Powder Coating?

[tbl100]

Hi, I'm thinking about powder coating a few parts, trunk hinges, quick jacks, hood hinges, etc. How much work needs to be done to the parts before taking them to the powder coating shop? The edges of most of these parts are very sharp. Are you supposed to round the edges a bit so the powder coat will adhere better? Advice please.

Also if anyone has an idea of how much it costs to powder coat please chime in on that as well. I know prices will very but just want an idea. I had a road bike frame powder coated years ago for $85 and its still looks new. that's my only direct experience with the process.

Thank you,
Tim

[CDXXVII]

I knocked down all the sharp edges and cleaned up welds before taking the parts to the powdercoater. They will sand blast if needed and remove/clean contaminants.

Cost is all over the place. Depends on which powder you pick. Cost is less for common stock powders and it’s always best to get everything done in one batch.

[FF33rod]

Why not pick up the Eastwood powder coat system and do all the small stuff yourself

[tbl100]

Why not pick up the Eastwood powder coat system and do all the small stuff yourself

I'm thinking about that. I've done everything else myself so why not give it a try, right? Thanks.

[edwardb]

X2 on knocking down the sharp edges. All of the Factory Five laser cut parts have several little "nibs" around the edges where maybe the laser starts/stops or left on purpose to hold in place? Whatever. I always grind those off too. Just a quick hit on the belt sander. Anything else a good powder coat shop will clean the surface as needed. Typically media blast as already mentioned. Agreed cost is all over the place. If you pick a common color, like gloss black, they can often include with other customer jobs. For sure do them all in one batch. Hood hinges look nice powder coated. But you don't want a lot of extra thickness. So watch that.

[rrbardsley]

I bought the. Eastwood 2 voltage system and two types of powder. Then a large cheap toasted oven, $65.00 total cost with pressure regulator @$300.00. Works great!, smooth edges sand smooth and clean all surfaces. Preplan how you hook and have space to hang parts before and after coating. I bought a rotisserie oven and flipped or on it’s side vertically. Use as low as pressure you can get around, 12 lbs, and a large cardboard box to spray in. Extra Long needle nose pliers from Harbor Freight are a big help. You don’t have to coat many parts for it to be cost effective and allows it to be at your schedule. Much better results that I expected.......

[Papa]

The Eastwood setup is great and will pay for itself very quickly. I have their dual voltage gun and oven. If you can accommodate a larger oven, go that route, otherwise the oven they sell is good for small parts. You'd be surprised at how often you'll use this setup once you have it.

[Mark Eaton]

x2 on the Eastwood powder coater and used oven. I bought mine half way through my build and wish I would have purchased sooner. Powder coating is easy and a lot of fun and you'll find all kinds of things to powder coat outside of your build. Check out these websites if you decide to do it

https://www.prismaticpowders.com

https://thepowdercoatstore.com

[Fman]

Hi, I'm thinking about powder coating a few parts, trunk hinges, quick jacks, hood hinges, etc. How much work needs to be done to the parts before taking them to the powder coating shop? The edges of most of these parts are very sharp. Are you supposed to round the edges a bit so the powder coat will adhere better? Advice please.

Also if anyone has an idea of how much it costs to powder coat please chime in on that as well. I know prices will very but just want an idea. I had a road bike frame powder coated years ago for $85 and its still looks new. that's my only direct experience with the process.

Thank you,
Tim

Tim, I used Advanced Performance Coating in Auburn, they have been awesome to work with. I did every panel on my build for $650 which I thought was a fair price. They also did my wheels for me. I am right up the hill from you in Penryn, we should get together sometime. Would be cool to check out your build.

Travis

[ThreeSpore]

x2 on the Eastwood powder coater and used oven. I bought mine half way through my build and wish I would have purchased sooner. Powder coating is easy and a lot of fun and you'll find all kinds of things to powder coat outside of your build. Check out these websites if you decide to do it

https://www.prismaticpowders.com

https://thepowdercoatstore.com

100% agree. Did the same here, dual voltage eastwood and took a cheap upright electric smoker, and lined it with some kiln insulation. That thing only needs the thermostat at 25% to get 400 degrees. Have used it more times that I can count, well worth the investment I feel with the amount of smaller parts we have in the kits.

[JohnK]

The Eastwood setup looks nice, but you're not going to be able to fit some of the larger chassis sheet metal pieces into a home oven. The price that most PC shops charge includes a setup fee, so you're best off doing as many parts as you can in one batch to minimize cost.

[tbl100]

Tim, I used Advanced Performance Coating in Auburn, they have been awesome to work with. I did every panel on my build for $650 which I thought was a fair price. They also did my wheels for me. I am right up the hill from you in Penryn, we should get together sometime. Would be cool to check out your build.

Travis

Thanks Travis. I'll check into Advanced. Still toying with the idea of the Eastwood set up. I just took my car up to the body shop to have the body work done and painted. I should get the chassis back in a couple of weeks. Yes lets get together once I get the chassis back.

[Al_C]

Like many of the other responders, I also went the Eastwood route. In my experience, the better the prep you do, the better your result. I'd do the entire part rather than just the edges. I have a wire brush wheel I mount on my drill press and that does a great job on small parts. Sandpaper and/or steel wool also work well, but the wire brush on the drill press is much easier. Clean up your work with acetone and the parts are good to go! One other lesson I learned: if you are doing a glossy finish, take the part out of the oven as soon as the time is up. If you let it sit in the hot oven too long you'll lose the gloss.