Do any of you fellows have a home powdercoating rig ? Advice on purchase...

[Tx Firefighter]

I just got a good TIP Tools bead blast cabinet, and now I'm really thinking about getting a powdercoating gun.

I want to do small parts, like wheels, spindles, brackets and pulleys.

I'm thinking about the Eastwood basic gun for under 100 bucks ?

Am I on crack or will this be tons better than my old sand and spray paint I've been using ?

I figure to score both a toaster oven (pulleys and brackets) as well as an old kitchen oven for larger items (wheels, spindles, rotors).

[krue]

Go for it, I had the Eastwood kit and liked it very well. Try www.columbiacoatings.com they have a good set of instructions (better than the eastwood set) and offer good deals on powder. I bought a couple of pounds of semigloss black from them and it kept in my fridge for months. Check out their super mirror colors, talk about shiney.

[myoldchevytruck]

TX,

Having a Powder Coating setup at home has been great for doing parts on my truck and I've been able to make a few extra bucks.

I have partnered with a friend and we are using the Eastwood Hot Coat Gun Setup (Like you said, around a $100 Bucks - Check eBay, Eastwood sells their setup as a buy it now).

As for Sand Blast Cabinet, Were using the Big Cabinet from Harbor Freight. Seem to be working well. We are able to do a 16" wheel.

We are using a 60 Gallon/120 psi compressor. Our biggest issue in the beginning was moisture. Until we installed a decent filter/water separator, the sand was clumping and clogging. We use 3 different grades of sand and also use glass.

The oven, well what can I say. It's an ordinary (non digital type) electric oven. We have another oven for powder coating (it's 110v) but it take a long time to heat up. The regular oven seems to work better.

We have done up to 16" aluminum wheels, small patio furniture brackets and a butt load of parts for our trucks.

I buy my powder, by the pound, from a local P/C Shop and use the RAL Color Chart. There's about 600 colors to choose from.

Good Luck and Have Fun. PM me if you need any help or have other questions.

[Tx Firefighter]

Okay, that's enough positive feedback for me. I will order the Eastwood gun today.

Question: Will a toaster oven work well enough for my small items or is it a waste of time ? I'm thinking pulleys, small brackets, etc...

I will definitely buy a big kitchen sized oven too, for the larger stuff, but I was thinking the toater would be more economical to heat up for little jobs.

[myoldchevytruck]

Good Question! Well, as long as you can hold 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, I don't see why their should be a problem. I have not tried it but it may be it'll worth.

After my parts have been in the oven for the allotted "cure time", usually 20-25 minutes, I shut the oven off, open the door partially and allow the parts to cool down before removing them. I would suggest this with the toaster oven.

If you try the toaster oven, let us know how it works. Good Luck.

[70GMCer]

I have the powder coat gun from Harbor Freight & have used it without any problems. I receive this as a gift from 70c10 last year. Since then we have done a lot of pieces. We started with a toaster oven & worked great for the little stuff. Finally centless on here donated a kitchen oven & never looked back. I found that using the toaster oven, you will be limited on how many parts you can do at any one time. It was a pain to set up the powder coat gun, and then just do a few small parts.

I like to get a load of parts to do at one shot. Saves on the electric bill to. I guess if you plan on doing production work, then get a better gun. But for just a hobby, I'd get the Harbor Freight again in a minute. They also sell powders for around $5 in a 1 lb can. They are limited in their colors though.

[krue]

When I get a shop built I'm gonna get another gun and try to get good enough to coat with this powder.

[Tx Firefighter]

Okay here is a question then.

Here is a flat dually lugnut plate...



Could I bead blast it front and rear, then powdercoat the back of it and bake it on the rack of the toaster oven till cured, let it cool, then flip it over and coat the front of it and reheat it to cure the front ?

[chevymad]

I'd just take a part like that and hang it from the oven rack with wire. I set the rack up on blocks so I can spray it from both sides then bake it.

[krue]

I used hooks and wire to hang the parts from the rack and cover all sides at once. It's very cool to take a part from bare metal, to dusty grey then pull it out of the oven shiney black.