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DIY powder coating , how good does it work ?

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beaulieu

beaulieu

Jedi Warrior
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Has anyone used the Eastwood - Harbor Freight etc powder coater ?

How does it work ?

do you need an electric oven or will a gas oven work ?

We need to do some sheet metal parts, brackets , etc and with the home unit we could do a little at a time..

Please let me know what you have heard,

Thanks

Beaulieu
 
I got the HF unit and powder from Eastwood. I did a few Bugeye parts with mixed success. Suspension A arms came out OK but not perfect. Coil springs are beautiful. Some flat metal parts were ugly. There is a learning curve. I think I got the powder on too thin in places. But, I get a lot out of the "did it myself" factor.

I have an electric oven that a friends neighbor was throwing away. There some outgassing and I don't know how that would act in a gas oven. It also tends to leave some mess. Taht, and the stink, would keep it out of your kitchen oven.

The opportunity to do a few pieces at a time is what led me to it.

I cleaned things well and prepped by bead blasting.

Marv James
 
I got the HF unit and am using the Eastwood powder. It is all in the metal prep! Bought a small $20 toaster oven. Do not use a gas oven!!!! Preheat your parts and clean them again to out-gas contaminants. Works great on cast parts any contamination on a flat parts will be visable. I used a card board box as shooting booth with a steal rod to hang my parts on. Clean up is easy; just through the box away and clean you gun. I've got a large old electric oven that I'll be using for my larger parts when I get that far.

Paul
Some pictures:

https://new.photos.yahoo.com/paulbos@sbcglobal.net/album/576460762328713962
 
Hi

I can get "real" powder coat powder from the shop down the street,

can you recycle and use again the powder that does not get on the parts ?


How critical is the Tempurature ?
I would think small ovens or toaster ovens are not very accurate as far as temp goes,

any other hiccups in doing it ?

Thanks

Beaulieu
 
sorry to break your bubble, but powder coating doesn't stay on even when properly baked and applied, -been-there-done-that- it's just like paint with sand, a waste of money and time. do you want a real coating that's going to stay and has a 3-year guarantee?? try Jet-Hot Coatings, I mean, if jet airliners use them in their exhausts and other critical parts, it must be pretty good. I've used their "Sterling" coating already and I will never bother with anything else ever again. No POR-15, no Powder Coat, nothing comes close to getting a guaranteed, baked, permanent, coating; nothing. So why even bother with anything else?
 
powder coat does stay on,

maybe its not the very best thing to use , but millions have used it without problems .

Jet-Hot coatings is more expensive and really not needed for most things ,

Plus the doing it at home set-up can be used to do small parts as you are building something up,

most powdercoating shops have a minimum charge so taking in a couple small parts does not work out cost wise.

Beaulieu
 
the reason I say it does not stay on is because I took a bunch of new, stainless steel, flat washers to a powder coat specialist, I paid the price, I waited two weeks, and came back happily to install them, only to tighten the screws over the washers and watched in dismay as the coating just fell off; I could have done the same thing with a can of Rust Oleum!
 
umm I wonder if anything would hold , you are "ripping" the coating off with the edge of the nut when you tighten it down,

But thats not what normal people powdercoat ,

the stuff is not Magic , its basically a paint that flows at 400 degrees,
But its much better for most uses than just spray paint,

If you had the at home set-up you would not have to had waited 2 weeks /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Beaulieu
 
Dumb question: What's the practical difference between powder coat and high heat enamel baked in an oven?
 
Coating washers under hex heads is a misapplication. That's why cars and such are generally bolted together and then painted.

Jethot would like you to believe their coating is used on jet engines, but it isn't. That's just marketing lies. As a jet mechanic, I can tell you we don't use coated parts in jet engines.
 
I have not painted in years now...Powder all the way for me.

Washers is however not what Powder was made for, you don't want any thick material on a washers, paint or powder, you don't want it on a washer or it will work loose as you drive. Of course if you are painting washers you most likely won't drive the car any farther that 10ft from the trailer so I guess you don't need to worry about it working loose.

As to the other question about baked on paint vs. powder I don't know the end result difference but I can powder and put on the car and the wife does not come out bitching about the stink from the paint, never tried baking paint so maybe its better, I have no idea..as I said powder for me and nothing else.
 
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