powdercoating at home/small shop?

[Jim R.]

So if any of you out there have successfully done and are doing your own powdercoating at home or in a small shop, can you tell me in some basic terms what is involved in terms of equipment needed, how hard it is to do well, etc.?

I've looked at Caswell, but a lot of their how-to info  is not workable with my screen reader, and they seem to be oriented to infra red heat sources, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a used toaster oven, unless there is some particular advantage to using the IR stuff.

My local shop does a great job, but it canoften be a long wait and the cost per piece is fairly high (though definitely a lot less than many of the other shops around here) as I typically want colors or finishes that are special run and not the stuff they normally run in their production schedule.

Thanks,

Jim

[porcupunctis]

I don't know anything about powder coating but I'm hoping to learn some watching this thread.

I love the "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" quote.  Good stuff.

[ssssly]

IR has its ups and downs. And both medium and short wave have their plusses and minuses as well.

The biggest upside to IR is that you aren't limited to what you can coat by the size of the oven. If you plan on ever doing large items, like wheels, motorcycle, bicycle frames or the like, industrial ovens that size are rather cost prohibitive.

The biggest downside to IR is you can only cure what is in direct line of site. So complex shapes require you to reposition the item multiple times.

Also with IR you can't just throw it in a toaster and forget about it. Unless you are willing to risk the IR heating up and igniting something in the vicinity, while you are off doing something else. This includes the powder. As airborne powder can be pretty easily ignited.

If you are only planning on coating things that will fit in a toaster, I'd stick with the toaster myself. Is pretty easy to find used old ovens for next to nothing as well. Should you want to start doing slightly larger items in the future.

[Paul Birkeland]

I powder coat all sorts of things in a small powder coating oven in the garage, it's not that tough, and is made much easier by using a textured powder.

[Jim R.]

Thanks guys,

All good info, and as I plan to do mostly small parts, maybe a small convectionoven will work best.  I'm also pretty limited in terms of available power in my new shop, so anything that would require a 20 amp service or 220 v would be out.

Also, I still have no idea what the procedure is -- how you prepare the piece and how you get the powder on it, and if you need any special kind of enclosure for the power application, etc.  I truly am a total novice at this.

Thanks,

Jim

[Paul Birkeland]

The cleaner the better for the parts, I use denatured alcohol and a rag to keep the odor down.

With a clean part, I will place it on the rack for my oven, then suspend that rack inside a cardboard box, hook up the grounding lead to the powder gun, then spray out a reasonably thick coating.  For larger parts or complex parts, I will preheat the piece in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Once the coating is on, remove the ground lead and bake in the oven for ~24 minutes.

[Jim R.]

Thanks Paul, that sounds pretty straightforward, but also like it will take some practice to get good at.

Thanks,

Jim

[Paul Birkeland]

Yeah, I think in your case it may be particularly difficult, as the air blowing out of the gun can blow away powder occasionally, and it is very hard to see!

If you could set up the cardboard box on the floor and get above the plate sufficiently, even coverage would probably be easier.  If you have to do both sides of a part, then it has to be hung and you have to work around it (which makes it harder to get into the oven too!).

[Jim R.]

Paul,

Oh, I figured it would take some technique for sure.  I can always get Linda or a shop-geek neighbor of mine to watch over me as I learn.

-- Jim

[Doc B.]

a shop geek neighbor - I could use one of those.

[Grainger49]

Where is the Shop-Geek neighbor when you need one?