Getting started with powdercoating

[Zakradu398]

I Plan on purchasing a pc gun from harbor freight cause I've read here they are good for small things. Also have an electric oven lined up off of craigslist. As for powder, is there a difference in quality between brands? I see HF has powder or should I steer clear and just go with Colombia coatings.
I do not have a blasting booth either so what will be needed to prep the Parts for coating.

Also, does a specific Powder tell you baking time and what temp?

Anything else I need to know?

Thanks, Zak

[426kidz]

wait five mina dn pappy may be willing to chime in!;)

[Pappy]

Use Columbia & they usually give you a temp range and cure time on each container, but for most its 8 to 15 minutes AFTER the actual metal reaches temp. You wont hurt a thing going by thier "20-25" minutes after full flow out however. It really depends on the density of the part being coated....

You really should have a booth of some sort to contain the powder, trust me, it gets everywhere and if people tell you it doesnt.....well, they just havent shot enough powder;) It will stick to things you didnt want it on....especially other painted items. It will find its way into your house as well. Its actually finer then baby powder....

You do really need a blast cabinet and use 8o grit for a good tooth on most metals. Stay away from actual sand and glass bead and please use some form of protecton from both the blast media and the powder. A dust mask is a minimum. Its no joke to breathe in any dust, especially when it contains chemicals and metal.

Prep is the most important aspect of the job, the rest will take trail and error. It is a fun hobby! Start off with scrap stuff....getting even bad pc off is a pain in the ***.

Good luck.

[Zakradu398]

I could probably make a small booth by cutting a piece out of a 55 gal drum and plexiglas the open spot. Think that would work?

[sexysilverado45]

The hf gun and powders aren't bad iv done my dasa and a front and rear bumper with hf powder. I did go threw east wood for my last run and it was good stuff I haven't had any complaints thus far. I bought an oven for 40 bucks to do small things then I added on to it so I could do nerfs. Now im currently working on turning a deep freeze into an oven. The powdercoating process is easy iv been using a wire wheel to clean off parts and then spray them with carb cleaner or ether then wipe it down and shoot it. Bake at 400 for 20 min and walla. Every thing iv shot has held up great following that processes. I'm going to invest in a sand blaster next because wire wheeling gets old. Plus blasters are pretty affordable. Pics in a few min.

also keep in mind im not a business like pappy I just do it on the side, but im taking it as that's what you wanna do. Its good to keep it as professional as possible, but it doesn't have to be exact.

here's my oven after I put on the extensions
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/AndrewCampbell/IMAG0147.jpg

Nerf bars
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/AndrewCampbell/IMAG0150.jpg

rear grab bar and kicker in vtwin black
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/AndrewCampbell/IMAG0153.jpg

this bumper was shot with hf matte black
http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/AndrewCampbell/IMAG0156.jpg

[born2ride14]

Ive used the hb powder whith good results, no better then eastwood stuff, alot cheaper too. The part needs to be clean, sandblast works best. 20 min at 400 is what i do. Your eventually going tonwant a bigger oven, youll want to do a frame. Im going to take a fridge and put the elements in it and use oven seal around the doors instead of the rubber magnetic seal. USE MASKS

[Tommy Warren]

My buddy put oven elements in a deep freeze...you can bake a frame in there no problem....works great

[sexysilverado45]

were did you guys get your oven seals. I had to make mine out of high temp cocking because I couldn't find a place that sells it.

[Trx450er94]

What about tiger powder

[Pappy]

Tiger Dry-Lac is who supplies Columbia....for the majority anyway.

Tiger also stopped selling its sample packs, so you can only order large quantities from them, which for me isnt an issue. 50 pounds doesnt go far when you are busy LOL!

[Trx450er94]

I own johnsons powder coating amd that's what we use

[Ruby Soho]

i picked up a gun the other day.. been tryin things out, heres a cradle i made and blasted it with silvervein

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/254376_10150205505876493_674141492_7371439_6734247 _n.jpg

[Zakradu398]

So before you spray a part you heat it too the 375 or 400deg then spray it? And does it matter how fast you coat the part?

[sexysilverado45]

no first you prep it, then clean it with some cleaning agent to get all the oil off. Once you've done this make sure you don't touch the part. next spray your part with powder coat. then stick it in the oven once in has been pre heated to 400 and leave it in there for 20 minutes. Once it has baked for 20 minutes just barely crack the door and let it slowly cool. It is important not to use your home oven to bake parts because it can contaminate food.

[insaneracin2003]

It is important not to use your home oven to bake parts because it can contaminate food. [/B][/QUOTE]
Hmmm, that would explain the tail...:blah:
I bought a powder coating kit from Eastman....never used it though.....just need an oven....I though about using a toaster over for the really small stuff. I wonder if they will get to 400 degrees??

[CJM]

Id find an electric oven someones giving away or selling for cheap. Im sure someone on craigslist has one.

[sexysilverado45]

That's what I did. Also make sure its electric because fire from a gas oven and powder can turn out badly.

[quad2xtreme]

I am going to 2nd a really good respirator. I can tell you from personal experience that holding the hand of someone dying from lung fibrosis is no joke. The only thing worse is being the one dying. There are many things in life that enter the lungs that don't leave. Protect yourself if you must get into this type of work yourself. Personally, I'd rather send it to a professional and hope they know what they are doing from a personal safety standpoint. What doesn't catch you early will catch you eventually.

[Zakradu398]

My buddies dad is a paint and he's hookin me up with a new respirator

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by sexysilverado45
no first you prep it, then clean it with some cleaning agent to get all the oil off. Once you've done this make sure you don't touch the part. next spray your part with powder coat. then stick it in the oven once in has been pre heated to 400 and leave it in there for 20 minutes. Once it has baked for 20 minutes just barely crack the door and let it slowly cool. It is important not to use your home oven to bake parts because it can contaminate food.

To add to his post:
After prepping, most PC'ers will bake the part at 375-400 and then shoot it and bake it again to get full coverage on parts that are difficult to cover. But on wheels/frames you dont need to pre-bake.

[sexysilverado45]

From my understanding you pre bake cast parts that way it takes all the gases out its not needed to do any other kind of metal less the part isn't cleaned of all the oils.

[destey]

We shoot 20,000 lbs of TCI per year here at work

edit and our china parts come in with Akzo Noble powder. We had a big problem with adhesion with various brands from china, so be careful what you shoot.

[mxpimp2000]

everyone thats done PC has their own way to do it and if it sticks and looks good who cares right? LOL I used the HF gun system for my pc'ing and mainly HF powders. Ive done shock springs,beadlocks,rings,pegs,pipes,bumpers,aarms,g rabars, and almost any quad part you can fit into a household oven. I always preheat the oven on 400 and bake the parts 15min and 5 mins cool down. Ive heard jerkin the part out of the oven too fast tryin to cool it down would weaken the bond and look.

sometimes on parts that wasnt coated (bare metal) i would run 80 grit sander over it and wipe down with alcohol or paint thinner and then coat it and worked perfect. I used black diamond sand blast in my blaster it worked great also