Rusty Bowtie
General Category => General Discussion - Intros => Topic started by: themoose on February 02, 2013, 05:41:23 PM
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Has anyone use any of the powder coating kits like the ones offered by Eastwood ?
Moose
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I have one from Harbor Freight..been using it for a few years now. Works just fine and the powder coatings looks great. One thing I do with used parts is clean them, blast them and put them in the electric oven for a temperature cycle without powder...that helps to burn off any oil or grease embedded in the metal. The powder can then be applied to the hot or cooled off parts.
Buy my powder from Columbia Coatings:
http://www.columbiacoatings.com/
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Here is a before & after of my old & rusty ET mags..been having a problem finding 8X15 (4.75) steel wheels with 3.25" backspace...so I just stuck these in my oven until I can locate a set. Only powdered the front sides.
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a383/EdJacobi/wheels.jpg)
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I have the one from Sears (Craftsman) and it works fine. I did all my front spindles and calipers with it. Looks good and durable.
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What are you guys using for an oven ?
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Regular "electric" (not gas) kitchen oven...keep your eyes open for a stove on the side of the road. Normally the upper burners go bad but the oven still works. I installed a whip that plugs into my welder plug and use a handtruck to move the oven around. Disable the top burners if you can for safety..plus you then have a work area.
Went to the dollar store and bought an internal thermometer and a magnetic timer. Curing time is about 10-15 minutes depending on powder.
For some parts I lay the stove on it's back and run a wire across the top to hang parts.
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I have an electric toaster oven for the small parts and I found a full size kitchen stove that's propane and I put that out in my shed for the big parts. The only thing with the propane stove is get it up to temperature before you put your parts in as it seems to get some humidity in it as it warms up.
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This forum has a powder coating section discussing building ovens etc:
http://forum.caswellplating.com/forum.php?s=743177de734db9e87c32d80769d122e4
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Never used one, but from the talk here I miight have to get one to play with, except the oven part would piss the wife off i'm sure. HEHE
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Never used one, but from the talk here I miight have to get one to play with, except the oven part would piss the wife off i'm sure. HEHE
Better find one on the side of the road..or your cookies will taste like Chevy orange with clear coat ...especially if you mix them up.
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The more I read about doing powder coating at home the more I want to try it. Does anyone know if there is a shelf life for the powder?
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Moose, I didn't see anything on my containers about shelf life. I bought mine from Summit and had good luck with it so far. I think the best thing would be to store it in a dry place.
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Moose, I didn't see anything on my containers about shelf life. I bought mine from Summit and had good luck with it so far. I think the best thing would be to store it in a dry place.
Yeah I'll bet humidity is it's enemy. I have room in the cabinet where I keep my stick welding rods to keep the flux dry. That would be the perfect place. Now I just have to figure out how to convince my wife that I need some more equipment....That could be the most difficult part of powder coating!!! :-*
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All of the powder I buy from Columbia Coatings comes in sturdy air tight containers. I bought extra 1lb containers with lids to keep my colors intact.
FYI only the last time I was in Harbor Freight they had 1lb containers of powder. They only had black and white colors but it was inexpensive...half of what I normally pay. Would be great for practice anyway.
BTW: I have powder at least 6 years old that still works great. Cold doesn't hurt it..just keep it air tight.
Ed