[TheForge] DIY Electrostatic paint gun

[Bruce Freeman]

No.

But I've seen how certain scientific apparatus that uses the same
principle works, and there's not much to it, really.

The nozzle must be given one polarity, the object being painted, the
other.  I don't know whether it matters whether the "paint" is
positively or negatively charged relative to the object.

One VERY serious issue is voltage.  High voltage is needed to provide
the desired effect.  High voltage CAN be dangerous.  However, the
current need not be high at all.  Microamps might do (I haven't tried to
figure it out).  

If I were to try this (which I'm thinking of doing, but don't know when
I might get to) I would start by using as a voltage source one of those
room-ionizers commercially available.  They have a needle that points
out into the room, the source of the ions.  (I'm not sure where you'd
find the "ground" on the thing.  It probably is the electrical ground of
the house electric, but I don't know that for sure.)  The advantage of
these devices is that they are intended for household use.  You can
probably get a little buzz from them, but nothing lethal.

Another alternative would be the flash attachement to an older camera. 
These charge a capacitor from a battery.  I don't know that the voltage
is high enough ( they can give you a surprizing shock), but if it is,
it's certainly a safe source.

I would be inclined to avoid such things as the corona discharge P/S
from a laserjet or xerox, as those things may very well put out lethal
current.

Hope this helps.

Bruce
NJ

>>> sjs at chargin.org 10/1/2004 12:54:58 AM >>>
Has anyone ever made or seen plans on the net on how to setup your own
electrostatic paint system? Ive looked into whats available here and
its
quite expensive, I know little about it but its a high voltage/low
amps
setup which puts a strong electromagnetic field infront of the nozzle
of the
spraygun, the item to be painted is negatively charged and the
positively
charged paint jumps onto it just like powder coating. Seems to me the
"black
box" etc wouldnt be hard to build yourself. Maybe theres more
complexity
than I understand in the system? Anyone got a lead for me, Ive done a
bit of
googling without much success...

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