Powder Coating - A Home How to

[texasld]

Powder Coating - A Home How to

Let me start off by saying how much I HATE to paint. It's the bane of my existence. I'm not very good at it and it makes a mess. So I started looking at options for Powder Coating or PC, while I can't do anything big because of space constraints, I have started to refine the process of doing the small stuff in my garage and it works pretty well.

I hope this helps to inspire someone on the board to look into PCing small parts in there garage. The process is pretty cool and not crazy expensive if you want to make a small investment upfront. Of course You can farm this stuff out, but I figure I can save myself some coin and enjoy learning the process while at it.

What you need
I couple of things you will need are as following. Total cost is ~$400

First step in doing ANY sort of coating is prep, as we all know, good prep work makes good finish work.

1. Sand Blast Cabinet
I picked up mine at HF for $150 with a 25% off coupon (http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-c...net-68893.html) I use Garnet for blast media ($15 a 50lb bag) and had to pick up some odd plumbing pieces to change up the direction of the air inlet ($10). Many guys, myself included also add a new light to the cabinet. the supplied light is less than to be desired.
Note... You must have Dry Air and a lot of it to run one of these. I have a 80 gallon compressor and dryer/filter that does a pretty good job of running this guy. Also requires a dust system of some sort. A shop-vac works great!

2. Oven
DO NOT USE YOUR WIFES OVEN!!!!!!! WHEN YOU BAKE THE POWDER THE FUMES MAKE THE OVEN TOXIC FOR FOOD!!!! MUST USE A SEPARATE OVEN AND IT SHOULD BE IN THE GARAGE WITH THE DOOR OPEN
I got mine for a whopping $FREE.99. (Found someone who got new appliance, I took the old oven off of there hands. I have even seen people build their own. All we need is a temperature of 400 for 20 minutes. Let's say you have to pick one up off of CL for $100. (The burners make great heat sources for heating up seized small parts like door hinges.

Here is my setup. I built a stand for my cabinet because it's hard on my back to bend over. It's 5" to short for me to be comfortable, so I made it work for me!



PC Gun

Once again HF comes to the rescue. Powder Coating Gun ($70)

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-p...tem-94244.html
Once again, must have DRY air. This system works Ok, uses more powder than desirable, but it's not to bad.

As far as powder goes, HF sells 3 or 4 colors, not enough. Although I have used the red and the black. The black they sell is flat, so for gloss black you have to get it from a few places that sell in small quantities. Eastwood sells powder and they have MANY choices. http://www.eastwood.com/paints/hotco...g/powders.html
or another company I know of is Powder by the Pound
https://www.powderbuythepound.com/ A lb. of powder goes pretty far when you are doing small stuff like this. Powder goes anywhere from $5.00 to $20. and beyond. So you want to get a few different colors let's say you spend about $40.


Process

Step 1 - Prep

This is where the blast cabinet comes in really well. Throw the parts in the cabinet and blast away. Make sure you get it REALLY CLEAN! All the rust and paint must be stripped or it will cause problems later.



Took this guy apart because I was rebuilding them.



Here is both sets of the hinges after blasting. This it what you are looking for. Once you get this far, slip on some latex gloves and wipe down your parts with acetone and a clean lint free rag. This helps get a really nice and clean part. Must get all the oils from your hands and the residual blasting dust off the parts before coating. If you need to mask any threads or toleranced holes, make sure you use tape that is rated for 400 degrees or higher. Like this ( Gold Kapton Tape Polyimide High Temp 1/4"...) You can also pick up some High Temp Silicone Plugs like this from eastwood


http://www.eastwood.com/high-temp-si...FywaAnfw8P8HAQ

Step 2 - Coat and bake

Tip... You can also preheat the part for about 20 minutes to help with powder transfer. You don't have to do this, but it helps.

I use two sawhorses space apart just so the oven rack sits on either side. This is not a great setup and it's not easy to coat. I'm working on building a rack that will work a bit better. I'll update those pictures later.

I forgot to take pictures of this step, but I get some when I get home later.

SAFETY NOTE Wear a mask as minimum. Powder is not good for the lungs.
Set your compressor to about 15-20psi and fill the powder cup with your color of choice.
Set the oven to 400 degrese and let it heat up while you coat your parts.
Hange your new cleaned parts with thin wire from the oven rack. *wire must be able to conduct electricity since this is an electrostatic process.* Connect the ground wire to the oven rack and spray away. Make sure you get everything coated evenly and fully covered.
Carefully move the coated parts to the oven and set your timer to 20 minuets (most powders cure time. Check the manufacturer's specs for slight changes.)



Step 3 - Wait

Once the 20 minutes is up, pull the rack out of the oven. I use my welding gloves, I like them better than cooking mitts. Once the part is cool enough to touch, it is ready to be used or reassembled.

[texasld]

Here are some pictures of some stuff I have done recently. Excuse the phone pictures.

[mandojunior]

Looks nice! I've been wanting a setup like this for a while.

[tinydb84]

Good stuff.

http://www.prismaticpowders.com/

Has a TON of colors. Decent price and ships quickly.

[Tinkermc]

I have seen some very good at home jobs, seems to be limited to the size of the oven.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by mandojunior

Looks nice! I've been wanting a setup like this for a while.

Thank's bud. Not hard to acquire.

Originally Posted by tinydb84

Good stuff.

http://www.prismaticpowders.com/

Has a TON of colors. Decent price and ships quickly.

Oh yes, I forgot about those guys

Originally Posted by Tinkermc

I have seen some very good at home jobs, seems to be limited to the size of the oven.

That's always the problem, but I figure I can save myself a fortune on the small stuff and just farm out the big stuff! I did my upper and lower control arms and I had to do one at a time. But that is about as big as it gets.

[boynton]

Sweet write up. This could save a bunch of money for the small stuff.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by boynton

Sweet write up. This could save a bunch of money for the small stuff.

Thanks bud, Just trying to give back for the knowledge I have gained through the board!

[5150scott]

Hey texasld - I have the exact same setup as you and have only done the black color so far. That **** gets everywhere on the gun due to static so I was wondering if you had any problems when you switched to red or if you had to do anything special beforehand? Thanks

[5150scott]

Also I have learned that a piece of chain spread apart like a clothes line works best to hang parts from to coat. You can also connect your ground clamp to it for smaller parts. I use the thin chain like on a child's swing set.

[cableguy0]

Nice write up. Thank your for sharing. Im going to add this to the Faq/stickies at the top of the page so its easy to find.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by 5150scott

Hey texasld - I have the exact same setup as you and have only done the black color so far. That **** gets everywhere on the gun due to static so I was wondering if you had any problems when you switched to red or if you had to do anything special beforehand? Thanks

It does make a mess of the floor. As far as your question, that's an easy one. Just grab your blow gun and kit it with a couple of blast of air. It will knock the old powder out no problem. When you take the cup off the gun, you can shoot air through the chrome tube and it will push most of it out. Great question.

Originally Posted by 5150scott

Also I have learned that a piece of chain spread apart like a clothes line works best to hang parts from to coat. You can also connect your ground clamp to it for smaller parts. I use the thin chain like on a child's swing set.

Oh yea, good Idea. I love the fact that you can share info so Quick and easy through the board.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

Nice write up. Thank your for sharing. Im going to add this to the Faq/stickies at the top of the page so its easy to find.

Hey, that's cool! Thanks man!

[blazer2007]

I always wondered if a toaster oven would work,they seem to get pretty hot.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by blazer2007

I always wondered if a toaster oven would work,they seem to get pretty hot.

As long as they can reach and hold 400 (Most do), you will have no problem. Just limits what you can do.

[5150scott]

Thanks for the reply!

[texasld]

Originally Posted by 5150scott

Thanks for the reply!

No problem! By the way, welcome to the board if no one else has yet.

[88fordf150]

A few tips to add: 1) If powder coating cast steel or Aluminum be sure to out gas in the over first at 400degs for at least 30mins.. This opens the pores and burns off any oils left behind, if not done it will ruin your powder job. 2) Never use glass bead to sandblast aluminum that is to be powder coated. Glass bead will impregnate the aluminum and pop under your powder coat when heated making it look like pimples. I use aluminum oxide for blasting.

Originally Posted by texasld

Powder Coating - A Home How to

Let me start off by saying how much I HATE to paint. It's the bane of my existence. I'm not very good at it and it makes a mess. So I started looking at options for Powder Coating or PC, while I can't do anything big because of space constraints, I have started to refine the process of doing the small stuff in my garage and it works pretty well.

I hope this helps to inspire someone on the board to look into PCing small parts in there garage. The process is pretty cool and not crazy expensive if you want to make a small investment upfront. Of course You can farm this stuff out, but I figure I can save myself some coin and enjoy learning the process while at it.

What you need
I couple of things you will need are as following. Total cost is ~$400

First step in doing ANY sort of coating is prep, as we all know, good prep work makes good finish work.

1. Sand Blast Cabinet
I picked up mine at HF for $150 with a 25% off coupon (http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-c...net-68893.html) I use Garnet for blast media ($15 a 50lb bag) and had to pick up some odd plumbing pieces to change up the direction of the air inlet ($10). Many guys, myself included also add a new light to the cabinet. the supplied light is less than to be desired.
Note... You must have Dry Air and a lot of it to run one of these. I have a 80 gallon compressor and dryer/filter that does a pretty good job of running this guy. Also requires a dust system of some sort. A shop-vac works great!

2. Oven
DO NOT USE YOUR WIFES OVEN!!!!!!! WHEN YOU BAKE THE POWDER THE FUMES MAKE THE OVEN TOXIC FOR FOOD!!!! MUST USE A SEPARATE OVEN AND IT SHOULD BE IN THE GARAGE WITH THE DOOR OPEN
I got mine for a whopping $FREE.99. (Found someone who got new appliance, I took the old oven off of there hands. I have even seen people build their own. All we need is a temperature of 400 for 20 minutes. Let's say you have to pick one up off of CL for $100. (The burners make great heat sources for heating up seized small parts like door hinges.

Here is my setup. I built a stand for my cabinet because it's hard on my back to bend over. It's 5" to short for me to be comfortable, so I made it work for me!

Attachment 1341585

PC Gun

Once again HF comes to the rescue. Powder Coating Gun ($70)

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-p...tem-94244.html
Once again, must have DRY air. This system works Ok, uses more powder than desirable, but it's not to bad.

As far as powder goes, HF sells 3 or 4 colors, not enough. Although I have used the red and the black. The black they sell is flat, so for gloss black you have to get it from a few places that sell in small quantities. Eastwood sells powder and they have MANY choices. http://www.eastwood.com/paints/hotco...g/powders.html
or another company I know of is Powder by the Pound
https://www.powderbuythepound.com/ A lb. of powder goes pretty far when you are doing small stuff like this. Powder goes anywhere from $5.00 to $20. and beyond. So you want to get a few different colors let's say you spend about $40.


Process

Step 1 - Prep

This is where the blast cabinet comes in really well. Throw the parts in the cabinet and blast away. Make sure you get it REALLY CLEAN! All the rust and paint must be stripped or it will cause problems later.

Attachment 1341586

Took this guy apart because I was rebuilding them.

Attachment 1341587

Here is both sets of the hinges after blasting. This it what you are looking for. Once you get this far, slip on some latex gloves and wipe down your parts with acetone and a clean lint free rag. This helps get a really nice and clean part. Must get all the oils from your hands and the residual blasting dust off the parts before coating. If you need to mask any threads or toleranced holes, make sure you use tape that is rated for 400 degrees or higher. Like this (Gold Kapton Tape Polyimide High Temp 1/4" (6mm) x 36yds: High Temperature Tape: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific) You can also pick up some High Temp Silicone Plugs like this from eastwood


http://www.eastwood.com/high-temp-si...FywaAnfw8P8HAQ

Step 2 - Coat and bake

Tip... You can also preheat the part for about 20 minutes to help with powder transfer. You don't have to do this, but it helps.

I use two sawhorses space apart just so the oven rack sits on either side. This is not a great setup and it's not easy to coat. I'm working on building a rack that will work a bit better. I'll update those pictures later.

I forgot to take pictures of this step, but I get some when I get home later.

SAFETY NOTE Wear a mask as minimum. Powder is not good for the lungs.
Set your compressor to about 15-20psi and fill the powder cup with your color of choice.
Set the oven to 400 degrese and let it heat up while you coat your parts.
Hange your new cleaned parts with thin wire from the oven rack. *wire must be able to conduct electricity since this is an electrostatic process.* Connect the ground wire to the oven rack and spray away. Make sure you get everything coated evenly and fully covered.
Carefully move the coated parts to the oven and set your timer to 20 minuets (most powders cure time. Check the manufacturer's specs for slight changes.)

Attachment 1341588

Step 3 - Wait

Once the 20 minutes is up, pull the rack out of the oven. I use my welding gloves, I like them better than cooking mitts. Once the part is cool enough to touch, it is ready to be used or reassembled.

[9teen69]

Nice write up- definetly getting a CL oven soon

[Nova_Cobra64]

I knew of all forums I visit that this one would be most likely to have somebody with one of these hobby powder coating systems. I've been thinking of buying one from Eastwood. It would be of some use to me on my truck project, but I'm thinking that it would be beneficial for another hobby I'm trying to get into: refurbishing goalie masks. I think having the ability to powder coat the cages would be great to compliment the paint job.

Could any of you take a guesstimate of how much powder something like a goalie mask cage would require?

[texasld]

Originally Posted by Nova_Cobra64

I knew of all forums I visit that this one would be most likely to have somebody with one of these hobby powder coating systems. I've been thinking of buying one from Eastwood. It would be of some use to me on my truck project, but I'm thinking that it would be beneficial for another hobby I'm trying to get into: refurbishing goalie masks. I think having the ability to powder coat the cages would be great to compliment the paint job.

Could any of you take a guesstimate of how much powder something like a goalie mask cage would require?

The cups will hold 1-2lbs, and you could probably do 10 or 15 masks maybe even more. The parts I did in the pictures above took VERY LITTLE powder. A little goes a pretty long way.

[Nova_Cobra64]

Awesome, thanks!

I was kind of on the fence about the idea, but at this point I am going to need 2 or 3 cages painted for myself at some point, maybe more. Without anyone close that powder coats I'd be making special trips or shipping, so I think purchasing one of these kits will pay for itself. Too bad I didn't decide to buy one a few years ago before our Canadian dollar turned into a turd .

[88Stanger]

awesome write up. i already have the oven in the shop for this reason.

[Lokin4AReason]

I ll be looking into this in the near future ...

[bowman39]

Great write up, I have been powder coating for several years now and It saves a lot of money after time. I had the opportunity to travel to columbia tennessee and attend a 3 day powder coating class given by a company called columbia coatings. They are very knowledgable and friendly people and they sell top notch equipment and powders. One thing to keep in mind when ordering powder is to make sure they are selling you virgin powder, some companies will offer used powder that has been reclaimed and if your not careful it will have impurities that will show up in your powder. Columbia coatings has a gun that has a patent pending nozzle that will charge the powder without charging the part that will virtually eliminate faraday caging and if your piece can handle the temperature it can be powder coated. Ive personally powder coated wood and glass. here is a few items that ive coated in the last few weeks.