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Powder Coating?

26K views 70 replies 18 participants last post by  99ishvr4 
#1 ·
Hey, I was wondering who all here does their own powder coating or were thinking about doing their own powder coating?
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
I do powder coating myself also. Its good to see you are also coating. I am in the same boat with the oven myself, its just a normal household oven I found on Craigslist. I recently got another oven and want to join them together side by side and cut out the middle to fit some longer parts. If it works, in another year, I'll probably have 4 ovens cut and fit together like that. I haven't tried summit powders yet, I have had some good experience with Powder365. Got any pics of your work?

Anyways powder coating definitely serves its purpose in a car restoration. That's what I am in the middle of now anyways and that is how I got into powder coating. I was making this post to see if there was any kind of want for a powder coating how to guide.

I have started a guide and I am confident that it will be helpful for people already coating(but still kind of new) and especially for people that can't decide if they should do it themselves.

This is the powder coating guide I have been working on. So far it just covers the introductory stuff but it already answers a lot of questions that I remember having when I started out. I have tried to organize the info and put it all into one place.

Anways.. here is the link, it is called [************************** [/URL]
 
#4 ·
I've been doing it probably fifteen years. I bought the first gun Eastwood sold and still use it on occasion. It still works good and is quicker and easier to set up and clean than my pro gun.

I've bought power from several places and have had good luck with all of them. It pays to shop around as there is a big price difference. Powder By The Pound and Prismatic Powder has good deals and many different types of powder. There are almost so many it's hard to decide sometimes.

I believe Powder By The Pound has a forum with lots of good info.
 
#5 ·
I do my own powdercoating too. I built a "pregnant oven." Take a standard oven add an insulated chamber (I used an old solid door and rock wool insulation). Rather than adding ovens together, if you search online, you will find many easy to build oven plans that use standard oven heating elements.
 
#12 ·
Interesting topic. What are your thoughts on "chrome" powdercoating? Ive seen some that look like polished aluminum or stainless, but not chrome if you put them side by side.

Are there certain powders that are closer in appearance than others? If so, which and why
 
#13 ·
I like the chrome powder coat, there is nothing wrong with it but it will not compare to real chrome. It may someday, but currently it doesn't.

This is the story on chrome powder coat. When you spray the chrome powder coat on and bake it, it looks like maybe 95% chrome, it really looks awesome. But then, you MUST put clear over it. The clear is the reason why it doesn't look as good as chrome, or 95% chrome anyways. The clear has an effect on the way the chrome reflects light back. Acrylic clear powder coat is the best at keeping the chrome look.

Chrome powder coat gets its shine from lots of very tiny ground up aluminum particles, without the clear coat, these particles oxidize and turn white. You then loose the chrome look completely.

The only place chrome really has a chance without the clear is indoors and it should never be touched.

The best chrome I have used is called Super Chrome, and can be ordered from Prismatic powders. Another good one is Terminal chrome.
 
#15 ·
I got a kiln for almost nothing. I built a circuit then wrote a book on the circuit to control it based on the arduino:

Powder Coating an Arduino

I use it in the shop every week to powdercoat something. I have used it several hundred times. The automated sequence makes it incredibly convenient. Drop the parts in and run the program. Done.

With ceramics on the decline and expensive automated ovens becoming the norm kilns are cheaply found on craigslist.

There are other commercial controllers which would control them as well.

Here are some photos:

http://www.pantherpost.com/photos/







 
#22 ·
I got a kiln for almost nothing. I built a circuit then wrote a book on the circuit to control it based on the arduino:

Powder Coating an Arduino

I use it in the shop every week to powdercoat something. I have used it several hundred times. The automated sequence makes it incredibly convenient. Drop the parts in and run the program. Done.

With ceramics on the decline and expensive automated ovens becoming the norm kilns are cheaply found on craigslist.

There are other commercial controllers which would control them as well.

Here are some photos:

Untitled Document







That is seriously awesome. How big is the kiln roughly?
 
#24 ·
Nice job, I checked out your site, love the engine. Your the only other person I have seen to coat their pedals, lol. It really becomes addicting, gets to the point that there is no reason any bracket on the car should look old and crappy and all must be powder coated.

 
#18 ·
A friend of mine currently passed away and left me a huge supply of powders almost every color including clears.

Don't really know what its worth but I have been thinking of giving it a try, I was going to clear a satin aluminum intake with clear to keep it from staining. any suggestions?
 
#23 · (Edited)
Sorry to hear about your friend.

I have cleared bare steel before to prevent rust. This was a motorcycle tank for a Harley I did. It came out gorgeous and has a very unique look that I have honestly never seen before.





If you want to keep the satin intake satin, you may want to try a satin clear. A gloss clear will add a reflection. The tank above is done in semi-gloss.

The plastic bags are a good way to store them, just make sure their not in a humid area. They are said to last the longest kept at around 75 degrees so any where in your house is usually fine.
 
#21 ·
I have tried six or seven different "chrome" powders. Most just look like polished aluminum. Tho one , that I got from an Ebay vendor, when sprayed over a black base, looked real good. But most need a clear coat, which changes the effect..

I see that now there are some powders that don't need the clear. I tried the original stuff without clear and out in the weather, it tarnishes..
 
#25 ·
Yeah, the chrome look definitely goes out the window once the clear is applied. Its still a good look, just not what you would call chrome. I assume they will get it right one day, seems to be a huge demand for it.

I have heard about the newer powders that don't need a clear, haven't tried any yet.
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Are there any dangers or problems with powder coating, either to the parts, or people involved? I heard that the high temperatures required to cure the powder can weaken certain components like wheels.
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I have heard this too, and I am not qualified to give a yes or no answer. It would take an expert on the subject to actually be able to say one way or another. I do know that some oem wheels and a lot of aftermarket wheels are powder coated at the factory, but they have experts.

This is my opinion, there are thousands of custom powder coating shops out there, and wheels are a very popular item for them. I'm sure there are a couple million powder coated wheels riding around out there that were powder coated by "less than experts in metallurgy" and I have only seen a handful of forum posts claiming that powder coating made their wheels all break. I'm sure if it was a real problem, there would be lawsuits and there wouldn't be so many shops doing wheels as their main income. Aluminum wheels are the rumored concern btw, specifically forged Aluminum, I have never heard of any issues with steel or iron.

As far as dangers to people, that's one of the "greener" points about it. It contains no VOC's. According to the msd's for the powders I use, it says "may cause mild irritation if inhaled or if left on skin." I use a respirator and wear gloves just to be safe and I have never had any issues. And after it is cured, it is completely safe. It is now considered a suitable replacement for stainless steel as a sterile surface in hospitals. I had a dentist comment on my site that even dentures are being powder coated now.
 
#30 ·
Gow589, thanks for the info. You are making me wish I had a shop, lol. I am completely out of room in the garage. I setup a small spray booth and ended up tearing it down for more room..

Keep up the good work though, I plan on trying the Cerakote ceramics soon. Which ceramic do you use?
 
#31 ·
Remember rule number 1. No matter how big your shop is, there is not enough room.

The ceramic was from Caswell Plating:

High Temp Ceramic Coatings - Powder Coating - Caswell Inc

I can tell you it stunk! I mean smelled bad. It reminded me of the "stop bath" from photography. It comes out real dull when done then you polish it out. I think I could have polished it more but it was fine for my application:



 
#32 ·
Yeah, thats the ceramic I will be trying. Still undecided on what color. Ill remember to keep the doors open when I cure it, lol.

That is a gorgeous engine bay btw. Nice job. Sometimes I hate that my car its black, all the details kind of get lost because the bay is black. The red really makes the engine pop.
 
#33 ·
Thanks. Before the heater hoses were connected but flopping around. If you look at the black lines they are actually copper tubing with high temp powdercoating.

I also added aluminum plates on the decks. The MG has 2 identical holes for the brake set up so they can be used left side or right side. The washer fluid tank is a bottle which sits ont he deck. I built a tank which sits in the hole which cleaned up the shelves.

Tons of tidbits powdercoated you don't even notice. The black pieces in the radiator valance both on top and on the side. I use the Harbor Freight matte black a lot. It is cheap and about as forgiving as any color there is:










 
#34 ·
The washer fluid tank is a great idea, I like how compact it is with most of it sitting in the firewall. Wish I had your fab skills, I saw some more pics of your work in a welder thread.

As far as the Harbor freight powder, I have definitely gone through several pounds of the black, for some reason at my store, the last 3 containers I bought all were very clumpy, so I switched to magic black and now just use the harbor freight powder on stuff my girlfriend wants done;)

I'm sure the color looks familiar to you, lol.


 
#36 ·
Have you tried the incandescent packs in the powder to dry the moisture? I shake them vigorously before I use them.

I do my own polishing but it is a lot of work. It often starts with sanding fine grits to get other scratches out. Not my forte but I get by. Sucks when the buffer slams it out of your hand on the ground with fresh scratches and dings.
 
#39 ·
is this expensive to do? I get a lot of furnaces and heaters from jobs and could most likely build my own oven, but how about the rest of the supplies? my wife is looking for something to do at home and I have been tossing this idea around for some time. what kind of temps are needed?
 
#41 ·
Gun
Oven
Blaster
Powder

Blaster is the best method for getting most parts ready to accept powder. It is not the only method but I pretty much use it exclusively.

Ovens can be a kitchen oven but I would not use the one you cook in. Find a scratch and dent.

Gary
 
#44 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey, just wanted to apologize to anyone that is following the site. I have not been able to make any updates lately. We are having to move pretty unexpectedly so I haven't had much free time with all of the packing and the crap that goes along with moving. Once we are settled down in the new house, the updates should start flowing along again.

For those interested in powder coating that haven't seen the site yet, there is still plenty of information on it to take in: [url***********[/url]
 
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