Need DIY Powder Coating advice

[Mark Eaton]

Ok, 10 months into my build I am finally seeing the light and switching to powder coating. I purchased used oven for $75. I need advice on the best way to prep the material, how long and at what temp? Is there a big difference the PC systems, i.e. Harbor Freight vs. Eastwood?

Thanks,

Mark

[Railroad]

I have the Eastwood dual voltage model. I have had no issues with it and everything works as it should.
Any flaws in the surface of the material to be coated will show. The material should be clean and oil free.
I use carb cleaner or acetone to clean objects to be coated. If it is cast and has been exposed to oils and solvents, you can pre cook the item. The heat will gas out most impurities. I removed all but one shelf from the oven and moved it to the top. I use a stainless wire stretched across an opening and run the wire down to hook the gound clamp on it. I use hooks of wire to hang the items to be coated. The ground runs through the clothes line, into the hook and the object being coated.
Practice hanging the items in the oven, before coating to make sure the hanger is not too short or long and you can maneuver it in and out.
I heat my oven to 500*, open the door and hang the coated items, close the door, reduce the oven to 400* and cook for 30 minutes. Clear coats and some chromes take less time. If your oven has a glass door you can watch the powder melt into a smooth paint like finish.
So far I have used Eastwood's powders, but have received emails from Powder by the Pound, more colors.

[turbomacncheese]

I just watched a bunch of eastwoods powder coating videos, and they look pretty good to me. Might answer some questions.

[michael everson]

Time and temp depend on the powder. I have found much better powders on line than Eastwoods. Not that theres didn't work, but the finish wasn't that nice. I buy from www.thepowdercoatstore.com I also have the Eastwood gun. It works great. I sand blast all raw metal before coating. Especially steel. Comes out flawless.
mike

[Al_C]

I have the Eastwood gun as well. Not the dual power model, though. On small parts, I'll use a wire brush or steel wool and then clean with acetone. I try to follow the time and temp directions from Eastwood (use their powder, too), but in my experience, it would appear there is some wiggle room on curing time.

I looked at powders from Tiger, but they wouldn't sell to me because I'm an individual rather than a pro. Whatever. Eastwood has been great. I had a question about why my glossy black wasn't coming out glossy and they sent me new powder. In that case, I thought they went above and beyond.

[Mark Eaton]

Thanks for the advice guys

[JimLev]

I also have the Eastwood dual voltage gun, I've been powder coating for at least 10 years.
Cleaning is the key to a good finish. For parts that have seen oil you need to burn it off and then clean them again after you burn the oil off. I do that at 450F for powders that require 400F for curing.
Another tip is you can heat the parts up to 250-300F after they are clean and then spray the powder on them. It will stick much better, especially if you are spraying them outside.
Practice moving them in and out of your oven to make sure you can do it without the parts touching anything.

[Dthquazi]

How are you hanging and coating some of these aluminum panels. I haven't started yet but am trying to get an idea. Are you coating one side at a time? All I can think of is hanging from a rack horizontally and doing one side at a time.

[sbhunter]

As others have said, clean with acetone, precook the part and the coating sticks so much better. Also already been said, practice hanging and moving the part in and out of the oven before starting. I’m using the Eastwood dual voltage and Eastwood powder in a CHEAP oven and getting great results. I am truly surprised with how cheap it is once the basics are purchased. I powdercoated all the bracketry included in the kit and have 1/3 of the first 1 pound bag of black left. Dthquazi, the powder sticks by static. Coating all sides is easy to do in one shot. Getting the part to fit in the oven is the trick.

[Randy's]

I should be receiving my kit in a few weeks and want to do my own powder coating as well. Great advice from everyone but my question has to do with the oven. I see the small oven that Eastwood sells but I am thinking it will not be big enough to do most of the aluminum panels. I saw on line where someone used an inexpensive meat smoker. Please tell me that your not using the kitchen oven! That may push my wife over the edge. What is everyone using?

[flynntuna]

A lot of people use ovens purchased on Craigslist. There's a thread here where someone built an extension for the oven for larger items.

[Bob Cowan]

I use a standard kitchen oven I installed in the garage. I can coat anything that fits in there. Obviously, the panels won't fit. You can build a bigger oven. But it's usually cheaper and easier to just drop those off a shop and let them do it.

[joyridin']

I have a pretty old Eastwood model and it works great. I had a big oven in the garage for doing larger parts, but I got rid of it when the car was almost done. Now I have a cheap toaster oven from WalMart I use. Set it at 350 degrees, timer for 20 minutes, and the caliper is done. I have coated them a few times if the coating doesn't look thick enough.

I coated the AC pedals in silver, then clear coated them like 5 times. Everything looks great!