So I had a lot of the parts and the frame powder coated. I now realize there are quite a few more that I would like powder coated. Unfortunately the guy who did my powder coating is about 45 minutes away and as all of you know we never have all parts ready to go at once. I was looking around at Eastwood's site and came across this set up: Here is the link to the website as well: http://www.eastwood.com/ir-cure-system-with-dual-voltage-gun.html?reltype=3 Does anyone have any experience with doing powder coating this way and are there any downsides or potential downsides to it? It seems like a very good way to go.
Steve, I have dabbled in home-powder coating. I borrowed a very basic setup from a friend, and used an old electric oven "donated" by my local appliance store to cure the parts. As I get closer to dealing with the little bits and pieces on Penny, I will likely purchase a similar setup (in the $99 range) to coat parts. The process is easy, but like conventional paint, PREPARATION is everything. The parts I did, old strap hinges and door handles (in gloss black), have been outdoors for 5+ years now, and still look 100%. I also did the headlight buckets for Penny (in gloss clear). They look exactly the same as well, although they have been sitting on a table in the house for the same 5+ years. Good Luck!
Does the IR light work?? Thanks Mike. I was also curious about using the IR light versus using an oven to cure the parts. The light seems like an ideal situation because I don't have a lot of space and it seems the light can break down small. Also it seems the advantage of the light is you could do large parts just by moving the light along the large part as opposed to being limited to the space in an oven. I was wondering if anyone has used this light method as opposed to the oven solution?
Powder Coating Steve ; There are some variables to this , an over cures better / faster because it heats more evenly . Powder Coating is nice but it's _NOT_ the end - all , be - all most seem to thin it is : It's not conductive so making electrical grounds gets tricky . If *any* rust gets in , it'll travel under the powder coat and rust whatever it is , to junk then snap , frames etc. have had many problems down the road . If you're going to go this route , old Commercial ovens are cheap and they work really well .
Now you tell me Nate.... The whole frame, springs, etc have been coated so with those I will have to hope for the best. It is however good info for the next one (don't tell my wife I I said that ). I might try a strictly paint option the next time. The oven is a little tough just because I have so little room. I think I will go with the IR light and give it a try on some of the small parts and see how it goes. If nothing ventured, nothing ever gained. I will report back to the group how well this particular one works. Better one of us learns the hard way than many of us.
We have had varying degrees of outcome with powder coating. If it's going on something that is never going to be re-shaped, cut, drilled, and of course heated in any manner then it is a very tough finish that is scratch resistant and holds gloss for a long time. If there is a remote chance the piece will have to be worked on in the future we paint. On fabricated pieces that we make we drill all holes 1/64 or even 1/32 bigger so the bolt doesn't skin the coating off around the holes. Also use smooth flare head nuts and bolts with a drop of blue or red Loc-Tite---NEVER a lock washer. If the surface stays unbroken the coating holds up a long time and stays pretty.
Powder coating. Just as the guys said, prep work is everything. Hope your guy didn't skip a step. I hate it but, I live in the salt belt. You live in sunny SOCAL. P.S. I think your gonna lose it on the springs real fast.
I purchased the Eastwood powdercoat gun when it first came out probably 15 yrs ago or so. For an oven I use a 32 gal galvanized garbage can with a heating element out of an electric oven mounted about 1 inch from the bottom with a deflector just above it with about a 1 inch gap between the deflector's edge and wall of the garbage can. The deflector is there to create an indirect heat path to the piece being cured. For long items I just stack another garbage can on top, opening to opening. I have never tried to cure powder using an infrared source. I also upgraded to the dual voltage gun a few years ago to make it easier to coat larger parts. Over the years I have used it to coat 3 sets of wheels, several intake manifolds, valve covers, timing covers,oil pans, engine brackets, upper and lower control arms, a complete Honda 3 wheeler, an old Sears lawn tractor, and the list goes on and on. I am a huge fan of the process, it is quick, cheap, and gives excellent results. A pint of powder which typically costs $9 - $12 will coat 3-4 intakes, or 4-5 sets of valve covers for example. For prep I just keep clean abrasive in my cabinet and take care not to contaminate it, everything is pre-cleaned, de-greased, and maybe even pre-baked before it goes in the cabinet. For most parts it's right out of the cabinet, blow off the dust, and coat it. For cast pieces I will pre-bake and re-clean re-blast to prevent any trapped oils or out gassing from messing things up. If you make a mistake, it is tough remove the cured powder and re-coat. John
Evan, Steve, and John.... Thanks for all the good advice. I have ordered the IR light, dual voltage gun, and powder. I am hopeful it will come next week and I can give it a try the following weekend. I will give a report and provide pictures
As promised here is the report So I finally had a moment to try out the powder coating system using the IR light instead of an oven. A few things learned: This gauge from Harbor Freight although good for giving you a reading on your pressure does not seem to truly regulate your pressure at a constant PSI. In fact I would recommend something completely different. It is just hard to find one that will regulate accurately at 8 PSI which is what they recommend for this gun: This part of the set up from Harbor Freight on the other hand worked really well. It was great for hanging the parts off of as opposed to trying to fabricate something myself. For the price, size, etc it was completely worth it. It took some trial and error but I realized when doing multiple parts I really wanted to get the parts at the same height. This is a bad example of my first try: I eventually realized this problem and also added some 'S' hooks to be able to hang parts off of the bar. The 'S' hooks turned out to also be a very wise idea because it seems the parts need to be turned to get the other side of them. With the 'S' hooks you just lift the part and hang the 'S' hook from the other side of the stand in the same position in front of the light. Another thing learned is you have to use A LOT of powder when coating the parts. It is almost the opposite of normal painting where you would not want to put it on too thick for fear of runs. The more coated the part is the smoother the finish will come out. This part I had to re-do because the initial coating was way too thin. This picture shows my second attempt compared to the same part done by a professional powder coater in an oven. And here are some pictures of the final product installed and I was extremely happy to get the front axle back on this weekend (and yes I know that I have to pull the U bolts back out and paint the threads that were left raw by the professional powder coating shop) Lastly, this is what the small light looks like. It is very convenient. It is super adjustable and comes on a stand with wheels. So I would probably recommend this set up and I liked the fact that when the part was cool it was 100% ready to go. No tackiness. The other thing I did realize though is someone's old electric oven probably would have been a lot nicer to do a bunch of parts in at once. You do need an IR thermometer and the part still has to get heated to 350 to 400 degrees - this is just done in your open garage though instead of an oven. If you have limited space though and wouldn't really want to dedicate a part of your garage to the oven, this is the way to go.
