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Anyone Interested in Powdercoated (coloured!!!) Bridges?

3K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  IbanezFreak777 
#1 ·
Would any of you like to be able to send your hardware in somewhere and have them powdercoat it? Maybe just saddles or something? It would be wayyy less than $100. Like 30-40 at the most I think.

I ask because I'm currently having my lo-pro 7 saddles done in red, and maybe some of you guys want your stuff powdered too. If it goes well with mine I can ask them if they'd be open to doing stuff like that on a regular basis?

Here's an example of powdered hardware (thanks to Mr. Hull!):

 
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#4 ·
I powder coat a bunch of stuff....

Its easy, cheap and fun.

You only need an oven big enough for the pieces AND you can never cook in it again.

For about 200$ you could have the gun and media to do 500+ bridges, any color you could imagine.

Just note that the coating will add thickness to the part.

Here are some examples I did, mostly for corrosion resistance.



 
#8 ·
That trem in the multiverse is fully functional :)

All Edge types have very close tollerances on the string lock blocks. As soon as they mushroom a little you have stuck blocks. Powdercoating is not thin, I'm not sure you wouldn't have stuck blocks before you get it assembled.
Good call, thanks rich. We'll find out soon though as the powdercoating for my saddles should be done by next weeks end. Worst comes to worst and it doesnt work...im out like $40 lol
 
#25 · (Edited)
You don't know how it was done, you're just assuming that it was powdercoated.
Actually I do know it was powdercoated because I spoke with the owner of that guitar. I'm not assuming anything. Thanks for the attitude though....

Its not like I stand to make a profit on this in any sort of way btw, I'm just doing this because I wanted a coloured bridge forever and I assumed others would too.
 
#27 ·
Actually I do know it was powdercoated because I spoke with the owner of that guitar. I'm not assuming anything. Thanks for the attitude though....

Its not like I stand to make a profit on this in any sort of way btw, I'm just doing this because I wanted a coloured bridge forever and I assumed others would too.
I have an attitude? I have zero interest in doing this at all. I offered advice based on the fact that I actually have experience powdercoating things. I even offered an alternative that seemed like it would work better.

Thanks for being so gracious about my free advice, bro ;)
yeah, the parts are powder coated, and yeah, it causes a lot of problems, nothing fits right and you have to file everything by hand. Originally the whole string retainer part of the trem was powder coated but I couldn't get the retaining blocks to look/work properly because of the thickness.
And yeah...just what I said.
 
#14 ·
Also something to note about powder,

Powder does not have a good compressive load strength compared to the base metal, especially when the load has rotation. This means that if you were to torque down on a small hex head cap screw on a powder coated surface it will be VERY likely that you will compress and break the coating radially around the screw.

Putting a washer or grease will help but will always be a problem....

~JH
 
#18 ·
I think it might.
If the coating is uniform and is the same on all saddles, the overall bridge radius should stay the same, it will just raise the all the strings as if you put shims under all saddles. This can be remedied by lowering the entire bridge. Intonation shouldn't suffer much either (an issue may be with the G and low E stings). My only concern is the width. But I guess it's a try and see kind of deal.

Anyone to disprove my theory (before I ruin my bridge) is welcomed!
 
#26 ·
be careful doing these and be smart about it.
i knew it could cause issues and so did rich .

here the guy who started this mess own words.

ahull123
MG.ORG Regular

Joined: Jun 2011
Member Number: 1666
Home: confusion
108 Posts
Gallery: 0
Thanked 17 Times in 3 Posts


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitch
Hey ahull123,

I saw this thread a few days ago while searching for LGM stuff. Fell in love with it. It's beutiful, one of the handful of guitars I actually just laugh at how perfect it is.

How did you do the bridge? I'm assuming the tuners are powdercoated; is the bridge powdercoated too? Did you have any problems with the finishing process adding thickness to the components so they didn't align properly?

Feel free to leave it to me in your will.

as far as the will goes, I am not planning on dying anytime soon...

yeah, the parts are powder coated, and yeah, it causes a lot of problems, nothing fits right and you have to file everything by hand. Originally the whole string retainer part of the trem was powder coated but I couldn't get the retaining blocks to look/work properly because of the thickness. That being said the areas where I did use it worked out great, except that if you are using a one coat system it has to be covered more than once to not have the base color show through. I would use a 2 coat system if I had to do it again (for neon colors only) normal colors would work in one coat.
 
#28 ·
be careful doing these and be smart about it.
i knew it could cause issues and so did rich .

here the guy who started this mess own words.

ahull123
MG.ORG Regular

Joined: Jun 2011
Member Number: 1666
Home: confusion
108 Posts
Gallery: 0
Thanked 17 Times in 3 Posts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitch
Hey ahull123,

I saw this thread a few days ago while searching for LGM stuff. Fell in love with it. It's beutiful, one of the handful of guitars I actually just laugh at how perfect it is.

How did you do the bridge? I'm assuming the tuners are powdercoated; is the bridge powdercoated too? Did you have any problems with the finishing process adding thickness to the components so they didn't align properly?

Feel free to leave it to me in your will.

as far as the will goes, I am not planning on dying anytime soon...

yeah, the parts are powder coated, and yeah, it causes a lot of problems, nothing fits right and you have to file everything by hand. Originally the whole string retainer part of the trem was powder coated but I couldn't get the retaining blocks to look/work properly because of the thickness. That being said the areas where I did use it worked out great, except that if you are using a one coat system it has to be covered more than once to not have the base color show through. I would use a 2 coat system if I had to do it again (for neon colors only) normal colors would work in one coat.
Yeah Hull mentioned that when I talked to him amongst other things, I already forwarded his notes he provided me to the guy doing the powdercoating. Super nice guy!

I have an attitude? I have zero interest in doing this at all. I offered advice based on the fact that I actually have experience powdercoating things. I even offered an alternative that seemed like it would work better.

Thanks for being so gracious about my free advice, bro ;)

And yeah...just what I said.
You told me that I was assuming it was powdercoated when I wasn't assuming anything.
 
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