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Message started by Routy on 03/28/11 at 09:33:09

Title: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Routy on 03/28/11 at 09:33:09

Anyone done powder coating at home ?

I'd like to try it out,.....and I ordered a Craftsman gun, but I need to buy powder.

Any difference in powder quality ? HF's powder is less expensive, but doesn't have the best review. Has anyone used it ?

Can you powder coat over the scale on hot roll steel ?

Any comments mite be helpful.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Chopped on 03/28/11 at 10:54:16

how do you plan on baking it?

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Russ130 on 03/28/11 at 17:15:30

Routy do yourself a big favor return that craftsman gun as soon as you get it. That thing is a piece of junk and the prices for everything you will need is super high through sears. Go to eastwood,com and get their hotcoat gun and then you can buy some powders from them as well. It is half the priced but ten times better than the Craftsman gun. If you don't have a compressor don't sweat it cuz you only need 20 psi which even pretty much the cheapest of compressors can handle. For curing it you will need a dedicated oven for small stuff you can use a toaster oven with great sucess. One more thing the oven has to be electric since fine dusts are explosive.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Routy on 03/28/11 at 17:16:27

695E47477F5E595B42452B0 wrote:

how do you plan on baking it?

The electric oven in the kitchen will work good I hope.
DW didn't like the idea, but I convinced her she won't even know it :o

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Russ130 on 03/28/11 at 17:28:15

To answer your questions Routy - Eastwood.com has the biggest selection of powders and so far from what I have seen are the cheapest as well. You cannot powder coat over scale rust or anything remotely simliar. The surface must be in perfect condition and free of all oils and debris. Also the baking has to be done outside and only on an oven that will never be used for food again.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Chopped on 03/28/11 at 17:42:02

11363030727073430 wrote:

ROUTY..... HEad his advice! Get a dedicated oven... in fact you can strip it down and add some more insulation to the inside to get better and more heating out of it. you only need one setting... AFRICA HOT!

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Routy on 03/28/11 at 22:00:45

Several have said that the Craftsman gun works fine, and not needing air is a plus compared to the air powered HF gun.

And I've heard that the HF system works reasonably good too. Just wondered if anyone here has used their powder. It is by far the cheapest, @ .25 cents an ounce,....compared to $3 an ounce for anything else.

So not wanting to get too serious or expensive about this, I just ordered 32 ounces of HF powder, and along w/ the sears gun, I'll see what happens. And yes, I'll use an old oven of some kind.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Routy on 04/11/11 at 16:39:44

I got a chance to try my skill at powder coating some test pcs today, I learned a lot, and answered some of my own questions at the same time.
The crafsman airless gun worked flawlessly,.....had to give it a shake now and then when the powder flow would slow, just like the crafsman hand book says. Kind of amazing how the electrical field from the single wire attached attracts the powder.

I was skeptical of the cheap Harbor Frieght matt black powder because someone somewhere left it a bad review, but admitted it may have just been damp or a bad batch. For me, no powder could have worked any better. It covered very well, and I saw very little waste that wasn't adhereing to the parts.

Cooking was simple, except my little oven could be a little bigger, seemed hard to not bump the sides w/ the powdered parts.
The powder started to flow at 350, and I held it at 375-400 for another 15 minutes, then shutter down. The finished ended up just as good as anything I've ever gotten from the commercials 3 mi from here.

One of the parts was 1/4" hot roll plate 4"x8"
One side I sanded down to bare steel, the other side I hard wire brushed (on grinder) it clean, but leaving the hot roll scale on it,.....which is just as solid as the steel its stuck onto. Then wiped it w/ Laquer thinner. Both sides coated just fine, except the surface imperfections can be seen on the scale side.

Dedicated oven ? Ok, but I could see no evidence that anything had been in it,.......and while cooking, I couldn't smell any fumes at the oven vent. The cooking can for sure be done inside my shop.
I tried to spray outside, but the wind didn't permit that, so I did everything inside my shop. I can't see any powder anywhere, even tho I know there is some.
Spraying this powder inside is much better (cleaner) than spraying an aresol paint can inside for sure.
I would rate the home Crafsman gun and the HF powder, a #10
I would have posted a pic, but was afraid I'd be accused of spray painting it ;D

If anyone has any question from "hands on" home powder coating, I'd be glad to answer.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by babyhog on 04/11/11 at 17:58:41

Ah come on, post some pics.... ;)

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/12/11 at 03:09:36

Good review, Routy. Thannks..
Now, hide the Krylon cans & post a few pics.

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by Red_Wine on 04/12/11 at 04:42:14

Pics, Pics, Pics!!!!

RW

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by PenCapChew on 04/12/11 at 15:40:29

I have powder coated many of my own parts for my race quad. I race motocross with it and it takes a beating! I used the flat black HB powders also and they are holding up just fine. And for the dollar, nothing even comes close! Planning to prep the parts for the bike this weekend and bust out all the stuff again. ;D

Title: Re: Home Powder Coat Kits
Post by verslagen1 on 11/04/11 at 11:41:31

found this on the net...

http://www.caswellplating.com/