Powder Coating Wood?

[pleximan]

Is it possible to powder coat wood? I am looking for new processes for finishing guitar bodies. The woods I am using can be layered with various techniques to allow electrical charging before coating, but I was wondering if the powder coating process could be done without the extra prep step.
Thanks, Steve

[non-stick]

not really.....well, not without the finish looking like garbage. Wood is an insulator by nature and conducts no current to allow the powder to stick. If any way possible...you can heat the wood to the cure point and try to powder coat it then. I've tried this before just for giggles....it doesn't look very nice at all. Stick with your current process. I believe Caswell offers a copper conductive spray for non-metallic items that is used in the plating area, but I can't imagine that it can't be used for your application as well.

(sidenote : there are other ways of coating your product, but they aren't what you are looking for. monomer parylene deposition comes to mind, but it would be of no benefit to you)

[DALE]

Yes wood can be powder coated, I powder MDF regularly and the results are equal to metal. Keep in mind that this is an engineered product and not conventional hard wood. First you will need to prebake to remove moisture, this takes a while. Then you can allow to cool to around 130degrees to apply powder, some times it doesn't stick. If it doesn't then stop ,blow part off and spray with electro-prep from Peerless/Peidmont Coatings in Cullman Alabama. This is a clear conductive coating that will allow charging when dry. (caution this stuff is extremely corrosive in liquid form) Once dry the part can be preheated to around 130 then powdered. Certainly not a cheaper process than your current one.

[non-stick]

Dale...is there any deflection in the mdf when ya do this at all (just worried about the "glue" bond in this whole process)? Assuming the heat is within range, can this also be performed on say...a plywood or another composite? I've impregnated phenolic before with teflon, but never went so bold as the wood-type route so I'm curious as well.