Powder Coating Eyeglass frames

[optician]

Hi,

im sorry for my stupid question, im very new to all this. Im an optician by trade and wanted to find out if i can powder coat eyeglass frames over an existing plating? do i have to strip the plating ? most eyeglass frames are a nickel silver/ monel combinations.

Thanking you in advance

[jtagger19]

I've done metal oakley frames and they hold the heat .
they wheren't plated so I just blasted them .

[bzer1]

The biggest problem I can see is the hinged ear pieces might get coated open. If you can get past that it shouldn't be a problem.

[jtagger19]

the hinge didn't gave me much of a problem
I cut a line with a hobby knife and fix it
and I also did it at 100Kv so the coat was thin a thicker coat might be a problem.
real problem was placing the glass back
coating got inside the groove area where the glass rests
and the glass didn't fit
had to scratch the groove with the hobby knife
for my second frame I taped the groove and worked .

[optician]

Thanks for the input guys! but can you powder coat over a plating ?

Thanks

[DocMartin]

If the metal surface still conducts a charge, the powder will apply quite easily. Even if it doesn't, then heating the surface will do the trick. Adhesion (after curing) shouldn't be much of a problem for most powders. Most people aren't too rough with their glasses anyway, but you could do some testing on an old pair.

Sometimes a previous coating can bubble up through your powder during the cure cycle, but it looks like you'd get the thumbs up to try it out!

[bzer1]

Originally Posted by optician

Thanks for the input guys! but can you powder coat over a plating ?

Thanks

Such a small surface area will most likely not matter.