home powder coating?

[05 fxst]

Hey all.
What do you all think about the powder coating systems you can get at home depot/lowes or where ever? I am considering getting one of these, I have a bunch of small parts I would like to powder coat but not sure about the quality of these "do it your self" systems. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Carlos

[jamman]

Originally Posted by 05 fxst

Hey all.
What do you all think about the powder coating systems you can get at home depot/lowes or where ever? I am considering getting one of these, I have a bunch of small parts I would like to powder coat but not sure about the quality of these "do it your self" systems. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Carlos

i'm curious Carlos let me know how it works out...

[Mr Jimi]

Save your money and get a real system from
Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating
and get an electric stove from the side of the road on trash day, the ovens always work, read the directions and have at it

[jamman]

eastwood has some good shit..

[pquirk]

If I remember correctly Shark Doctor has a home system, you might PM him to see what kind it is....

[05 fxst]

Thanks guys,
I'm watching one from Eastwood on ebay. I read an article about this in the new Hot Bike issue. They show a guy coating a pair of chrome grips, the guy that did it is using a craftsman from sears and an old stove. The results looked pretty good. I'll let you know how it works out.

[meanstreak]

I have one bought it at harbour freight, bought my powder from eastwood found an old elctric stove on side of the road that said free and it works. This works great on things that fit easy in the oven. would not be afraid to recomend this to any one who likes doing things on there own. Just do some trial runs on odd things to you get the hang of it. Good luck

[Shark Doctor]

Hope this will help you out. I have a Craftsman system - not an expensive one, to be sure, but adequate for my needs (small parts).

Two pix are attached: the first is a before and after shot of a 1.5" square piece of metal I found on the roadside. I used it to make a riser to elevate a trailer hitch on my tractor. My wife purchased the unit for me as a gift, so she picked the "gold flake" to try, quite striking on a green and yellow John Deere!!! The key is to take the metal down to bare metal TOTALLY, then coat.

The second shot shows some spacers I made to mount my saddlebags (Ghost Mount brackets weren't quite a perfect fit).

I think the system works well. Certainly NOT for commercial use, but adequate for small stuff around the shop...

[Tinman13]

Like everything else, it takes a little patience. Like a few others stated, practice on some small, inexpensive parts or just some metal you might have laying around.

Now is a good time to get started as there are alot of improvements being made as far as colors and quality of powder.

One piece of advice. If you use your oven in the kitchen, wait until your lady leaves and be sure to set the timer.

[steve carter]

Like they say, for small stuff or when speed is of no concern, almost anything works. Beware any system where you must preheat the metal. Preheating the substrate MAY be a good idea (Aluminum castings, for instance), but it makes it easy to get really uneven and blotchy coverage. The lower voltage units don't have the voltage necessary to get the powder to stick without some preheating. The rule is: If you spray it and it doesn't look pretty good, DON'T HEAT IT! You can blow the powder off before curing, but it can be a real pain to sand/polish blemishes or to strip it later. I've sold powder equipment for 20 years, and I've seen some good home results. I've also seen some reeeal messes. Good thing is, like regular paint, if it looks too bad, just strip it and start over.