At home powder coating and Eastwoods IR cure system.

[proxlamus]

Hey guys,

 

I've been looking into powder coating but it sure adds up taking it to a shop. I've been looking into Eastwoods at home powder coating setup with a IR curing lamp.

 

http://www.eastwood.com/ir-cure-system-with-dual-voltage-gun.html

 

 

The other option is to buy a used oven, but that takes up some space in the garage.

 

Does anyone have any experience or have advice on such a setup?

 

Thanks!

[NewZed]

IR is infrared, and it's basically another name for radiant heat.  The system is a powerful heat lamp that melts the powder from the outside.  Probably possible to find a set of conditions that work, but I wouldn't try it unless I had lots of throwaway parts to test on.

 

Thick parts really need to be pre-heated, or heat-cured to get a good consistent, well-bonded, finish.  Power coating is simple in concept but developing a good process takes time.  I can't imagine setting up an IR lamp that's hot enough to melt and cure a powder in an interior of car, unless the interior was devoid of rubber and glass.

 

You'd probably get a better idea of how it works if they supplied the instruction book.  " included instruction booklet's cure charts to determine how frequently the light should be moved."

 

I'd think that any coating that could be cured using this system wouldn't be a very durable coating.  Edit- actually there are low temperature powders out there that might cure to be fairly durable.  Used for furniture for example.  You'd want to spend some time defining what you're expecting from the coating before choosing a system.  I can't imagine curing one area at a time without getting a blotchy appearance.

Edited April 29, 2016 by NewZed

[Jay Gadsby]

I have used their dual voltage system, but work with an old oven and a bunch of jigs and stands we welded up for hanging the parts. The gun works good, just have to watch your trigger squeeze, just like a paint gun. No info on the IR light,but if you go that way, please post up.

[proxlamus]

After looking around I found some used Ovens on Craigslist for $100 and I have a 240v outlet in the garage for my plasma cutter and air compressor. Seems like this might be a better route.

 

However the IR curing light/heater would be useful if I wanted to coat something that was too big to fit into the oven. Hmmm.

 

http://www.superstreetonline.com/how-to/additional-tech/1405-do-it-yourself-powdercoating/

 

This article is pretty slick about using the lamp. One of the pictures shows aluminum foil used to create a makeshift oven for a part that was too big to fit into a kitchen oven.

 

http://image.superstreetonline.com/f/70428333+w+h+q80+re0+cr1/do-it-yourself-powdercoating-foil-oven-11

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

I do all my powder coating with Eastwood's kit. I love it. I will never paint anything again, unless I have no other choice.

 

I've had very good luck with a repurposed conventional electric home oven. For large parts the IR lamps will work, but I'd recommend having some sort of IR thermometer to test the surface of the part, as it bakes. Move the lamps, as need be, to insure even heating. Thermocouples are very helpful. You should contact Ryan, (cockerstar) I was fairly sure he operates a powder coating business.

Edited April 29, 2016 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[seattlejester]

badjuju built an oversized oven with a steel cabinet and heat lamp. If you want the powder to stick it is true you really want the part fairly hot, but If it is just a thinner awkward piece you can use a heat lamp that has a high enough temp range to get the powder to run.  

[88dangerdan]

http://www.homediystuff.com/building-a-diy-oven-from-filing-cabinet/

I picked up a cabinet the other day and going to give this a try

[seattlejester]

Recommend rollers for the bottom unless you have a permanent spot. Makes it real easy to move around. And you can put a hole in the bottom of it to washout out as long as you keep the heating elements detachable.

[socorob]

look on youtube,several people built ovens using steel studs, sheet metal, rockwool insulation and a couple oven heating elements. You can make it as big as you need.

[Hypertek]

I got the cheap harbor freight setup and a toaster oven. I did my fender mirrors.. Came out pretty good. Just dont use their powder coats since they are not UV stable. but powder coat by the pound is cheap online.

 

 

Cheap alternative if you just want to do small parts that can fit into a toaster oven. I got the toaster oven at walmart, tried to get the cheapest biggest one possible. I havent done any thing else.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Hypertek

[calpoly-z]

I did some powdercoating in college. Did a bunch of Z parts and few other misc things. Bought an Eastwood kit and a toaster oven to start out, then found a cheap oven on craigslist. The inside of the oven wasn't very large though, so to do things like valve covers we made an insulated cover that fit over the opened door and sealed up to the oven. Worked really well and doubled the size of our baking area. The trick to good powder coating though, is more about having really clean parts. For coating old car parts, a media blaster is an absolute must. We made a cheap blast cabinet too with a HF blast gun and a large clear rubbermaid container. Far from pretty, but surprisingly functional.  The IR lamp may work for you, but I think it would be pretty difficult to make sure the powder was cured all over the entire piece and I think you'd wind up having to move it a lot and curing parts would take 5 times as long as in an oven. 

 

Good luck with whatever method you go with. I would like to get back into powdercoating when I have the space again.