Beginner in powder coating

[monster01]

hey im just getting into powder coating and i have a question. The ovens are not cheap. They are about 500 dollers for a small oven. I was thinkin about using a toaster or somthing and drilling holes on the top of it and hanging cables so they can be hung while they are curing. Since a toaster will not be large ebough, i was looking at the infaread lights and for a 2500 watt light it is 300 dollers. Now will i need 2 lights for each side of the metal i powder coated? Also how do i prepare it? I have a power washer and i saw that they used that to clean it off well but i also saw they used a glass beater to make sure its really clean. Now i dont want to get a glass beater and stuff because that is really messy and i dont have the money to get a booth for that. Is there any type of chemical that i can use to make sure its extra clean when i prepare it?

[monster01]

also i was jw how would u go about building your own oven? i would think this would be a cheaper way to do it instead of buying one.

[Matt Harwood]

Prep work will determine the final finish. I wouldn't think that just pressure washing parts would be sufficient. If there is any grease or old paint still on the part, the powder won't stick for long. Sandblasting or glass beading is really the best way to prep a part for powder. Otherwise you're just throwing your money away on a coating that won't be any more durable than paint. Think of powder as paint--the requirements for prep are the same--clean, dry and oil free.

As far as ovens, buy a used electric oven at a garage sale or something. You can get them for well under $100. Make sure it's electric. I use the oven racks for hanging my parts, so all I do is transfer the rack to the oven with the part hanging under it, and bake it.

Hope this helps.

[monster01]

ahh ok but how much are glass beaters or a sand blasting kit? Which is eaiser/ less messier

[Matt Harwood]

You can get cheap bench top glass bead cabinets at Harbor-Freight. You need an air compressor to drive it, though. I know the price adds up. A wire wheel on a bench grinder might be a decent intermediate step if you're not ready to step up to a lot of other equipment. But for the record, my glass bead cabinet is the single greatest tool I've ever owned. I use it for everything--it's extremely useful. And glass bead cabinets don't make a mess since everything is contained inside the cabinet. I use mine in the house and it doesn't make a mess.[/url]

[monster01]

well im not a beginner with working with my hands. I have a lot of tools. Table saw, power washer, 2 air compressers, grinder, air tools, maconary saw and a lot of other ****. I was looking on ebay today and i saw a sand blasting kit for 15 dollers. I would hgave to buy the sand with that. But what would u reccomend sand blasting or glass beading? I also saw one of those booth u were talking about for 75 dollers. They look cool and yea i know what u mean about it being enclosed.