Primed, Painted and Restored to its Former Glory

After some considerable sanding and flattening of the filled areas, Thursday dawned with the naked Holdsworth eagerly awaiting the zinc-chromate. For those of you who skipped chemistry (or like myself- there in body but mentally “out on a ride”); Zinc offers excellent defence against rust and oxidisation, explaining its widespread use in marine applications. Powder coating might provide an extremely thick, protective cocoon for metal but without the zinc, any pinholes, chipping or comparable imperfection invites moisture and ultimately corrosion to fester beneath.Bottom bracket and fork steerer threads were masked along with the seat and head tubes, leaving Graham free to work his magic. Moving seamlessly around the frame and forks in a cloud of grey powder, he took a matter of minutes to achieve the rich, blemish free undercoat before passing the Holdsworth along the conveyor for five minutes cooking at 150 degrees.
It was getting progressively harder to contain my excitement as Chris foraged in the paint store for Sharon’s chosen blue. A few anxious moments later and he emerged triumphant with the huge bag of polyester powder. Graham explained that 5012 was in fact a satin finish so they would be applying a lacquer topcoat to effect a really luxurious shine. Compressor running and several pumps of the trigger feed later, he set about bringing the rear triangle to life in a mist of pale blue before tackling the main tubes.In my experience, high volume “We’re doing black this week” finishers will usually apply a chromate but are often poor when it comes to finer detail. By contrast, Maldon Shot-blasting and Powder coating, rather like the Powder Coat Studio (who also supply this colour for those of you in the states) specialise in one-offs and Graham was as thorough as he was fast.
Satisfied of even coverage, frame and forks were passed through the tunnel of love for a further ten minutes at 200 degrees. Whilst I braved intense heat to photograph its passage, the boys were already loading the gun with clear coat. Emerging from the oven, some pinholes had formed around the frame's head tube but were deftly removed before the paint’s final curing and subsequent cooling. Some clear coats can be applied directly to hot surfaces but Chris and Graham opted for a brand that leaves the gun as a flat white to ensure consistent coverage. Two Pac colours could’ve been applied atop the blue akin to the motorcycle tank pictured- had I wanted something more flamboyant but in my opinion, frames of this era deserve "Classic and Timeless" over “Tart’s Handbag”.

I am delighted with the end result, which unlike powder finishes of old, hasn't obscured the intricate lugwork. Moreover, this has become my preferred colour scheme for a future VW project car. Sharon and I have talked about buying a mechanically sound 1600cc Beetle (Her father owning a succession when she was a small child) and having it refinished in what we’ve collectively dubbed “Ninja” blue. Being bolted, rather than welded in place, panels are easily removed, making them ideal candidates for this paint process. However, in the meantime I’ve to find a bargain wheelset and a suitable solo for Joshua.