Topic: DIY Powder Coating

[super pasty white guy]

I thought I'd share my weekend project-  The $25 powder coating system.

I put together a system similar to the one detailed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zapwizard/167955008/.  Since my goal was to make this as simple as possible to coat small items (covers, calipers, etc), my version uses a small hand pump used to blow up athletic balls and a 1/2 pint canning (jelly) jar to hold the powder.  I bought a toaster oven at a thrift shop for $8 to bake the parts.  All told, the powder and the silicone plugs cost me more than the equipment to apply it.

Here's the results for those who are interested.



(ps.  Anyone got a good method to straighten those bent fins?)

spwg

[Tom in Newcastle......Ontario]

Here is one method of fixing fins......may be better to try out on an old set of barrels......... http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/bent_fins/index.htm

[acaruth]

Hey spwg, that cover is looking good, almost looks polished from the pic. Where are you in DC. I'm in Laurel. If you're doing some more weekend coating projects, let me know I'll have to stop by and chip in.

[Pinhead]

What exactly is coated in the pics? It all looks like polished aluminum...

Would you post a detailed explalation/guide on how to build your DIY powdercoater? I've been itching to do this very thing for a while but haven't really looked into how to build the contraption...

[bert96]

I would like to have more information too

[heffay]

sears sells a great powder coating system for about 150 bucks... i've used a friend's and it works great... not as cheap though. 
also, it has visible results... whereas, i see polished parts here pasty white guy.   

[super pasty white guy]

Really- polished then clearcoated with a high gloss powder.  The generator cover was done with black powder coat in the recessed areas and baked then coated with the clear.  Isn't it supposed to look just like a polished part?

It's pretty simple (and somewhat... homebrew) but it seems to work.  I've only done 3 case covers so far, so my advice is only worth what it costs you.
The picture pretty much covers it.  I attach the air to the small tube which goes all the way to the bottom of the jar to the air pump, the powder exits out of the 1/4" tube and is charged by the negative ion generator.  Building it is easy, just attach the + and - leads from your power supply to the generator.  Strip a bit of insulation from the high voltage lead and place the exposed wire tips in path of the exiting powder.  Connect the negative lead with long wire to your part and gently puff the powder in an even coat onto the part.  I'm sure that a low volume of air from a compressor is easier, but I don't have one and I was trying to keep things simple here.  And for as much as I'm going to do with this, I'm happy with the way it's worked out so far.

Like everything else, it's the prep that'll get you.  You need to pre-bake and clean the parts several times before coating to get rid of the grease and gasses in the pores of the casting before applying the power.  I had to strip and redo one cover because of this problem.

The forums at Eastwood have a bunch of info for techniques.
http://forum.eastwoodco.com/forumdisplay.php?s=6ccbeeb536a0412e5658d63d93ac9368&f=9

-  and tjjkc, thanks for the link.  I'll be giving it a go this weekend.

spwg

[mcuozzo]

OK you want information, you got it...

Eastwood is a good place to start, but they are $$$$

Try http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/index.html.  They also have fourms here http://forum.caswellplating.com/powder-coating-questions/

Other places for products are:

http://www.powderbuythepound.com/catalog/index.php
http://store.columbiacoatings.com/

And don't forget to check ebay.  Also while I applaud the ingenuity of making your own, Harbor Freight and ebay have complete guns\power supplys for $50.  Just hook up to your air compressor.

It's pretty simple to get started, cheap also if you already have an air compressor.  Buy the Powder coater and powder.  Build a booth (I use an old metal clothes closet that I got free from craigslist), and get an old electric oven (also free from criagslist!).  That's the basics.  It's the other stuff that starts eating at your wallet.  Things like a blasting cabinet to clean the parts, plugs, caps, masking tape, extra powder cups for quick color changes.  And oh yeah don't forget the stripper, degreaser, metal prep, acetone, respirator, fan, filters, 20 amp breaker and 4 wire wire for the electric oven, etc.  But the results are awesome.

I've attached before and after photos of a buddy's 79 mazda battery tray.  Actually, the before picture is after blasting.  It was originally a greasy, rusty mess.  I blasted it and it sat for a few days, devoloping the flash rust you see in the before picture.  I gave it a quick reblast, prepped it and shot it with flat black.  The imperfections in the final product are in the metal itself.  Rust ate away at some of the metal.  Since most of the tray is hidden we elected not to sand the metal smooth.  Still think it looks pretty good.