New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

[KwikKatt]

Thank you all for having me!! ....so now I'll bore you with questions and other augle-boggle.

I'm about to purchase a powder coating kit for my pieces on a older car restoration. Some of these parts are pot metal, and some are stainless. My car is a 70 Cougar that I want to give the "Eliminator " look. This requires a satin black finish on these parts. I have read/searched the forums and have a great deal of confusion, so I'll shoot this to you -the forum guys, and you can just point me in the right direction, cause any help will be appriciated after all the forum seaches (WHEW!!!)

a.) pot metal parts cannot be powdercoated?
b.) if they can, they require pre-backing to prevent outgassing?
c.) pit must be filled with lab metal or caswell pit filler?
d.) why do the heat/cool down to 150 then coat rule?

..so there you have it. Like I said, new to all this, sorry if there dumb but maybe some day I'll be able coat like you pro's -BTW..Loved all the PC galleries. You guys are goooooood!!

[mikekozura]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

First of all welcome to the forum. Second of all my dad taught me the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. I'm not a pro far from it but there's a lot of them on here. I stared using the 150 rule for top coats to get them to stick and now I don't shut any part cold. Pre heat every part let cool to 120 to 150 and shut. A lot less powder on the floor that way. Just keep check'n in the big boys will help ya. Good luck

[pickleboy]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Thank you all for having me!!
a.) pot metal parts cannot be powdercoated?
b.) if they can, they require pre-backing to prevent outgassing?
c.) pit must be filled with lab metal or caswell pit filler?
d.) why do the heat/cool down to 150 then coat rule?

welcome to the board bro.
A) any metal that can handle the cure temp can be pc'ed.
B)this is true on most pot metal.
C)this is true. also you can use jb weld original not quick set but it sometimes has lots of pinholes as it is sanded smooth.
D) the main reason for this is if you are outgassing the part then you pull it out of the oven let it cool to 150 and shoot while still warm. it will help the powder attraction as mike said and less waste. it also will help you see if you missed areas that might be light on the coverage.
last tip i can give is when you find/make an area to spray the powder, get as much light in there as you can the more shadowy areas you have in the spray booth the more mistakes will be made.

[KwikKatt]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Mike/Pickleboy..thanks so much! I guess if you can remember your first time(no, not that one!) powdering, I'm alittle nervous about puttin parts in and having 'em turn out crummy -especially cause if you read the plating forum about pot metal (why the hell did automakers create this?) problems. So I guess by my questions Im gettin the jist of this. I hope...

If anyone else wants to chime in, send it down the pipe!

[FSTFBDY]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

If your poymetal pieces are chrome and nickle plated Id have em striped 1st.

Like the guys above said. Shoot em warm.
If you mess up drop em in some carb cleaner and blast em and try again.

Good Luck and post Pic's

[machone]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Welcome Katt
Stick around, these guys will teach you alot. They got me hooked
mach

[sswee]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Welcome,
I have done several pot metal parts on restorations and not had any problems. They were all stripped of chrome and properly out gassed. The only part that I had to redo was the first one because I didn't outgas long enough and it had a few bumps on it. The first rule I learned was to not get in a rush and do the proper prep.
SS

[KwikKatt]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

....ok, I get my parts back from the sandblast guy on friday. I'm ordering my PC Kit today. I will definitely use proper gloves to handle parts. It is best to outgas when my kit arrives, and then shoot hot (150 rule) And this is the technique to do right guys?

pre warm oven to 350
insert part and wait till PART achieves 350 (taken by IR temp gun of course!)
remove to quik clean?(with what?) -then cool to 150 and shoot
enjoy a part in all its gleeming glory!

if I'm missing something point it out guys! Because I'm on my way to being a (trumpets play majestically in the background, champaigne falls from the heavens..pretty girls dance etc..etc..) kick-butt PC'er like you guys!

[mikekozura]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

This is what I do ;

1. clean and prep part
2. preheat oven to 400
3. put part in oven
4. pregas time depends on the part, new part or part that never had grease or oil on it like quad a-arms something steel that never has came in contact with grease or oil I just go a cure cycle like 20 to 30 min.. Something like a used aluminum valve cover [email protected] I heard up to hours never did one.
5. remove part (DO NOT TOUCH) let cool to about 120 to 150
6. shoot part
7. return part to oven now what I do is wait until the powder is flowed out then start the timer for what ever the powder says all the powder i have done was 20-25 min. I do 25 min. from that point. I mean I could be wrong I've never checked the part temp but I think it's there.

I did my kids 16" bike that way he rides it at the motocross track between motos and jumps off and lets it roll until it falls over and it still looks good to me.

hope this helps

[sswee]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

I do close to mikekozura with only a couple of minor differences. I outgas at the cure temp of the powder being used plus 25 to 50 degrees for 20 to 30 min on parts with no oil contamination. Parts with oil I do the same but pull and check for any contamination, reclean if their are any signs and repeat the outgas step. Parts should be ready to coat after the outgas step. And like you said, all time and temps are according to part temp.
SS

[FSTFBDY]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Ive always outgased at a Higher Temp then the cure temps. I'll outgas for 20min once the parts reach a 400-425*

If oil seeps out of some spots (harley frames,etc) I'll reclean em again.
I wipe everything down with denatured Alky befor anything gets coated.
Some times I shoot at the 150* some times I shoot cold.

practice,practice,practice. Shoot a scrap part 1st to get use to your gun.

[pickleboy]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

7. return part to oven now what I do is wait until the powder is flowed out then start the timer for what ever the powder says all the powder i have done was 20-25 min. I do 25 min. from that point. I mean I could be wrong I've never checked the part temp but I think it's there.

just a tidbit of info to think about on this part of the process. and not to say that mike is wrong, it has most likely worked and been right for the parts he has done. when doing small, lightweight or tubular parts the part will come up to temp fairly quick so mikes process is most likely ok. on heavy parts like engine block, wheels and such the difference between flow out, which can occur between 275-350 degrees, and the final cure temp of say 400 degrees may take longer than the 25 minutes. and the cure cycle truly doesn't start till the part gets to say 400. i know this is nit picking but it can save a job from redo. it is costly, but not as much as a hobby gun, invest in a laser thermometer. it will save headaches in the long run on larger parts. especially if, like me, your oven is slow to come up to temp.

[sswee]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

A second on what pickle said.
I just did a flywheel off an outboard motor that took over a hour to get to temp. The other alum parts I did came up to oven temp 5-10 minutes after the oven got to the temp setting.
SS

[KwikKatt]

Re: New to Forum ...and oh my God are there questions!

Well thanks fellas... I can't wait to give this a go. Really appriciate all the time and info you guys gave...beers on me!!