Hey guys, this for all you who do or have done your own powder coating. I have always been a fan of the do it your self methods. so I have opted to powder coat my own parts. My question to you guys is what is the better blasting media to use to prep the metals for powder coating and what blaster do you guys use. I plan on getting 1 of the eastwood starter kits. What it heb harbor freight media blaster do the trick or do I need to find something that can hold it a higher pressure. any advice on this for tips on powder coating in general would be much appreciated. thanks in advance for any help p. S. I have found a suitable electric oven on craigslist that I will probly pick up.

 

oddly, im on CL right now looking for an oven so i can run powder. I have a few sandblasters. A harbor freight blaster will work ok if your just trying to do few parts...not like whole rear ends ect..

 

Hahai found mine in about 10 mins, but I am looking to do mainly brackets and maybe my stock rims

 

After a little bit of research I found that walnut shells for softer metals and crushed glass beads for some tougher was best option for prepping metals anyone out there to confirm this?

 

This is what i do:

If your running a blasting cabinet- heavy rust=sand, aluminum pieces that arent really important and getting paint and stuff off: Kinda just a general use= beads. Important stuff like housings ect= Soda. just bought 25lbs of soda tonight to do a few thigns in the morning.

 

i have no idea, but ive been using aluminum oxide in my HF cabinet. too lazy to sit there with the walnut shells as it takes forrrrreeeevvvveeeeeerrrrrrrrr.... if u watch american restoration they use charcoal but im not sure if its some specific one or what... but seems like they love it and converting to it..

i use an electric oven works fine

i used eastwoods system but mine crapped out.

 

Sweet thanks ill use that as a basic rule

 

Hmmm never seen the show

 

I did a lot of power coating on my car. I just used wire brushes in a electric drill to clean my parts. Something like this:

 

Hmmm does that work the same?

 

I had really good results with the wire brush drill bits while holding whatever part I was cleaning in my bench vice. When taking a part off the car that are somewhat dirty to powder coat, its really easy to follow where you already cleaned with the brush. After I was satisfied that I got the piece of metal down to its raw color, I wiped them down with clean strip or paint thinner to get all the metal dust off the part. Also I never handled my parts without latex gloves after I gave them their final wipe down, to prevent oil from my hands getting on the parts.


Now my way might be a lot slower and the nooks and crannies can be hard to get to. But I didn't want to invest in any more equipment I'd never use again. I already have a engine hoist, oven and a powder coating booth taking up space in front of my car.

 

Since this thread is for tips here are some products that will make your life easier.

Tape that can mask holes or parts you don't want powder coated:

http://www.amazon.com/Powder-Coating.../dp/B003IA51KS

Powder coat disolver (Sanding off powder coat sucks):

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-powdercoa...ver-quart.html

 

Sounds good and I wouldnt have to buy media all the time

 

Wow thanks haha ur now my guru

 

good info here, where would be a good source to learn more about this makes me want to learn it

 

I just googled how to powder coat....theres some pretty technical stuff but it downtown need to be just watch some you tube vids

 

It really just making sure the part is really clean then spraying on a even coat of powder and baking it. Dont get me wrong there are many techniques but that is what I feel is the basic concept

 

heres a quick question, if I wanted to powder a whole piece....say a small bracket how would I put it in the oven. Ive heard to hang it but wouldnt the wire leave marks on the finish?

 

Also do I start the timer for the items to cure once it reaches the proper temperature, or do I preheat the oven and then just toss it in for the 20 or so minutes?

 

I learned from watching a few youtube videos and then reading the manual that came with my eastwood powder coating kit.

Hanging the stuff you have to get creative. If you are doing a bracket and it has a threaded screw coming off of it that you don't want powder coated, then you can wrap the wire around the threads, then cover it with tape. If there isn't anything like that to grab onto you can wire through a hole in the bracket and attach the wire on both sides of the rack. I do a lot of wires with a bent hook on the end through hole. Sometimes this leaves a little part that didn't take powder coat where the wire was, but usually a bolt is going through that hole once installed. Also you can always touch up powder coat with paint. In my case I was powder coating mostly gloss black so it was an easy match if I had any imperfections.

As far as heating up the oven, I usually pre heated mine as I was wiping down and hanging my parts on my oven rack. I always followed the bake time on the powder container as I think it varies depending on brand and color. I started the timer as soon as I put my parts in the oven.

 

thanks dang I might as well just start pm'in u my questions haha

 

Alrighty as soon as I confirm a few things with eastwood my hotcoat kit will be the way and I bought a bunch of different wire wheels so I should be set to go thanks for everyones help!!!!

 

i have been using the columbia coatings koal koat 2.0 with dpw board, as well as a multi-coat tip, i am in absolute love with it. it made doing parts like the front cover a breeze, as well as multiple coats.
absolutely well worth the $850 investment

Lloyd

 

Im was just going to go the eastwood hot coat kit for 200 unless I saw some decent profit. I emailed eastwood with a question and they have yet to answer me. Its really a newb question but since im just starting id rather not screw up, see the color im looking for is at columbia coating and I asked if the hot coat kit would work with non - hot coat powder. Idk if thats just eastwoods powder or a special type. Any input?

 

I need to correct the info on the timing issue. You start the cure timing when the part reaches the cure temp, not just when you put it in the oven.

I use aluminum oxide in my blast cabinet, for aluminum I just stay away from the part about 6" and blast at a 45 degree angle. Anthing else is a waste of time, you want the part to have some texture, powder will smooth it out and stick better. If you want to protect a surface, cover it with duct tape.

Any powder will work, some powders are better than others depending on the application.

Putting parts into an already hot oven can cause trouble depending on the material. Cast aluminum parts that have been anywhere near oils need to be baked about 20F hotter than the cure temp of the powder, for at least 20 minutes, even up to an hour because the oils will leach out and ruin the powder job.

Buy some of the hightemp tape for masking and silicone plugs to fill threaded holes.

Oh, here is a thread on my oven build

https://www.rx7club.com/fabrication-250/big-oven-powder-coating-ceramics-888237/