DIY powder coating

has anyone here done it? what equipment did you use? what was your experience? do you have any tips or tricks for better results? I have been watching you tube videos and it looks like a no brainer.

CN

 

I haven't done it personally, but I did watch my father powdercoat some machinists hammers. Don't bake the coating in the house. Get a used oven, or do the baking on an outdoor grill. Much trouble will be avoided by taking this advice.

 

"Much trouble will be avoided by taking this advice"

You obviously speak from experience!

 

Hey CN, I sell powder coatings here in NZ and primarily its applied with an electrostatic gun which charges the powder and the steel is earthed so the powder is wrapped around evenly; thats gunna be the tricky bit (Application) you will then need to bake it at 180 degrees for approx 10 minutes, and Im with K-moe dont do it inside. Wet paint is easier and more accessable.

 

I just picked up a free oven of craigslist this afternoon. ultimately I will build a bigger box to put the heating elements and controller on. ultimately I want to be able to coat wheels, both for bikes and cars. I am also considering coating my fuel tank that I am restoring. but for now the oven will do as it is. I want to do the brake master cylinder and calipers.

CN

 

I have been doing powder coating for about 8 years now. I have a DIY set up from Eastwood. Its pretty easy, just follow the directions on their bottle as far as temp goes. One thing I did learn is that small or thin parts heat up much much quicker, so as soon as they are "flowed out" I generally remove them. As with paint prep is everything. Powder coat is a little more forgiving than paint but it will still show. I sandblast everything, pre-bake, let cool, then coat and bake. Let cool and bolt it back on!

 

I tried using Len's aerosol coating and a toaster oven on some caliper pieces. The procedure was pretty straightforward, except the aerosol coating didn't come out silver like it was supposed to.

Just out of curiosity, what would the approximate equipment costs be for doing it the standard way, with the electrostatic gun and what not? And I trust this works with aluminum as well?

Quoted for truth.

 

I got my new (free) convection oven hooked up and working.


oven by bmonkey36, on Flickr


ready to bake by bmonkey36, on Flickr

this oven is so clean I would use it in my home if I needed one. it will be the perfect donor for a custom oven.

I also picked up this powder coating gun new in the box off craigslist today at a decent discount. it also came with 2 bottles of the black powder that hf has.

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-psi- ... 94244.html

so far I am out $50 and I am ready to powder coat. that being said, I already have a sandblast cabinet and pressure pot blaster. which is kind of essential to getting good results with powder coating.

I almost forgot, I will have to get some high temp masking tape and some silicone rubber plugs, so there will be a small investment there as well.

CN

 

my high temp plugs, caps and tape came today. the green tape is actually sand blast resist. the high temp tape comes in the next installment....


all plugged up 1 by bmonkey36, on Flickr


all plugged up 2 by bmonkey36, on Flickr


blasted by bmonkey36, on Flickr

now I have to improvise a spray booth and I am set to coat my first carb.

CN

 

Make sure the you don't podwercoat anything that sits inside of the float bowl, or the diaphragm house. Including the gasket surfaces.

 

yup, already planning to mask those areas before coating.

CN

 

I figured that you planeed to, but I have failed to do far too many things that I planned to do.....lol

 

even the best laid plans of mice and men...


powder coated 1 by bmonkey36, on Flickr

what little powder ended up inside the float bowl area is no concern to me. I am amazed at the quality of the finish.

FU

 

looks very nice. i'm in need of something like this.

 

looks great man!

 

so far I have spent $110 on equipment. that number will go up when I build my larger oven, not sure just how much yet though. hopefully under $100.

FU

 

Why didn't you put the float bowls on? Different color?

 

this is just my very first (test) piece. the rest of the carbs and the bowls are next.

FU

 

I have also recently ventured into the world of powdercoating. I did my caliper and will be doing my levers and a few other pieces. its pretty awesome. I have got pics of my caliper in my build thread if your interested in seeing it.

 

your caliper was the inspiration to get into it myself. meaning, it's all your fault! lol. I am currently waiting for my first order of custom powders. there is definitely going to be a lot of black chrome on my bike. maybe even with a blue pearl clear coat over it too.

FU

 

yeah, there are so many awesome colors out there. check out http://www.prismaticpowders.com/ i have yet to order there myself but there are some amazing colors. I do have a chrome and a translucent blue that goes over the chrome but so far I have had a hard time getting the top coat to stick over the chrome. Even tried a clear coat over the chrome and was unable to get it to stick evenly. Lots of tricks to this trade as I have found out reading up on my problems.

 

interesting. did you see this in prismatic powders knowledge base?

http://www.prismaticpowders.com/resourc ... estion/79/

FU

 

yeah i read that after I couldnt get it to work. just waiting for some time to fire it up and try some more samples.

 

well I am about ready to do some more powder coating. I have a bunch of parts sandblasted and ready to go. a couple have some nicks that need to be fixed first though.





I bought this stuff to repair the nicks, hope it works...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231470023276?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I also received my replacement brake master cylinder lid from 4nik8r here on the forum and got it blasted and ready to go. thanks to 4nik8r for selling me the cover. fortunately the corrosion did not cause any heavy pitting.

before...



after blasting and ready for powder coating...



FU

 

well I am still working on getting the parts the way I want them before I get to coating. the aluminum solder I bought was just the trick to repair the gouges. smoothing the ribs on the valve cover is proving to be a bit of work, but it is progressing.







FU

 

nice. I have been PC'ing quite a few parts, both triple clamps, lower forks, bolt heads, brackets, i did the headlight and air box covers. love the stuff. one thing i learned is, DO NOT BE IMPATIENT waiting for flowout. I did on one piece and instead of gloss got a matte/textured finish. it takes time, depending on size of piece and how thick the powder is to flowout. other than that, good luck! there is something so sweet about coating a bare piece of metal and seeing a nice brand new finished piece afterwords.

 

thanks for the tips.

FU

 

This is so cool! I've been highly interested in powder for some time, too; looks like I need to hit CL for an oven and HF for a gun. Where do you get the custom paints?

Hey, nice work!

 

Am I correct in seeing PC in the throttle shaft seal area, as well as the fuel inlet pipe opening? You will need to clean that out ASAP. Otherwise, it looks great.

 

Fwiw I have been toting around a HF powder coating kit for about six years now, never been out of the box. I could be persuaded to sell it if there is any interest...

 

ahem, maybe!

 

you can find all kinds of pc on ebay for not a lot.

FU

 

thx! I think the oven is gonna be the toughest task--they want a fortune for em.

 

that is number one carb, there is no fuel passage on that side. the pc is not in the throttle shaft bore, just the seal area. it is thin and smooth, so I am not worried about it there. if any thing, it will make the seals a little tighter.

FU