This will probably be a dumb question for all you experts

[dwoodruff]

I have not done powder coating (been on the plating side of the house for a bit now) but would like to.

My question is... do you have to polish the parts beforehand to get the shine i'm seeing in these pics (like with plating)? Or is it the properties of the powder coating that cause it? Specifically with the near-chrome powders...

Thanks a bunch!!

Woody

[hvac36]

All colors are as you see, Prep, Powder, Cure deliever...

Jim S...

[dwoodruff]

Wow, that's amazing! No wonder so many people are doing this!!

Thanks.

[sage]

I'd have to say you've been mislead a bit. Depending on what you mean by "Shine" and which pictures you are looking at, some of the jobs are a colored clear coat over either polished metal or over a coat of chrome-like powder coat. So the "shine" in those cases is due to the prep of the metal undeneath the color.

Sage

[dwoodruff]

Yeah, i understand that in the plating world the best prep you start with is the best finish you get, so i was assuming it was the same for the powder-coating...i saw some of the translucent stuff over polished chrome/aluminum, so i know what i have to do there, but when i look at some of these pics of the "normal" colors... Super Wet Black, for example... they look so shiny!! Maybe Glossy is a better word for what i'm describing... I mean, it really does look wet, and i was wondering if i can reasonably expect mine to look like that with proper prep (degreasing, blasting, outgassing, etc.) or does it need to be polished to a mirror shine first? Thanks as always.

Woody

[sdold]

No, that's the way the paint looks, it's not because of a polished surface undernerneath. Some of the coatings really do look wet, especially if it's a clear over something else, it's pretty impressive.

Personally I don't like coating polished metal surfaces because whenever I do, the coating chips too easily. Others seem to have better luck with it, or else they don't care about the chipping as much. I haven't used iron phosphate or other conversion prep solutions yet, maybe those would help adhesion with smooth surfaces.

My prep is usually blasting (non-stressed) parts with aluminum oxide, which leaves a fine rough finish about like 400 or 600 grit sandpaper, then spraying the powder on and curing in the oven. The finish adheres great and the paint provides a smooth surface. I could do the same thing with sanding instead of blasting, but it's a lot of work.

Steve

[dwoodruff]

Thanks..

One more question (for now) ... I only have a small convection oven to start out with, so i was wondering how do i spray the parts then put it in the oven without disturbing it too much? If i spray the part on the rack that goes in the oven, what do i do about the rack lines underneath? If i hang the part to spray for full coverage, how do i get it to the rack for curing without disturbing the powder?

Thanks,
Woody

[compunerdy]

It doesnt disturb easily. I carry it from one building to another and have not seen a problem.