Powder coating at home?
 

Has anybody tried doing it?

The equipment is under $100 at several places, and the powder paint is also reasonable cost. Most parts would fit in a normal oven for curing. It looks like up to the size of a 17x9.5 wheel would fit in my oven.

I am thinking about trying it. It doesn't sound like it would be very hard or expensive, but I wanted to see if anybody has some experience with it and can give me some clues.

Search Function? Several good threads recently.

Search craigslist for a 2nd hand electric oven dont wanna use the one you cook in...

I did try a search but I am not too good at it. The only threads I found with any tips were from SFC Rick about a year ago.

I was also looking at an old oven that my brother in law will give me for free that he got free from a farmhouse. I was planning to put it out in a converted corn crib so it won't make a mess inside or stink.

Any more suggestions are welcome.

On a motorcycle forum I saw some parts that were home powder coated and they came out very good. He said to get a second oven for sure. Also the parts need to be bead blasted which is additional cost if you don't already have the equipment.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

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Eastwood sells kits also. Prep of item is very important :thumbs:

:iagree: Eastwood is a great source for restoration tools and products.

http://www.eastwood.com/

I've done some home powdercoating. the big problem is you need a booth to spray powder in. It makes a king sized mess,outside wind carries it everywhere. Spraying powder inside without a booth is asking for everything to be covered in dust! For now I just do small parts that I can fit in a home oven. You can do up to a wheel in size in a standard home oven. I have plans to take apart a couple of ovens and make my own custom sized oven. There are plans on making your own ovens on the internet. One trick I do is to preheat the part first till powder melts when it hits the part. That fixes Farday cage problems[ problem with powder being pulled away from center of tight corners] and also makes the part look much smoother with much more gloss . You can do this you you just need some planning. For powder don't buy those little bottles they sell go to a local powder seller. They will sell you powder much cheaper and in bigger sizes. Powder is rated by indoor or outdoor use and has a gloss rating to let you know how shinney it will be. The powder I use the most is the fake chrome. If you buy this look for one that doesn't need clear over it,unless you want to do that much work. Good Luck on tring this. Tim

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Thanks for the info.

It sounds like it is something I will try.

Would like to hear more on trial and error tips keep them coming.

Just......dayumm. :cheers:

I've heard the 2nd oven advice a million times. I can just see some poor guy getting his ass whipped by the misses for her caserole tasting like his intake manifold. :lol:

yes you can do it but, last year I had a trunk full of parts blasted and powder coated, didn't need an oven or a kit, didn't have powder all over the garage to clean up, and it only cost me like $175.00. Talk to a local powder coater before investing in all the product unless you really want to do it for the fun/work that it involves.

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I'm about to do a bunch of parts myself. If you sand down the cast texture, how fine of a grit do you need to go to before you can be sure the sanding won't show through the coating? Is sandblasting the cast aluminum beforehand sufficient?

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Like anything on the internet you have to take everthing with a grain of salt, there are a lot of different opinions on how to do things. Not everyone can be right it comes down to doing lots of research,then trying it yourself. I myself think sandblasting is the best way to prep metal for powdercoating. Powdercoat is a lot thicker than regular paint,It can cover much more than regular paint.Covering the profile left from sand blasting is no problem also Glass beads doesn't remove rust as good. I would rather the powder stuck to the part, the profile helps the coating stick. Make it too smooth you might have problems flaking off later. A good example of this is when factory parts are acid washed before powdercoating instead of blasting. acid washing is a lot easier but alot of times it doesn't last as long either. Look at a lot of the new trailer hitches out there for an example. One good place to learn more about blasting,powdercoating, metal polishing etc. online is http://forums.caswellplating.com/ That's the best site for info! Good Luck Tim