Powdercoated items?

[Firebird Phoenix]

So I have a chance to buy a nice powdercoating gun at a decent price. Since I do not have a job(full time student) and need money bad I was thinking of purchasing it and maybe powdercoating items for people? If there is enough interest in it, then I may do it. I'd have to start off with small stuff as i'd only beable to buy something cheap like a small conventional toaster oven so parts about the size of control arms or around that size. So brackets, etc items? Would anyone be interested in possible powdercoated parts? I haven't figured what I would charge but not that much as cost of cleaning(cheaper if you do it yourself), prep, and powder is not to terrible so yeah. Is there that big of a powdercoat F-body market out there? discuss or w/e.....

~Ja~

[APRILS Z]

Re: Powdercoated items?

the mods mite delete this your pretty close to what most sites consider this Sponsor stuff just my 2 cents

[97rs4life]

Re: Powdercoated items?

people have offered it in the past and every time it has turned into nothing. People talked about getting it done and then they wouldn't actually send stuff to those people that offered it.

So is there a big powdercoating market out there, not really. Just to help ya out.

[Loochy88]

Re: Powdercoated items?

... thats because a professional powdercoat finish is not that easy to attain. people will want to see pictures of your results before sending you parts/money. there will always be a market for this stuff. lets see some examples of your work when you get to that point.

[Firebird Phoenix]

Re: Powdercoated items?

... thats because a professional powdercoat finish is not that easy to attain. people will want to see pictures of your results before sending you parts/money. there will always be a market for this stuff. lets see some examples of your work when you get to that point.

Problem with that is I would have to buy the stuff and do some stuff(more buying items) and then see if people would be interested. But I do see your point......... I guess this will have to wait due to money issues for initial startup and no promise of business

[Fireball27]

Re: Powdercoated items?

Thats a shame.

[vintageagain]

Re: Powdercoated items?

I have a powder coating setup with a conventional oven [30'' kitchen oven]. I chose the craftsman because it did not require a compressor and i use eastwood powder because they have a better selection. The results are great, but I did not want to start out just painting parts just like Loochy88 said. Different powders have different characterisitcs. For example satin black is a flat black and you can coat numerous layers "lazily" and obtain a good finish. However, glossy colors require more prep work and careful coating, and second coats on the glossy powders are difficult to obtain without messing up the overall look. So make sure when you are shooting the powder that your setup allows you to coat an entire side where you won't miss sections of the substrate.

Look around your garage/house, i'm sure you'll find some metal which will fit in your oven. Perhaps sheet metal, pulleys, bar stock ect. You don't need to have a lot of metal to practice. Once you've tried to do it once, strip it back down and try again. Powder is realtively cheap [$50 for 2lbs, or $6 for 8oz] buy in bulk and you'll save money.

As for getting started...I went with a craftsman powder gun, its cheap and doesn't require a compressor. A toaster oven is great but really limits the size of your parts. I found a 30'' conventional kitchen oven on the side of the road with a sign on it that said "free it works". I took it home wired 220 to my detached garage for about $275 [wire is expensive if you have to run a lot of it]. The powder i got from eastwood as i mentioned. Make sure that you have a drill with a wirewheel to start for the stripping of the paint/rust/surface material of your parts. Wear latex gloves so grease won't transfer to your part and make sure you use a good degresser before applying powder. I use dupont's two stage first/final clean.

If you do what i did then it will run you about $500 to start. But you get professional results and this isn't just an automotive trade, you can do anything metal. Be patient, practice and Good Luck.