Powder coating.

mustangshane · Mar 11, 2010

Who makes the best powder coating equipment? What have you guys used? What works best? How smelly is it when its in the oven? How messy is it?

I've been reading a lot of Paul's posts about powder coating this and that. You know he makes it sound very cool and fun. Plus his stuff looks awesome! So I thought I may try my hand at it. If Paul can do it I can too!

Petek · Mar 11, 2010

keep in mind paul has been experimenting with it for years. its more than just buying equipment and doing it, it take a little bit of practise. that said, im sure you can do it aswell. ive never powdered however i used to get tonnes of stuff done though and talking to the guys that do it full time, you need to know and research about it. when i say tonnes i literally mean i was at a powdercoating shop 5 days a week for 3 years.

Paul · Mar 12, 2010

The hosting for the pictures has gone down, but here's my How-To article on powdercoating.

It's definitely not hard, you just need some time, patience, and practice. Attention to detail and prep work are the key.

http://sn95forums.com/index.php/topic,19391.0.html

The powdercoating stuff is cheap, but the blast cabinet, and a compressor big enough to run it can get expensive pretty quick. My monster compressor, when all said and done with wiring, filters, regulators, hose reel, valves, and the compressor itself was two grand easy.

Paul.

badass98svt · Mar 12, 2010

Powder coating doesn't really require a big compressor. The powder is sprayed at roughly 8psi if i remember right.

Eastwood sells pretty much everything you need.

Paul · Mar 12, 2010

You can use a very small compressor for powdercoating. However, you can't powdercoat dirty parts. For that you need media blast everything.

So while powdercoating doesn't take much air volume or pressure, media blasting is an entirely different story...

Try sticking a half inch hose out the end of your small compressor and let me know how quickly you've lost all your pressure.

mustangshane · Mar 12, 2010

Yeah thats something to think about. I have the same compressor you started out with Paul. The 60 gallon Craftsman. Its okay. But not great. I guess it depends on how much I plan on coating as to what size compressor I get. Oh, and thanks that article is spot on what I was looking for.

Paul · Mar 12, 2010

You can definitely get by with a smaller compressor for a while, but after killing several motors, I finally decided to pony up and get the monster one. Also, I blast/coat some reasonably large stuff like bellhousings, transmission cases, intake manifolds, etc...

Paul.

Jrgunn5150 · Mar 12, 2010

I bought a crappy gun from Summit that had a little fan in it, no compressor needed.

I bought an electric oven off craigslist for 15 dollars.

I paid the most for the blast cabinet, it was like 180 at Harbor Freight, plus the fittings and what not I used to make it plug and play.

I got all my orignal powder from Summit, then found cheaper places online to get it.

It's way easy, compared to like painting, I mean it cover's nearly anything. The only trick is preheating the cast pieces so they don't outgas.

Paul · Mar 12, 2010

J.R. - if you've got a blast cabinet (which means a compressor) why'd you get a coating gun that doesn't require a compressor?

Jrgunn5150 · Mar 12, 2010

I didn't buy it, my ex business partner did, but it actually worked ok. I was just going to get the harbo freight one.

DropTopPony · Mar 13, 2010

If I was ever needing a Divorce I would start powder coating in my kitchen.

BOS-94-003 · Mar 13, 2010

My set up is a craftsman gun, 55gal (i think) compressor, free house oven, and a small blast cabinet from tractor supply. I agree 100% with the need for a larger compressor but my plan is to upgrade in the future and move the smaller one to my front garage. Took me all day to sandblast my rearend housing as i was constantly waiting for the tank to build up pressure. Just finished powdercoating my daughters ceiling fan and door hinges for her bedroom. Once you get set up youll realize that its not just limited to car parts.

I not sure who makes the best but I know Eastwood comes up alot. The oven smell is little to none and as far as mess, its just like sweeping up baby powder. The powder is heavy enough that it just falls to the ground vs floating around and covering your garage.

Its a crappy pic and just a ceiling fan but to take something from a grimey off white to looking new is prety cool.