toaster oven

[Hkeyees]

so i want to get started into powder coating, but cant afford an oven and i dont seem to have any 220v power sources, so i was wondering if i could start out with a toaster oven for small parts. is there any reasons why it would be a bad idea?
also wondering what would be a decent powder coat gun thats not too expensive for a beginner like me, i saw ones at harbor freight for $50 but they looked really crappy.
thanks for the help it is appreciated.

[x1rider]

I was wondering the same thing. I would like to know if you can use a regular kitchen oven for baking ceramic coating. I'll follow this thread with great interest!

[Hexhead]

I have a gun like you mentioned. what do you want the gun to look like? There isn't really much to them. I have turned out some real nice pieces with this gun. Toaster ovens work great. You need to invest in a heat thermo gun that will read 400 f or better. You start timing the curing time when the PART reaches 400 f not when the oven does. Then set the timer for 20 min. You use the infrared gun to point at the part (oven door open) to see what temp the parts are at when it's 375 to 400 Like I said start the timer.

[Hkeyees]

so i just need a toaster oven that will atleast go up to 400 i guess.
i dont really care what the gun looks like, i just didnt trust the plastic harbor freight ones.

has anyone had good experiences with the craftsman one?

[Hkeyees]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42802

thats a gun i looked at, it seemed cheaply made, has anyone tried it?

[blackcamaros]

You get what you pay for. I started out with a HB gun, but had issues with it i.e. the power supply quit working. I bought a Caswell gun and have been very happy. Currently saving my pennies for the adjustable one.

I have two toaster ovens I use to cure parts. Obvously, if I don't need the full size oven, my costs are less to use the toaster ovens. One oven is very long and narrow, and the other is more square. I also have the sheet metal to build a 3x3x6 oven, but have not started putting it together yet.

My kitchen oven was a freebe (Craigslist). All I had to do was pick it up. I pulled off the top burners and modified the control panel to mount it on the side and did a test run. This oven went to 550 degrees F with no problem, so I'm sure you will have no problem curing ceramic powders.

I use an infra red heat gun for everything. As Hexhead pointed out, the timer starts when THE PART reaches the correct temperature. I found a huge difference depending on whether I was curing a sheetmetal heater vent or a cast water pump. It was money well spent.

[x1rider]

Thanks for the info, kitchen oven it is then, at least for a while (my girlfriend is just gonna LOVE that!!!).

[ashcroft01]

x1rider,

By "kitchen oven", we mean a standard household oven, not the actual one in your kitchen right now.

You should never uses an indoor oven that is also used to cook and prepare food.

Find an old oven on the side of the road or at a sale and wire it up in your garage.

As far as the guns go...for the hobbyist like myself who does occasional batches of small parts, the HF and EW guns work just fine. I have two, one from each company and have not had a single problem with either of them.

If you take care of them and treat them properly, they should last a while.

It would be nice though to have an adjustable voltage gun in the future.

That is my 2 cents worth.

Have a happy and safe New Year!

[x1rider]

Thank you very much for your input, you probably saved me from doing something really stupid!!! Happy New Year to you as well.

[Hkeyees]

just wondering what difference adjusting the voltage makes?
will the non-adjustable gun have a bad quality finish?
i want stuff to look near perfect for my car.