Aggie 97 paint or powdercoat

[har_v1]

I have an aggie 97 decal (Trailhopper) and want to put it on a deserving frame. My Ag97 is currently rattle can dark blue and surface rust. See pic 2. I would like to go back to the original light blue color (similar to pic I took from file, pic 1), and think I might find original blue under old decal.
Whether paint or powdercoat I would prefer to have it done....don't want to mess this up. Also, I would like to try to preserve the rubber scrub brake grip..as they don't appear to be readily available.
Paint or Powder...experience / advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[CarPlayLB]

I am lazy! I like powdercoating. It holds up well, tons of colors available, and they do all the work! That, and I suck at painting!

I am doing an Aggie 98 right now and was able to get close to the original orange color. Prismatic Powder will send swatches for you to see in person. Usually takes about a week to get them. they will also have a listing of coaters in your area

 

[Ding Ding]

How much are you willing to spend on the coating? You can take a spray can to it for a very minimal amount, then again you could take it to an auto body shop and have it painted for a considerable amount. So with paint, you could spend $10 or $600+

I just recently had an entire mini bike powdercoated, 2 different colors. Frame, forks, triple tree, fuel tank, swing arm, wheels, kickstand, sprocket hubs for $160.

 

[Ding Ding]

Here is the tank I had done. It's called "Sonic Blue", which is a bright blue with heavy metallic flake.

 

[markus]

. Also, I would like to try to preserve the rubber scrub brake grip..as they don't appear to be readily available.
Paint or Powder...experience / advice appreciated. Thanks. View attachment 78435 View attachment 78436

I resorted to stealing a better condition than the one I had pedal boot off a Bird thunderbird. I looked for awhile and contiune to look now and again to no avail. The Bird one was actually for 1/2 though, It was quite a feat to get it on the pedal :cursing: I am on the hunt for a set in 7/8" right now for Trail Blazer footpegs.....no luck there either

Paint or powder try to remind them to keep it thin on the fork lowers where the springs slide over, or at least check what kind of clearances are there so you can get them slid back on without disturbing the new finish. I have found them to vary and I am not sure if thats just how they were or if there were 2 different winds, the 2 sets I had one was Mickey/Aggie 97 and the other was from a heavier full suspension Aggie 98.

Cool bike, whats the date code/serial number on the engine and do you think its original to the bike?

 

[har_v1]

CarPlayLB: Thanks! Prismatic powder site great place to start...how many pounds of powder for a typical frame?
Also, what color orange did you end up going with for the Ag98? I'm hoping one will drop in my lap someday, and I want to be ready!

Markus: I've seen your work...best if I just box it up and ship my Ag97 to you. Need some tips on how you cleaned up those KOL wheels a while back.

I believe the engine to be original (I've owned the bike abt 35 yrs).
Model HS40 Serial 927(? last # hard to read).....I'm guessing this make it a 69? and if so would that be a flag or diamond Tecumseh 4hp decal?

I followed a few threads on best high temp white spray paint for Tecumseh white? Is there a consensus? Can't put an ugly engine on a new frame. Thanks.

 

[markus]

Those wheels arent too hard to work with since they are so flat. There casting flaws though can really vary. I probably just cleaned, bead blasted, then used fine steel wool to smooth them out and then sat at the buffer shining them up. That kinda gives the that sort of factory fresh/burnished look without too much work or having to pay to have them burnished. If you sat there for hours sanding to get them to a mirror finish I bet they would look Really good. the insides of the wheel are the tough thing, if you want them to be uniform with the outside, you probably just need to have them burnished/tumbled.

Yea that is a '69 engine, The Ballon was the only thing Tec used at that point, around midyear 1970 is about the time that they offered the flags from what I have seen. I was curious about the year because dated material for the KOL line of bikes isn't really out there. And alot of the info that is found makes absolutely no sense whatsoever either. Not to mention for whatever reason seeing one of them "complete" seems to be kind of a rarity. Gotta keep watching for one of these catalog nuts to scan up more Montgomery Wards wishbooks like they do the sears catalogs and hope to find something in there I guess :thumbsup:

Oh yea, with Steve (trailhopper) unfortunately passing away you may want to take a good scan of that decal before you stick it. That way if something happens upon installation or whatever you have it on file. I dunno what will become of his catalog of images and if someone in the family will take over or not. I remember talking with Steve about him working on the image of J.C.'s head for awhile on that decal by hand when he was helping with my mickey bike decal. There was alot more involved than a copy and paste off the net to for him to get those aggie's done.

Good luck with it, someone that sends me parts to refinish that lives up in the Carolina's texted me the other night saying he just had that skinny top rail 97 roller that just sold a couple of weeks ago. Sounded like he was going to just try detailing it out first and go from there, said he had some stuff for me to do, but I am not sure if its from that bike or from something else.

 

[CarPlayLB]

For the Aggie 98 I am using Prismatic's "Spark Orange". It matches the original color fairly well, but will have a little sparkle to it. I did the forks in a silver color...I just thought too much orange may not be a good thing! I also had to match the color to the awesome seat that Manchester1 sewed up for me in sparkling vinyl! My frame is going to powder coat today. I will post pics when I start the process!

Keep the pics coming!