Topic: Powder coating 101

[XN]

Being I do a little bit of powder coating and after seeing all the good info posted here I figured I would repost a post from another forum I'm on. Enjoy...

I figured I would give you guys a look at how I do it and yea you too can PC at home. DO NOT USE YOUR GOOD OVEN! YOU WILL NEEDED A SEPARATE OVEN THAT NO FOOD WILL BE MADE IN!

So after hours of taping them up here is what they look like




My DIY booth. I was going to build a new booth and oven this winter but some people here decided to make me spend my money on my bike instead of toys so...



I lay paper down to make clean up a little easier and less powder out of my vacuum.

I use a Eastwood pro Gun. I started out with a Harbor freight gun and well it worked but wasted a bunch of powder and took forever to clean. I can clean my new gun in under a minute where color changes in the HF gun took at least 10 minutes :x  anyway after loading up the cup with some powder she's ready to rock. (I actually have a new gun now that shoots even better, but is more difficult to clean)



Prep is the biggest part of PC work. These parts have been degreased, cleaned, sanded, taped, cleaned again, blown off, and the final step I do is hit them with a flame to burn off any lint or stuff that will get stuck in the finish. FYI you must use care with the open flame and the hi temp tape this stuff is good for maybe 600* so an open flame will do wonders on your tape job if your not quick.



Time to preheat my fancy free oven from craigslist



Some shots with the powder applied




Then they go in the oven. The cure schedule for this powder is 400* for 10 minutes. The clock doesn't start ticking until the object reaches the cure temp so some times like my fork tubes for example took an hour to reach the curing temp. Temp is verified with a IR gun.



Done cooking first look



The tape is removed while the item is still hot. In this case I started when they were at 350* because there is a lot of tape on these suckers. Once the tape cools it can be a bugger to remove so its best removed while its still hot.

And your left with your final product!



I was trying to show the reflection in the powder in this shot.





And now for the money shots! 





Here is some of my other work... this stuff gets addictive...

[troppo]

You do nice work mate.
Thanks for the tips, this is the sort of info that could come in handy...

[eurban]

Thanks for the eye opening post!  Do you have access to media blasting equipment?  Seems like it would be a good companion to the powder coating setup, providing a good surface to bond the PC.  What's the $ outlay for the non free stuff?

[XN]

Yea a media blaster is almost mandatory, but you can get buy with out it for some stuff. As for money in it well its kinda one of them things that suck you in  You can get the eastwood hobby gun for under a 100 bucks most times and the Harbor freight gun even cheaper, I think I have about 150 bucks in my booth. You don't need a huge air source for the powder gun just clean moisture & free in fact I use a small oil less compressor to run my powder gun from. Depending on the powder it doesn't cost too much. There are plenty of powder suppliers that cater to the hobbyist. If your just doing small stuff you can even use a toaster oven!

[alltherightpills]

That looks great!  Can you fit a rim in the oven?

[comp]

good thread ,,thanks

[XN]

That looks great!  Can you fit a rim in the oven?

No its too small  But i Plan on building a new oven sometime soon, But for the most part I only do things for myself being my time is limited....

[alltherightpills]

I was contemplating a set up like this for myself somewhere down the road and was curious how big those ovens actually are when you are putting motorcycle parts in them instead of food.

Does it matter if the oven is gas or electric?

[XN]

Electric only, being powder is flammable or darn near explosive (kinda like saw dust) I think some of the larger ovens do use gas, but I think they are a sealed combustion.

[void909]

great post thanks

[m00ntan]

Thank you.  Very nice.

What or how do you powdercoat a fork tube?

[bradweingartner]

Lookin good.

Hold out for a free craigs-list old-school refrigerator! My buddy also does powercoat work and when he needed a bigger oven he took the one he was using, gutted an old fridge I gave him and combined them. Presto! Oven almost big enough for a frame if you hung it carefully, the verdict is out on that one.

He's also a member on here, I'll point him this direction.

[XN]

Thank you.  Very nice.

What or how do you powdercoat a fork tube?

They are just like any other part. Strip all the seals out, clean/degrease, prep the surface, shoot and bake.

[XN]

Lookin good.

Hold out for a free craigs-list old-school refrigerator! My buddy also does powercoat work and when he needed a bigger oven he took the one he was using, gutted an old fridge I gave him and combined them. Presto! Oven almost big enough for a frame if you hung it carefully, the verdict is out on that one.

He's also a member on here, I'll point him this direction.

Yea I've seen that done, but I don't feel like tearing out all that foam... I'm going to build an oven in due time... 

[frodef2]

How high is the current draw/wattage on the eastwood gun? im in the process of buying one, and since im living in europe. i need to get a 220v to 110v transformer that can handle the current needed.

Frode

[XN]

I'm not totally sure I would ask eastwood that question, but I would say no more than 8 or so amps being it has a 10 amp plug.

Hope that helps.

[mcuozzo]

I've just started powdercoating myself, and I agree it can be addiciting!!!

I just picked up a 77 cb750K and I'm sure I'll powder coat anything I can.

Two points -  An open flame should not be used anywhere near your powder booth.  On the same point, you should not vacuum up the excess powder, unless the vacuum has an explosion proof motor.  As mentioned the powder is very flammable\explosive.

I still getting the PC'ing process down, but the pieces are starting to come out ok, here are some sample brackets...