powder coating ?'s

[abmagrum]

anybody use the harbor freight powder coating kit?

is it good enough to get started with ?

can you use a gas oven to powder coat ?

I was thinking of using a old propane one out in the shop. but I don't want any KABOOMS .

[Metriccar]

You may want to find a website that deals more with this stuff, but I've heard the Harbor Freight is a good starter gun. I've never had one myself, this is just a gathering of what I found on the web. They also have a small 18" oven that works good as well. It's just not ideal to put stiff in the oven you later plan to cook food in.

I was planning on getting a gun from Columbia Coatings one day. But have my hands full with Plasma at the moment.
The booth with fan and oven are the expensive equipement investments and cost is proportionate to size and obviously the bigger the booth/oven are, the more you can do.

[sodfarmer]

I would look @ the starter one from eastwood. I've used it and the harbor freight one and I liked the eastwood better. Eastwood one seemed to apply the powder a little more even. The cost is pretty close to the harbor freight one. I would look for an electric stove. Just remember to NEVER cook food in the oven after powder coating in it.

[abmagrum]

thanks
that is my debate. harbor freight or Eastwood . Eastwood looks better . just trying to cheap out.

as for the stove ,
yep I know not to use A FOOD stove for powder coating. (food safety certified)

what I was trying to do is find out if you could use this type of heat source . if you can you could make a oven like a bbq pit. any size you wanted.

thanks again

[Gamelord]

I have the Eastwood one and it works very good, not any issues at all.

As for the oven, you will need one that does not blow directly onto the part being powdercoated. The reason is that the powder is just statically attached to the piece before baking so any directly blow on the piece will blow the powder off. Also, anything that touches the piece while it is baking will cause issues such as soot, dust, etc... A firepit would NOT work unless you had a brick type oven inside and the fire was on the outside...but this would be very difficult to get the pieces in and out without cooking yourself.

You can use a normal food grade oven, most powders will require 375 - 425 degrees. What I would do for starters is to look on Craigslist for a cheap broken stove that the oven still works, stick it in your garage and you're set. You may be able to find one for 50 bucks or less and it will be larger than the one from Harbor freight.

Just make sure that once you use it for Powder, don't ever use it for food again.

Hope this helps.

[abmagrum]

Thanks Gamelord,
I wasn't going to use wood . I was going to use gas .
but now that you said that wind would mess things up.
the one I was going to make . it works on a draft system ,
maybe not such a good ideal after all.

I was going with gas. but after thinking about it I think electricity will be best way to go

yep, used is the way to go

Thanks for the advise.
Al

[Granite]

I've been using the HF gun just about every day for the past three months. Its the only gun I have tried so I can't really compare. But I am very pleased overall.

I do anywhere from 1 to 10 pieces each day. I had a pancake compressor that wasn't getting much use so I've dedicated it to my powder coating and its been great. I have a cheap HF disposable filter on the end of the gun and replace it once a month. Running at about 10 psi.

Sometimes I change color two or three times a day. Just exchange the powder gun for a blow nozzle and take a couple of minutes to blow the residue powder through the gun, both directions works best. In just a couple of minutes you are ready for a new color. (This was my biggest concern as I sell a lot of custom art and it seems the next sale is always a different color than what I have on the gun.) I seem to have found a good routine and am very happy with the results.

[abmagrum]

THANKS for the info.
good to know.

[GDS Metal Worx]

I have built all my equipment, except for the powder gun. I am using an Eastwood Hot Coat 1100 Pro. I dont think that they make it anymore but it has been a great gun. I got it used about a year ago. I like it because it has adjustable KVs. This will help you in coating areas that may have a faraday effect. Like inside corners and pieces that are parallel to each other. Also helps in doing multiple coats or colors. I have done 4 coats cold with this gun. Clean up is easy with this gun also. Can change colors in less than a minute. I have changed out colors more than 30 times in one day! I have used this gun to coat metal, wood and glass, as well as a few other things that should not be able to be coated. I am saving my money to get one from Columbia Coatings, the Kool Koat 3.0 with DPW. Should be the last gun I ever buy.

As for my spray booth, I have made my own, it is not the greatest but it works for me, for the most part. I used 4x8 sheets of white board from lowes, I cut a hole in the back wall and have 2 20x20 air filters in it. I can remove them and tap them out in the trash can to get most of the powder out of them. Then I hit them with the air blower and get the rest out. They work for about 2 or 3 uses and then have to get new ones. I mounted a whole house attic exhaust fan on the back side of my booth to pull the air through.
As far as the oven goes, check Craigslist for broken ones. You can start with that and get going. Cut the top out of it and make new sides and you can create a larger oven on a budget. I started that way but very quickly found that it was too small so I built my own oven. inside dimensions are 4x4x7'6". I use 4 3000 watt oven elements. Got the elements and the controller from http://www.tccoatings.com. He also sells some good powder.

As far as the harbor freight one goes, save your money. I have one. Used it a few times and said screw this and bought the Eastwood gun. The harbor freight gun will shock the piss out of you if you touch the part while spraying. The Eastwood gun grounds you out so that you can touch the part. For powder, I use Columbia Coatings or Prismatic Powders. I have bought powder from at least 10 different places but like these 2 places because of their turn around time and customer services.Ill attach somepictures of my setup. Not pretty by any means but it gets the job done. I need to do a good cleaning on my spray booth and replace the filters. I have been coating the hell out of some parts for a show that I am doing that lasts 5 weeks. Pretty much have to replace my inventory 2 times a week. Its a long show but usually pretty good. Did almost 6K in 5 weeks last year. If you have any questions about powder coating give me a yell and I will try to help you out.

[HammerDownJustin]

GDS How long dose it take your oven to it 400? I am starting a oven build. I ordered 3 3100 watt elements and was thinking on 7 feet and 4x4 interior. I might need to order another element.

[GDS Metal Worx]

Justin, It takes my oven about 20 to 30 minutes to get to 400. I should have put in two more elements on the sides closer to the top. But it gets the job done