Powder coating and you!

[Cloak]

I've been tossing the idea back and forth about getting a powder coater for a few weeks now. I made the plunge last week and I was finally able to get me a little convection oven yesterday.

This is my first try at powder coating. I used black matte finish. I cleaned up my old Bender link mount and coated it. These are the results.

Not bad. The back side needs a little more, so I will put another coat on it. I'm happy with the results for never having used this before. I think I'm going to be finding a whole lot more crap around here to coat now. A little more dialing in and the tuber is going to get hit up too. :twisted:

By popular demand (Jason), a step by step guide:

Sand and clean the surface. I read on a site where they said you clean with denatured alcohol, so I did.

Hang up the pieces to be coated, including the one that you messed up the back the first time.

See how well hung it is? Also note how it has the ground clip attached basically to the part. This is how the powder attaches itself to the metal piece. The powder itself gets charged by the electrode and it sticks to the grounded surface.

This here is where the concentrated sexiness comes from. Ignore my fire hazard of a garage in the background:

Apply powder liberally (although this may have been too liberal, we shall see):

Put them in your ez-bake oven for 20 mins at 400F (or in this case a convection oven set to convect the air):

Since this is in realtime like on 24, you'll just have to wait another 15 mins or so.

Back from our commercial break. As you can see it looks a little like an orange peel. Once I get my new air compressor, I'll try out my new sand blaster on this and redo it.

Here is the back of the other piece as well. The texture isn't nearly as harsh as this picture makes it appear.

 

[TLTCrawlin]

Very nice, where did you get the powder, and the powder "coater" ?

 

[Cloak]

I went the cheap route and got the system one from harbor freight, including the powder.

I picked up the little convection oven from Sams Club. Mostly because I missed out on a $25 full sized oven off Craigslist (which would have meant running 220 in my garage).

 

[jason]

any chance you could do the whole process and take step by step pictures, I have no clue how it works.

 

[Cloak]

You mean do something other than show off my pretty pieces?

hehe, yeah. I'll do that with the other piece. Maybe do it later tonight.

 

[TLTCrawlin]

Dont you clean the part, sand it, take the coater/gun run a smooth layer of what thickness you want, then put it in the oven for * hours, pull it out, and bam.

If not you put thin layers and put it in the oven, take out and spray another coat and put it in the oven!

 

[M715ForLife]

any chance you could do the whole process and take step by step pictures, I have no clue how it works.

• Coating material is finely granulated, dry
solid powder
• Applied electrostatically to a surface
(typically metal)
• Static charge provides adhesive force for
dry particles
• Application of heat causes particles to
melt
• Individual particles fuse together to form
a continuous fluid layer
• Additional heat initiates a chemical cure
reaction which forms a solid paint film

The fundamental principle behind PPG powder coating is that materials with opposite electrical charge attract each other. There are two common methods of applying thermosetting powder coatings: spray and fluidized bed. Electrostatic spray is the most common and versatile application method for powder coating. Powder is supplied through a delivery hose and spray gun, and is conveyed by clean, dry, oil-free air. The power is charged by the spray gun's electrode and, when directed at a conductive, grounded surface, is deposited and held to that surface by static charge. There are two methods of applying electrostatic spray; tribo charging and corona charging. Click Here for more!
In fluidized bed coating, heated parts are either dipped directly into a container of fluidized power, or they are passed through an electrically charged cloud of powder, which is created above a container of fluidized powder.

There we go, a five second search on google!

 

[Cloak]

Pretty much what they said, except I'm going to do pretty pictures for the tl;dr crowd.

Edit: I forget where I am. tl;dr : too long; didn't read

 

[Crawln Coles]

I have the Harbor Freight system too and finally got around to using it. Coated a tuber I made. It was my first attemp also. Used a toaster oven and it came out pretty nice, but I think I'll put another coat on it. I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.

"thumbsup"

 

[Cloak]

Are you setting the tuber on the grille at the bottom or are you suspending it?

Oh and Jason, there's your 24 like update in the first post. REALTIME

 

[jason]

Thanks cool stuff, may have to try it out.

 

[TLTCrawlin]

Maybe you need more air mixture? If you can tune it!

 

[maxboostbusa]

I have the eastwood setup and have probibly sprayed 50lbs of powder through it. My first parts had a fair amount of texture to the finish until I added the fluidizing adapter eastwood sells for there gun. Its alot better now and the powder goes farther. I have also noticed that in some instances the more powder you use the smoother the finish becomes. I usually heat my pieces to temp after wiping them once then wipe them another time after they cool down. Its a tip I got off of Caswell Platings website. They have alot of tips for powdercoating and other stuff. Its supposed to remove any oils trapped in the metals. You can usually tell a difference on aluminum. Titanium doesent seem to be as big of a deal.

On the convection oven your using it may be messing with your finish by blowing air across the surface. Thats how you remove the powder prior to baking if you dont like the looks of it. Another note about the convection oven is that if the motor isnt sealed from the cabinet it may cause a hazzard. The suspended powder is flamable and will flash very fast. I didnt believe it so I tried it one time. Blowed a small amount of powder toward a lit torch and woof. Just my 2 pennys though.

 

[Cloak]

maxboostbusa: Thanks for the tips. I will give a try to the still air and preheating the piece. I know the reason it came out like it did is because I was way too close. I actually managed to get it to arc from the tip to the grounded wire.

Depending on how much of this I do, I might get one of those setups as well. I've read quite a bit on that forum you mentioned. There is a wealth of info over there.

 

[maxboostbusa]

No prob man. Just make sure to ground the tip out after you get done. I dont know if you have hit the electrode yet before de-energizing it but it will shock the pi$$ out of you.

 

[TLTCrawlin]

How many volts?

How do you de-energize it?

 

[maxboostbusa]

I think my tranformer on mine puts out about 28,000 volts. No amprage thought so it wont kill ya, just makes sure your awake.
To de energize mine I let off the energize button then touch the tip of the electrode to the ground clamp away from the part. It should arc then it doesent have any stored power in the unit so it wont shock you anymore.

 

[FrankyRizzo]

Looks like fun. I might have to try it.

 

[mxrider99]

*beats stankyJizzo to it* hah, ill have a setup when my dad gets home...

 

[Cloak]

Now something in red. The proper body will go on sometime this weekend. I just need to cut it up.