powdercoat

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ratrodz

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
383
Location
horse cave ky
has anybody used the cheap powdercoat kit from harbor freight or eastwood. just wondering how they worked thanks
 
Ive thought about buying one for parts too small to justify taking to our regular powder coater, but you have to have a dedicated oven to bake the stuff. Supposedly, using your regular house oven is not recommended as you use that one for food and there could be some health problems.

Don
 
Small 18x18 ovens for that purpose are available for 250 - 300 bucks. We have a small unit but haven't tried it yet. (Gun and oven) I've read lots of posts on other forums and they seem to like the units. That's primarily why we bought one. We want to coat all our small items.
 
I have the one from Eastwood and have powdercoated several pieces.

This is from the 90s and Eastwood coating was used. Anti freeze ate it off during the years. Other parts done back then did hold up pretty well.
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Just a couple years ago I started coating again. I wasn't able to use an oven because my garage doesn't have 220. I used a heat gun with powder from a local coater on these and it took forever to do all the pieces. They still look great today. I think the trick when using a heat gun is to make sure the pieca as well as the coating get to temp. not just when the coating looks done.
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This is the oven we use. it was a freeby way back when
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These parts were done in the oven with powder from a local coater.
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I'm not saying the Eastwood coatings are bad they just didn't do what they said they were gonna do on certain parts. Plus that kit was bought around '95 or '96 when they first offered them. They have probably came a long way as with everything.

Just make sure everything is very clean before coating it
 
my oven

Hi
For those who want to powder coat their own stuff here is an oven I built.
It’s made from 2 55 gal drums and burner from a stovetop and temp control from Ebay (PID). I put 4 burners in but disconnected 2 smaller ones and it works great. I made it horizontal with wheels on one end. I can roll it around and stand it on its end for storage. I have a dolly to roll the parts in the oven. It uses regular home fiberglass insulation (4") and the outside stays quit cool with 400 digress inside.
On the gun most of the less expensive guns are all alike and do fine. I bought one from caswell because it had a better power supply (varaible voltage). But the gun part is just like HF's.

have fun
Tom
 

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thanks guys,nice looking oven acourtjester.right now just wanting something to do small part. i have a old house oven to use.
 
I was keeping this down low because I didnt want the mods to think I was advertising because I am not.......I have had a custom powder buisness for the past 4 yrs but we suspended our operations during this summer because of my mom who has alzhiemers and I have been primary caregiver for the last 7yrs got to the point I could not do both anymore (we have just entered the final stages with her in the last month or so)
Anyway try looking at this company for powder.....we used a lot from here and you can buy amounts as low as 1/2lb http://www.powderbuythepound.com/Temp._Controlled_Powders/
If you have any questions feel free to ask also if you are looking at colors there is a good chance I may of used it and have pictures of what it looks like.
 
How much coverage in a 1/2 pound & 1 pound? Just trying to get a general cost.

Thats not always a easy question to answer lol.....since the types of powders all have different specific gravity and recommended mil thicknesses some powders go farther than others and also the type of gun you are using will make a big difference. I normally could completely coat 4 16"-18" aluminum rims with two pounds of powder and still have some left over.
 
i have used three different guns at work HF, eastwood, wagner. they all "work" but you get what you pay for. the HF loss a ton of powder on the floor cause it didn't stick. the eastwood was better in that respect. the wagner gun cost the most but is hands down great, not for the dyi guy too pricey

as for the oven, keep the peace don't walk into the house with a rack of parts to cook. at my work we started with a $18 goodwill stove then made our own. getting up to 380-400 is the most important.

Buy good paint. the paint you buy will be a big part of how it comes out and lasts. we use cardinal. don't buy hf unless you are practicing.
 
Yep great advice Mopar, the best anyone can figure is the HF powder is an epoxy and is not UV stable and will fade/chalk in a very short period of time when exposed to sunlight.

The two best powders to use on automotive stuff is Acrylic or Polyester TGIC.....chart below shows whats good for different applications

If anyone is interested in a good read on powder coating I can point ya in that direction.

P-COAT.jpg



This is a summary of the key properties of each generic type of thermosetting
powder:


Epoxy: Tough
Chemically resistant
Poor exterior durability (chalking)


Hybrid: Decorative film performance similar
to epoxies
Some UV and overbake advantages
Not exterior durable

Polyester Urethane: Exterior durable
Thin film powder coating

Polyester TGIC: Exterior durable
Good edge coverage
Thicker films are no problem

Acrylic: Excellent weatherability
Excellent appearance
Good-fair impact resistance
 
I bought the eastwood kit about 10 years ago. and over all am very happy. I also made a walk in oven so I can do motorcycle frames.
 

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It is a unit from an old house furnace. I burn kerosene in it. I use the on/off switch and just monitor the temp. Low tech as hell but gets the job done.
I use waist oil in my furnace for melting aluminum.
 
I love the smell of melting aluminum in the morning. It was fun but I have too many projects to get back into it now.
How big is your furnace??

have fun
Tom
 
This is my furnace and some of the skulls I have made. I need to construct a better one but I am doing too many things at one time.
 

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Hi Sofa King

Cool skulls did you use lost foam to make them??
Here is one I welded up
Merry Christmas
Tom
 

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Here is a belt sander/grinder I built many years ago. I cast the bearing housings and wheel The wheels were green sand methode. I don't think a day goes by with out using this machine. It has a 2" X 60" belt and 2 hp motor.

have fun
tom
 

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