Would this work for me?

[finaddict New User Find all posts View Profile Close finaddict]

I kinda stumbled across this site and found the powder coating kits. It really got me to thinking. Anyway, I'm a custom fishing rod builder and I would like to see if I could powder coat my reels and rod components? Some of the rods I build have aluminum and/or steel parts. Since all the parts would be small, could I use my electric (kitchen) oven to bake the parts? I want to change the color of my reel bodies also. Would I be wasting my time trying or can this be done? It seems y'all are the metal gurus here and you may know of an alternative method. I hope I could do the powder coating because the kit I saw on here was a pretty good price. If it could be done I think it would be worth buying the machine/kit. Any suggestions or information would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

[tomg552001 Experienced Metal Finisher Find all posts View Profile Close tomg552001]

Welcome to the site. I would not suggest using a cooking oven to cure powder in, powder when curing gives off some nasty smells, that you do not want you roast beefs tasting like. If you are doing smaller parts, i suggest you pickup a small 110volt curing oven. Check out ebay, you'll find tons. You may also want to try a toaster over, if your parts are that small. Youd also be wise to pick up a small blasting cabinet, some aluminum oxide blast media, a small shop vac for dust collecting, and a compressor obviously. A small bench top blast cabinet will suit you just fine since fishing reels are relitivly small. Powder coating your reels shouldnt be a problem at all, just try to avoild spraying on any machined parts etc. I know from playing with some shimano reels back when i used to fish, you could take them a part relitivly easily, so like i said i do not see any problems at all. Good luck and feel free to ask any more questions.

[non-stick Experienced Metal Finisher Find all posts View Profile Close non-stick]

yeap... what he said,lol. Welcome to the "family".

[finaddict New User Find all posts View Profile Close finaddict]

Thanks for the info Tomg. I like the idea about the toaster oven because they are CHEAP! I've got a compressor, but I need to get a filter/dryer for it and we've got a blasting booth at work. The parts that I see I would be powder coating are very small, like reel body parts, aluminum reel seats and gimbals on fishing rods and just whatever I feel like needs a change in life. Still debating on if it would be worth the money to invest in this kit for the little bit I would be doing. I'm still gonna give it some serious thought because I'm real curious about it now. I will keep my eye on this board to gather more information and research.

Thanks for helping me out,
Steve

[non-stick Experienced Metal Finisher Find all posts View Profile Close non-stick]

ahhhh, the ever elusive fisherman. One of my favorite type of hobbyists. I can remember back in the days when I first started coating I wondered "what in the world are all these funny looking disks with holes in them?". Little did I know... the owner of the company was a fly fisherman and had himself a little hobby of collecting old reels and refinishing for his use. (hey... it was his place, he could do whatever he wants,lol). The answer is a most certainly "yes" to being able to use powder coating to what you wish it for. Tom is correct in saying that a "smaller" oven would be a good cost effective investment for you to purchase in this area as you are working "in miniature" for the most part. You'll find that for liquid coatings the salt spray tests (what the use to gauge a coatings effectiveness against the elements) ends at around 500 hours before the paint starts to seriously peel and flake away. Of course.... most powder coating salt spray tests don't even begin until 1500 hours! That's one of the major advantages to using powder as a coating, my friend. The investment you make now will repay you tenfold for years to come in fishing equipment. Not to mention.... all of your friends will more than likely want you to do thiers as well once they know your little "secret" is out. Therefore... your investment may eventually become a no-cost venture for you very quickly. Of course... I have only one question for you at this point as far as I'm concerned....... when are you taking me out to catch moby-trout? lol. Enjoy your new "hobby" my friend.... Russ