the bike," he says. "We usually always get that from West Coast, but they work with us on something if it somehow has a little spec or blemish. They also want to get it perfect, and we both try very hard to do that. It's a great relationship to have with them." West Coast Powder Coating also maintains an array of standard frames from Mission at its coating facility, so it can easily pull a frame out of the box and have it powder coated to the customer spec. McCarley says that has been a huge help to his business because he is no longer paying to warehouse his inventory of frames; in return Mission gives West Coast Powder Coating all of its business. And because the companies are located in eco-friendly California—and Mission is pushing the concept of not owning a car—once the bikes are coated and cured, McCarley calls an Uber to deliver the frames to his shop. "It's good for the environment, and the Uber drivers like it, too," he says. "They have boxes in the backseat, and not someone yammering about things and talking their ears off." Performance Racing Bikes On the other end of the bike coating spectrum is Low Bicycles, which offers a more complex finish to its customers. Mission and Low both use West Coast Powder Coating, located just south of San Francisco. Owner A.J. Costa runs a 30,000-square-foot facility. POWDER COATED BIKES