[TheForge] OT sort of Powder Coating

[Jerry Smith]

Ries,

He is still at least 4 hours away from me, but thanks
for the tip.

Jerry

--- ries <ries at riesniemi.com> wrote:

>   I am not sure 250 is hot enough.
> I seem to remember a range of 300 to 500 degrees,
> depending on the  
> size of work and the type of powder.
> 
> One person you might want to talk to is Jack
> Brubaker-
> http://www.jackbrubaker.com/index-2.html
> 
> He built his own powdercoating setup to do his
> candlesticks with- It  
> seems to me he uses a homemade propane fired oven.
> 
>  From out here, on the West Coast, Indiana looks
> right next to Ohio-  
> Why he's practically next door to you.
> Of course, I have to drive for two solid days just
> to get to San  
> Francisco, so maybe my idea of distance is different
> than yours.
> 
> ries
> 
> 
> 
> On Mar 18, 2007, at 3:29 PM, Jerry Smith wrote:
> 
> Ries,
> 
> I haven't gotten the gun and the materials yet. What
> I
> have is bead/grit blasting booth(HF), a good
> compressor, a 18 inch bt 18 inch bt 16 inch oven and
> a
> smaller one that in 12 x 12 x 12, both capable of
> reaching 250 degree C. Spray booths are easy to
> build
> and I have several shop vacs that can be used.
> 
> I want to look at what people have for the spray
> process.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jerry
> --- ries <ries@
> 
> > I have never done it myself, but I have been
> paying
> > people to do it
> > since about 1988.
> > I have sent several powder coaters kids to
> college.
> > We used to do production pieces like candlesticks
> > and soap dishes,
> > where we might do 200 at a time, or a dozen
> chairs,
> > or sculptural
> > elements as big as 20 feet long.
> >
> > Things I learned:
> >
> > Sandblasting is good. Not essential, but it sure
> > doesnt hurt,
> > especially on hot rolled. We did some production
> > pieces for a few
> > years made from rebar (chairs, small tables, and
> so
> > on) and it all
> > needed to be blasted.
> >
> > Cold rolled can be run without blasting, but it
> > needs to be really
> > clean.
> > Wiping down with alchohol or a solvent will work.
> >
> > All the pros use phosphate pre-dip systems- The
> vast
> > majority of my
> > stuff had this done to it- my last guy had a 5
> tank
> > system- a mild
> > etch, then rinse, then phosphate, then rinse
> again-
> > cant remember
> > what the last one was.
> > Anyway, the point is, the stuff needs to be REALLY
> > clean.
> >
> > For clearcoated stuff, we would fine sand or wire
> > brush it right
> > before blasting, then handle with white cotton
> > gloves.
> >
> > Aluminum, especially castings, but not only, needs
> > to be preheated at
> > 300 to 400 degrees for a good 20 minutes first-
> > otherwise, moisture
> > always shows up and makes bubbles and pinholes.
> >
> > Good powder is expensive- I mostly used Tiger
> > Drylac, Cardinal, and
> > the major brands just for stuff like Black Wrinkle
> > or plain colors-
> > for the fancy stuff, the best, most distinctive
> > colors and textures
> > come from Prismatic-
> > http://www.nicindustries.com/prismatic_powders.php
> >
> > they cost a lot more per pound than places like
> > Eastwood, but they
> > are really worth it.
> >
> > I recommend using textures or wrinkles in most
> > cases- they wear much
> > better, hide scratches and handling marks.
> > Gloss finishes are the worst, in terms of
> fragility-
> > Powder is not as
> > tough as something like laquer, its pretty easy to
> > ruin a gloss finish.
> >
> > There is no touchup with powder- if you screw up,
> > you need to remove
> > it, and start over- and it aint easy to get it
> off.
> > The pro shops I
> > dealt with use a 2000 degree burnout oven- which,
> > since they did
> > things like furniture, was big- it had a little
> > railroad track going
> > in it for a dolly about 4 feet square. It does not
> > want to sandblast
> > off without being burned first- and the fumes are
> > nasty. You  can, in
> > a pinch, use a rosebud, but it will probably
> shorten
> > your life by a
> > few months every time.
> > My old industrial sandblaster in LA, who had
> > something like 3
> > compressors, each 200hp, and air hoses as big as
> > your arm, flat out
> > refused to sandblast powdercoating, as nobody
> would
> > ever want to pay
> > what it really cost, as it took SO long.
> >
> > Best type of oven is one you can roll a cart into-
> > then you can hang
> > the parts, shoot em, and roll it right in.
> > I like to deal with guys who have 20' x 10' x 10'
> > ovens, as I tend to
> > do big stuff- and even with chairs, you cant
> > economically do em if
> > you can only do one part every half hour, so they
> > would rack up a
> > whole dozen or two at a time.
> >
> > For itty bitty stuff, yeah, you could use an old
> > home oven- if time
> > is not a concern. But if you get into doing it
> much,
> > you are going to
> > want a bigger oven.
> >
> > The $200 guns work. Just like a $500 Harbor
> Freight
> > lathe will work.
> > But just like a real machinist will want a $20,000
> > used Monarch, a
> > real powder coater will spend $5000 and up on a
> > decent pro gun.
> > Partly its long life, ease of use, and volume, but
> > the real guns do a
> > better job as well.
> > So dont expect to get the greatest results from
> > those little guns.
> > Clean, dry air, of course, is a must.
> >
> > If you are doing the occasional, jewelry sized
> > object, and dont mind
> > fussing, then you may have success with the cheapo
> > route.
> >
> > If you are doing much for resale, and any kind of
> > volume, I think you
> > will quickly find its worth it to use a pro shop.
> > The average guy I dealt with ( 5 different big
> shops
> > over the last 25
> > years- In LA, Ventura, and couple up here in
> > Washington)
> > had well over $100,000 invested in equipment.
> >
> > Ries
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> 
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