Powder Coat Vs Urethane Paint

Theres been a ton of posts regarding what to use to color your 60's and 70's Husky frame restoration so I thought I would contribute my two cents. I have always admired paint on a resto. Its thin so the character of the vintage construction remains visible whereas powder must be applied thick and tends to hide the welds.

I do think powder is great for a vintage project intended to be ridden or raced. When applied correctly the stuff is tough. It stands up to impact from roost and is resistant to motorcycle chemicals.

Here's a side by side of paint vs powder. By the way the right pic is the "Husqvarna" powder color sold by Powder Coating Specialties out of Colorado and it doesn't come close to resembling the color of any vintage Husky frame I've owned.

battleship grey

You can match the orginal Husky silver almost exactly with right powder. I have the number if needed. You must use a clear powder over the silver base powder.
Both really can look great and wear great. But as I have have more than three powder coats fail in as little as year, I think main choice for powder is the ease
of having the shop blast frame and then powder coat it for you. It takes a lot of work and steps to paint.
You can make your paint last and repair your paint and clear in a real easly manner thats a great advantage.

I hope you did not get that powder number from here on this site. That been wrong for years!!

I use both options. I like both options. Lately I like powder on hubs and front clamps and paint on the frames.

Please note - on powder their is a National hare scambles team here in town re does their powder coat every two races, as the powder wears out almost as fast as paint on those longer races. Its a KTM team

I have used silver sparkle powder and it is really close to stock.

I have been using the Bonded Silver Sparkle from Powder by the Pound !

You must use a clear on top. A powder clear that is. I have been using Prismatic clear over the powder by the pound silver

What paint brand and color is recommended for touch ups with a rattle can?

after 150 frame husqvarna !
my choice is powder INVER
RAL 9006 aluminium white
in your contry USA is =
VALSPAR CORPORATION
Minnéapolis !

I have used white powder coating on my white 83 cr 500. Looked great but still gets rubbed and rock chipped off.......I have been told these days 2 or 3 pack can be better? Not sure what to do yet on the 83 250 wr.

Whats a 2 or 3 pack?

The powder guy I've used insists on blasting the parts himself regardless of my effort to blast them. I would surmise that cleanliness is paramount, not to say your parts weren't 100% clean. Also GrayM makes a good point about the need for a clear coat. I think this applies to both powder and paint for the best performance when exposed to roost.

When using paint I've been told the surface must be free of contaminates. If applying over the existing paint then a good wipe down with a solvent prep is required, such as Duplicolor Prep Spray. If the part has been blasted to bare metal then use a wash of PPG's DX-579 or similar for steel and Alumiprep 33 or similar for aluminum, or as you Brits would say "aluminium".

Not sure myself what 2 or 3 pack myself is except 2 pack is what has been used to paint cars and now I understand there is 3 pack. I was told advancements in process make it nearly as good as powder and less prone to chopping. I powdered my other bike and it looked great ....the tank as well, but stone, stand and boot rub like on a new bike took its toll.