craftsman powder coat gun

[j450rking]

i got a craftsman powder coat gun and some powder from columbia coatings and this gun works great for small parts. it only holds about 2oz of powder so you can't do anything larger then half a rim before you have to refill but it works great. here is some small parts i have done.

[j450rking]

brake hub in silver vein and throttle cover in red vein

[j450rking]

red vein magura clutch cover

[j450rking]

deresi link in gold vein and candy red

[j450rking]

the hub is forsale(make offers) and i have a brake stay thats a dark blue for sale (make offers) if you need pics of the brake stay i can get them

[BLU82]

How much powder did you need for those parts? I'm thinking of buying the same gun. Is it easy to use?

[czrider263]

What kind of oven did you use?

i've heard of some using the kitchen oven not sure wt he did though

[czrider263]

Originally posted by FoxHondaRider
i've heard of some using the kitchen oven not sure wt he did though

Would you have to clean it before cooking food again in it?

Originally posted by czrider263
Would you have to clean it before cooking food again in it?

ahhh....no, you don't use it for cooking again...

Originally posted by speedyquad
ahhh....no, you don't use it for cooking again...

yeah a guy told me sneak the part inside and put it in the oven I said I rather not cure paint in an oven I use for cooking haha.

[DEVINF450R]

FIND AN OLD USED OVEN LOL

[DEVINF450R]

how much was the gun??

[BLU82]

I found one online at sears or somewhere (I don't remember where) for $189.

[j450rking]

i amuseing a toaster oven right now but you can use a house oven. but you CAN NOT use it for food again or you will get fumes in your food and get really sick! the gun is vary easy to use. just like the ads say you plug it in to a regular house plugin and hook the ground clip to the part or the hook you are hanging the part off of load the gun with some powder and start spraying. but you have to make sure that you prep the part well or it will be for nothing. i got my gun for 120 shipped from ebay i think it was eastwoods store on there. the one i got is a rebaged craftsman one. and it takes about an ounce to do a brake hub.

any bigger guns that are cheap? I would love to do my frame but then again howwill I cure i in an oven. The toaster oven i a great idea because its small, portable and who cares if you cant use it for food again

[j450rking]

you can get a air powered gun from http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=458

or from

http://store.columbiacoatings.com/

but then you need to make a moisture seperator and a air compressor and a air regulator. but with the craftsman one you just have to plug it in and it has a fan inside it. what i'm going to do is get more cups for my gun and just switch them when one is lout so i don't have to refill and then it will make 2 and 3 coat coatings much easyer

[ryan2121]

I think I am going to be buying one of these in the next week or so, But I have a few questions.
How much work do you go through on cleaning the part I have read to take it to bare metal then wipe down really good with laquer thinner or acetone. Does this sound fine.
And how hard is this gun to change colors in.
And are there any tips or tricks you could give me to help me out in the start of this.
Thanks

[j450rking]

get 3 extra cups if you are going to do 2 and 3 coat coatings. you have to take it down to bare metal and make sure it's not polished so the powder has somthing to grab on to and then i just use hand soap to clean the part and make sure i rinse it off good. make sure the tracks for the cups are clean or you will have a vary hard time getting the cups out. with silver vein the thinnner the coating the larger the pits and the thicker the smaller. you can make red vein by coating the part with silver vein and bake it at 375D for 5-10 untill it starts making pitts and then take it out and coat it with candy red. it will look like red vein right away but you will have to put it back in the oven for another 20 min or so depending on the tipe and thickness of the metal

[ryan2121]

Ok thanks, And also do you bake the part before coats or do you just layer it up and do it in one bake.

[j450rking]

you spray the first coat and bake it for 10 min or untill it flows (starts looking glossy and not powder) and then spray another coat and if this isn't the last coat do the same thing you did with the first. and then you bake the last coat for 20 min depending on metal thickness

[atvhonda-rider]

Ok sounds good, can you make a list of every step then so we know exactly what to do? Thanks

1. Strip parts, sand or cleaning ??

2. Prep?

3. Actual painting??

4. Baking

5. Finishing coats??

Thanks, im new to powder coating..

[j450rking]

first step take off part and clean off thicker dirt and grease

step 2 remove any bearing or anything that will melt in the oven such as plastic sleeves or anything like that

step 3 use sand paper a wire wheel or a sand blaster to take the part down to bare metal (no paint or any other coating can remain!!)

step 4 clean with soap and water or paint thiner or somthing like that

step 5 make 100% sure the part is dry

step 6 plug all holes that can't have powder coat in there b/c it will get in there!

step 7 hang part or set on a rack and attach the ground to the part in a place were it the spot won't be seen

step 8 spray powder on so you don't see any metal. you don't have to be super even like paint.

step 9 put oven on 375 (or watever the place tells you were you get your powder b/c a diferent place will have diferent stuff)degrees and let it warm up for 5 min or so (you can do this before coating)

step 10 put part in oven and set the timer for 5 min ( depending on how thick the metal is) and when it gos off see if the part has flowed out (look shiny like paint) and if it hasn't watch it to see when it dose. when it has flowed set the timer for 15-30 min depending on the thickness of the metal and when it has baked all the way turn off the oven and crack or open the door so it will cool off (do not put in fridge or in a cold place to cool off or it will crack the powder coat!!!!!!!)

step 11 when the part has cooled re install bearings if there was any and put it back on ans use it!


for 2 and 3 coat setups bake till the powder flows and take the part out of the oven (don't be stupid use a oven mitt!) but don't touch the part use the rack or hook to remove it and spray on the second coat (second coat and third coat need to be thicker then the first) and bake for 20 min depending on metal thickness or if you are doing 3 coats bake the second coat for 10 min and then spray the third coat and bake for 20 min after that.

i do not suggest doing more then 1 coat for the first 5 parts or so. what i did is i coated small peaces of sheet metal to see how the coating came out and how thick to spray it.


for silver vein or any other vein colors the thinner the coat the smaller the pits and the thicker the larger the pits.

my favorite color is red vein witch is silver vein coated thick and then candy red coated thick over that.

some coats like candy red need a silver base coat (but not when you are doing red vein) and some need a clear or super clear top coat like black crome.

i suggest at lease 3 powder cups for whatever gun you get (it makes 2 and 3 coat coatings much easyer)

other notes

you need to wear a dust mask or resperator b/c powder in the air is vary hard not to breath in and it's not good when you blow your nose and it's red from powder coating candy red:(

if there might have been somthing i missed let me know. i am posting this in the how to section!

[Pappy]

maybe you should get some more practice under your belt before doing anything in our how to section:p

[j450rking]

somthing that pappy just brought to my attention is that ATVRIDERS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU GETTING HURT! so if you get hurt it's your problum!

and do not use sand for sand blasting use something like glass bead and always wear thick gloves and a hood and a thick jacket when sand blasting.

please be vary carefull when doing anything like powder coating or sand blasing or anything with an oven b/c you can say it won't happen to you want untill you are laying in a hospital bed or worse!

so all i ask is be carefull!!

oh and don't toch the tip of the powder gun b/c it will zap you. it may not hurt but it may mess you up and it can ruin a powder job.

[Pappy]

glass bead isnt recommended for powder coating prep as it closes the metals crystaline layer and can affect how the powder adheres to the metal:)

[j450rking]

hmmmm thats weird i read in a powder coating hand book that you should use glass bead. what should you use??

[Pappy]

80 grit aluminum oxide works well for the average metals found in atv, motorcycle and automobile applications and is easily bought at most supply houses. i use a bit heavier grit due to the amount of chromoly i coat.

depending on what we are coating will usually dictate what media we use to get the "tooth" we want for the powder we are using.

[j450rking]

ok great thanks! what color green is that? that looks great!

[ATW55]

i found one for sale but the red button is broke off what does that do? idk because i never seen it

[j450rking]

do you mean the nob on the left side of the craftsman gun?

[ATW55]

ya

[j450rking]

that is the cup lock nob. it should be ok without it.

[ATW55]

so that just locks the cup in?? how much u think its worth??