Powder Coating;

[MetalCrafter]

Does anyone here use any form of powder coationg. I have sent materal out to be powder coated but I would like to start doing it myself. I have checked a few sites but the booths and ovens are way to expensive for me to purchase know. Has anyone tried just using a gun an some other sourse of draying system?

[Iron man]

I used to do powder coating a few years ago, its the easiest kind of painting there is. and durable. How big of items are you going to paint? an old cook stove oven works great for small things, and you can buy special heat lights for big stuff the only draw back to lights is the heat isn't concentrated enough some spots will get hotter than others. and temp. is the key to good powder coat. if heat isn,t consistent then color isn't either lighter colors would probly be fine. but like black the kind we used anyway the gloss depends on temp. cooler temps it would turn out satin or almost flat higher temps would be glossy, so it depends mostly on quality you want and size you will paint. If you decide to try lights you can get them at Eastwood.com
can buy paint there also. Hope somthing here helps.

[MetalCrafter]

I will mainly be using it for some railings ranging from 3-6 ft.
What type of system would work?

[Bob the Welder]

This might be worth checking into, http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Don't know how good it would be for your purpose, do know that it is something fairly new for Sears. And it is a Craftsman, or Crapsman, depending on your point of view!

[Bert]

I talked to a good clerk at Sears. Always go to him (Honest). Had a couple of guys buy the Sears gun, and absolutely LOVE IT!!! Only making small parts though and sticking it in a 2nd hand oven. I heard the powder has a short shelf life and needs to be bought vacum packed. Doesn't look like the Sears bags are vacum packed...
***my 2 cents****

[dabar39]

I do alot of small ornamental items for a local garden club and one of the concerns is about how long the paint will last being exposed to the elements and the only powder coater in my area is outragous in his prices. I had thought about getting some equipment to do it myself but always thought it would be too expensive to justify buying commercial equipment. These links are just what I was looking for. Thanks again Dave

[aametalmaster]

I get my tracksoverhead.com bridges powdercoated local and it's a great process but the bridges are indoors.
I made thousands of shepherd hooks and other ornamental iron fence parts for outdoor use and the powdercoat didn't meet my quality control standards. Where the parts were scrolled and welded the powdercoat didn't flow back into the nooks and crannies and will rust over time. I also painted some of the parts with both latex and oil base paint and i can say that after 5 years of weather all the items held up about the same. The powdercoated parts have lost the gloss it once had but so did the other parts. Plus the powdercoated parts are hard to repair in the field. Just my thoughts...Bob

[dabar39]

I am curious if any one has used these small powder coat systems mentioned in the above posts. I want to know if they are really worth it or if I should continue dealing with the local thief (powder coater) at 90.00 per foot. thanks Dave

[JHCHOPPERS]

Look here at the Caswell Plating, tons of info on power coating and how to build your oven.

http://forum.caswellplating.com/

http://forum.caswellplating.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18



Hope this helps...

[dabar39]

Thanks alot for that link, I found more info on there than I'll ever be able to use,much like this site. thanks again Dave