Products Finishing

JUN 2017

Products Finishing magazine is the No. 1 industrial finishing publication in the world. We keep our readers informed about the latest news and trends in plating, painting, powder coating, anodizing, electrocoating, parts cleaning, and pretreatment.

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20 JUNE 2017 — PFonline.com Watch Low Bicycles Get a Custom Powder Coat The complex process involves starting with a base coat, then an application of the decals, followed by a topcoat. Scan the QR code with your smartphone, or visit short.pfonline.com/bikes . Finishes include layers of masking and special effects in the powder coat finish of its racing bikes. Some of the coatings are done over special heat-resistant decals that Low applies to the frames. The process involves starting with a base coat, then an application of the decals, followed by a topcoat finish that can get fairly complex. "We want our finishes to look as flat as possible, which is a tough thing to do sometimes with powder coating," Low says. "The less flat clear coating we put on, the better. We push our coater to go right up to the line so we don't get a sheen, and they do a great job for us." Low bikes are made from aluminum to give it a racing edge and to cut down on weight. While some other bikes are built from a high-end carbon fiber frame, Low's bikes often achieve just as much aerodynamic efficiency, if not more. The Low frames are prepped and masked at its shop, including metal cleaning and then shipped to West Coast Powder Coating in sealed dust-free bags, where the spraying and curing occurs. Heat-Resistant Masking Decals Low uses Mylar-like materials for the decals and masking made by SSS Ink in North Carolina. It's owner, Gary Prange, is known throughout the handmade bicycle industry as the leader in decals that can then be powder coated. "They are one of the few in the country that can make these types of decals that can go through the powder coating spray booth and be cured," Low says. "We start with a burnishing tech- nique to polish the raw aluminum in different directions to get a cross-grain look, then we use regular vinyl to mask in whatever pattern we want to have in the finish." From there, the frames are sent to West Coast Powder Coating for the finish, and then brought back to Low's for the Mylar-type decals that are placed on the downtubes and other parts of the frame. Most of Low's bikes start at around $2,400 and go up based on the racer's specifications, and some can get as high as $6,000 to $8,000. "Most of the bikes we sell are for racers, but we have some who want them for joyriding," Low says. "It isn't your average everyday mode of transportation. There is a performance need, so these are for the serious cyclist." George Koch Sons, LLC has a strong history in providing turnkey automated finishing systems globally. , a division of George Koch Sons, has joined the KOCH Team as world leaders in turnkey anodizing and plating equipment. POWDER COATING

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