anyone here do their own powdercoating at home?

[volaredon]

Yeah I'm trying it anyway we'll see how it goes. I may well beat the coating off tightening them up
Who knows. Originally these ones are bare from new/ as are the spindles and brake caliper brackets anyway..... Like was said this is all a big experiment.
When I went to that PC class the "teacher" said there's a guy somewhere who does all the bolt heads for any given car, the ones that hold the body panels together.... I believe he primarily does them for tri 5 Chevy's
I guess does quite a bit, like more than just a side hustle, like makes enough to live on.

 

[B Body70]

Yeah I'm trying it anyway we'll see how it goes. I may well beat the coating off tightening them up
Who knows. Originally these ones are bare from new/ as are the spindles and brake caliper brackets anyway..... Like was said this is all a big experiment.
When I went to that PC class the "teacher" said there's a guy somewhere who does all the bolt heads for any given car, the ones that hold the body panels together.... I believe he primarily does them for tri 5 Chevy's
I guess does quite a bit, like more than just a side hustle, like makes enough to live on.

Interesting… you ever heard of doing engine blocks? I like powder just seems more durable but some people here don’t like it on suspension because of the touch up and parts not fitting. I’ve done a lot of mine and haven’t had any issues yet but don’t know how you match the color if it does get messed up. Think just over thinking it all here. Keep your progress coming. I find it pretty interesting…

 

[volaredon]

Well coating the bolts didn't go so well .. had to remove it because I couldn't get a socket in them and on the one side I ended up snapping a bolt (1/2" fine thread grade 8) cuz I got some on the threads and it bound up, these hold the caliper brackets to the spindle. Then had to heat the spindle ear like it was "loctite" to be able to get the stub out with a small pipe wrench.... Surprisingly it didn't hurt the coating as much as I thought it would on that ear I had to heat... It's barely seen anyway since the caliper bracket hides it...

 

[volaredon]

And in a cart before the horse moment
I bought one of what I think was one of the original Eastwood PC guns cheap on eBay. It's a single voltage, looks like it was never used and is even made in USA so that there says "old" huh.... Even though it says on the box.. "made FOR Eastwood".... Powder primer was brought up earlier in this thread I think before I coated anything, and it's still a "yeah you need it, no you don't" deal. I didn't prime any of what I done so far unless you count coating, baking til it just flows out, pull it out, recoat with same powder originally used, repeat. I basically used the same stuff as primer so far. . we'll see how well it works.
But my thoughts in getting the 2nd PC gun was to get some powder and keep the 2nd gun loaded up with that ("primer gun" as in painting) for anything I coat in the future.... I ain't done yet with parts for this truck.
And in the pix above the control arms and springs are painted with Sherwin Williams marine grade 2 part epoxy like the rest of the frame, everything that bolts to them is PC.

 

[B Body70]

And in a cart before the horse moment
I bought one of what I think was one of the original Eastwood PC guns cheap on eBay. It's a single voltage, looks like it was never used and is even made in USA so that there says "old" huh.... Even though it says on the box.. "made FOR Eastwood".... Powder primer was brought up earlier in this thread I think before I coated anything, and it's still a "yeah you need it, no you don't" deal. I didn't prime any of what I done so far unless you count coating, baking til it just flows out, pull it out, recoat with same powder originally used, repeat. I basically used the same stuff as primer so far. . we'll see how well it works.
But my thoughts in getting the 2nd PC gun was to get some powder and keep the 2nd gun loaded up with that ("primer gun" as in painting) for anything I coat in the future.... I ain't done yet with parts for this truck.
And in the pix above the control arms and springs are painted with Sherwin Williams marine grade 2 part epoxy like the rest of the frame, everything that bolts to them is PC.

All the powder I’ve had done these years there is no primer… I believe if you are powdering a part later and is already blasted that’s what I’ve herd you should do for the rust but it still needs some teeth before you color it. You are good the way you are doing it IMO… man, bummer for the bolts issues. Sounds like you have it worked out anyway…move on now right?? Yeah USA it’s old not so common these days…

 

[harrisonm]

Ok guys if you're out there
I did both sets of calipers tonight one set is done and cooled. The other set is still in the oven
I did them 2 at a time
I coated them then baked them, (longer than the "20 minutes") took them out, powdered them again and baked them again....
The 2nd set is in for its 2nd bake session. I haven't paid too much attention to the clock, but they've been in there about a 1/2 hour/ maybe more on the 2nd bake. I just shut the oven off.
On the first pair my wife had to go to the store and needed gas so I went with. Needed something at tractor supply anyway. I had shut down the oven and cracked open the door and let the first set cool and they were still quite warm when we got back. I ended up doing them in red. Then after I did the first set I thought it was a dumb idea for a color since everyone with their ricers paints their calipers red. But they're done. The oven is unplugged but I'm gonna just leave the 2nd set in there to cool overnight til I get home from work tomorrow. As good a place as any to let them cool. I ended up putting pistons in to coat and bake them, that expensive azz green tape don't stick worth a damn. It barely sticks to itself. I have a little bit of hardened powder to get out of the seal grooves, not all the way around. I worked on the first set a little doing that with a single edge razor blade. Got most of it.
Next question has to do with holding up to brake fluid. I was looking at PC type primers and in the descriptions (they had a zinc rich and an epoxy) especially on the zinc ones said something about being better for chemical exposure. Should I have primed these? I basically did with a base layer of the exact same powder you see.
I know if I'd have painted them no matter what I would have painted them with that brake fluid would eat the paint off pretty readily.
I had to get some (hopefully good) used disc brake shields from feebay yesterday, they're not here yet/ but the local junkyard puts all their stock on their belly without wheels and the rotors dig Into the ground and bend up and disintegrate/ turn to rust dust. Once those get here I have those plus a few pieces to do machinery gray.
And then it's back to black for the bolt heads that hold the spindles together and the brake brackets to the spindles.

View attachment 1716532188

View attachment 1716532189

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Those look really good. I knew you would be good at this. I agree that the green tape is garbage. It doesn't stick worth crap. I have been using this goldish yellow tape for several years, It works pretty well. I also use the 1/4" and 1/2" white fiberglass tape. Links are below. I get the gold colored tape from amazon, and the white fiberglass tape from Powder By the Pound. Eastwood RAPES you on the white fiberglass tape at $20. It is only $8 per roll at Powder by the Pound and I guarantee it is the same. I use the fiberglass tape primarily to protect threads on bolts and on other small things. I use the yellow/gold tape for everything else. I would have used it for the bores on the calipers, although using pistons certainly worked well. When I coat bolt heads, I take it easy on the amount of powder to avoid build up that would cause a socket not to work. I also warn the customer to be very careful when installing the bolt. Powder is very durable, but it can crack or chip if you manhandle it or over torque it. It is ALWAYS better to use a 6-sided socket with coated bolt heads, and sometimes it works nicely to wrap a little masking tape around the head and use a metric socket that is just a little bit bigger. For instance, a 13mm socket is just a teeny bit bigger than a 1/2" socket. So the 13mm may fit nicely on the coated 1/2" bolt head without tape, and a 14mm socket would probably fit OK on a coated 1/2" bolt head that had a little masking tape on it.
If you are coating bolts that you use Allen wrenches on, be very careful to not get too much powder in the 'hole' that the Allen wrench goes into. A metric Allen wrench a bit smaller may work if powder buildup is a problem. For instance, a 12mm Allen wrench is a bit smaller than a 1/2" one. Regardless, keep the powder off the threads. If ANY powder gets on them, chase them with a tap and die set.
Keep up the good work. Practice makes perfect. Your work looks great. It's only a matter of time before people start asking you to do parts for them. That's what happened to me.
Yellow/gold tape Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFN67OS?tag=fabo03-20
Powder by the Pound white fiberglass tape: White Fiberglass Cloth Masking Tape | 1/2" x 36yds | 500F

 

[harrisonm]

All the powder I’ve had done these years there is no primer… I believe if you are powdering a part later and is already blasted that’s what I’ve herd you should do for the rust but it still needs some teeth before you color it. You are good the way you are doing it IMO… man, bummer for the bolts issues. Sounds like you have it worked out anyway…move on now right?? Yeah USA it’s old not so common these days…

The only time I use primer is for parts that will be exposed to weather/rain/snow OR to fill in imperfections. A few heavy coats of powder primer will fill most rust pits in nicely. You will have to do a lot of sanding (320 grit dry sandpaper) to get the excess powder off, but you can fill in some pretty bad blemishes. For worse pits or even dents, I use regular J B Weld. It is rather hard to sand, so you will REALLY want to use thin coats and allow 24 hours for each coat to fully cure before sanding or coating. I have found that powder sticks to JB weld best of the part is very warm (200-250). The regular JB weld is good at up to 500 degrees, and the Quick J B Weld (5 minute cure) is only good to 350. So always use the regular stuff. The pits in the air cleaner below were all fixed with a few heavy coats of primer. When I quote a piece that will require a lot of work like the air cleaner below, I give a probable range and tell the customer that I charge $20 per hour for welding, grinding sanding, etc. That is very reasonable, but I am not ouy to make a killing.

 

[B Body70]

That’s nice… so you have to cure primer before you color? Can’t just do color over primer like you do more than one coat on a regular color job? But you say there is excess to sand off so you must be shooting it really heavy on those pits then…

 

[volaredon]

From what I understand //of what I have heard about using primer powder, if you're doing it back to back primer then color, you bake the primer til it just melts (not the 20 minutes total cure) take the parts out "hot"and coat them with your color and bake the whole time "20 min after the powder liquefies)
I think the sanding in between has to do with if you're just priming the parts to store and aren't doing the color right away
I believe someone brought this up right here, way earlier in the thread. I've never heard it "hurts" to prime, but that it can help. Remember I'm new to this too and learning as I go

I ain't redoing anything I have coated so far just for the sake of priming, but this is more for stuff I do in the future. And it will depend on what I'm doing, how it's gonna be used.

 

[harrisonm]

That’s nice… so you have to cure primer before you color? Can’t just do color over primer like you do more than one coat on a regular color job? But you say there is excess to sand off so you must be shooting it really heavy on those pits then…

I can tell you how I do it. If I am going to powder coat something that will be exposed to weather, I will appl on medium coat of primer, do a partial cure (maybe 8-10 minutes in the oven, then pull it out and spray it while the primer is still hot and melted. If I am filling in pits, I'll apply two heavy coats of primer and do a full cure on it (15 minutes or so depending on the primer). Then I will sand away mostly all of the primer with 320 grit dry sandpaper. Theoretically, the pits will all be filled in, and there will be very little primer left elsewhere

From what I understand //of what I have heard about using primer powder, if you're doing it back to back primer then color, you bake the primer til it just melts (not the 20 minutes total cure) take the parts out "hot"and coat them with your color and bake the whole time "20 min after the powder liquefies)
I think the sanding in between has to do with if you're just priming the parts to store and aren't doing the color right away
I believe someone brought this up right here, way earlier in the thread. I've never heard it "hurts" to prime, but that it can help. Remember I'm new to this too and learning as I go

I ain't redoing anything I have coated so far just for the sake of priming, but this is more for stuff I do in the future. And it will depend on what I'm doing, how it's gonna be used.

I know some people who spray color on primer right after it melts, and that's OK. I just like to let it cure for a few minutes. You are right when you say that a primed part will need to be sanded prior to powder coating if it was primed and then stored. I sand primer when I am filling in pits and other blemishes.

 

[B Body70]

I can tell you how I do it. If I am going to powder coat something that will be exposed to weather, I will appl on medium coat of primer, do a partial cure (maybe 8-10 minutes in the oven, then pull it out and spray it while the primer is still hot and melted. If I am filling in pits, I'll apply two heavy coats of primer and do a full cure on it (15 minutes or so depending on the primer). Then I will sand away mostly all of the primer with 320 grit dry sandpaper. Theoretically, the pits will all be filled in, and there will be very little primer left elsewhere

I know some people who spray color on primer right after it melts, and that's OK. I just like to let it cure for a few minutes. You are right when you say that a primed part will need to be sanded prior to powder coating if it was primed and then stored. I sand primer when I am filling in pits and other blemishes.

That's so cool, how did you figure out the JB processes? keep your projects coming this thread is very informanted...

 

[volaredon]

On stored parts to be coated later
Could you take that primed part, stuff it in the oven, heat it up again then put the final color onto it? And not sand/ scuff?

This is something I plan to do a little down the road. Something I want to do but there's a few other projects/jobs "in the way".
I picked up a set of factory 90ish to 93 aluminum 15" wheels for a D150. They're kind of scuzzy, peeled, oxidized etc but no road rash or other damage. I want to PC them. I want to do the main wheel in one color for now and for arguments sake let's say argent like the 70s rally wheels were and then in the holes I want to do something different. How do you do the varying colors on the same given part? I've seen valve covers where the ribs are different color than the main cover sort of deal before. Also just like we're talking primer underneath the main color what about clear coat? Is that strictly a standalone deal over bare metal? Or can I do clear powder over an existing (but fresh) PC job?

 

[volaredon]

Ever since I was even thinking about getting into this stuff , before I actually bought anything needed to get into the PC thing , I was thinking about our own cuda chick// as that's what she did, was powdercoating. I remember some of the pix she had posted of the work she did, I wish she was still around, to bounce some of these questions off of. She did a lot of the special effects kind of thing, flakes, sparkle, multi color on one part, etc...

 

[harrisonm]

On stored parts to be coated later
Could you take that primed part, stuff it in the oven, heat it up again then put the final color onto it? And not sand/ scuff?

This is something I plan to do a little down the road. Something I want to do but there's a few other projects/jobs "in the way".
I picked up a set of factory 90ish to 93 aluminum 15" wheels for a D150. They're kind of scuzzy, peeled, oxidized etc but no road rash or other damage. I want to PC them. I want to do the main wheel in one color for now and for arguments sake let's say argent like the 70s rally wheels were and then in the holes I want to do something different. How do you do the varying colors on the same given part? I've seen valve covers where the ribs are different color than the main cover sort of deal before. Also just like we're talking primer underneath the main color what about clear coat? Is that strictly a standalone deal over bare metal? Or can I do clear powder over an existing (but fresh) PC job?

You might be able to. I have never tried it. I sand primer on stored parts to not only smooth out any orange peel, but to give the primer some 'tooth' for the topcoat powder to stick to. Then I get the part hot and then spray on the colored top coat. Make sure you have a good ground. You might have to use a file or something to get to a small bare metal spot where the hanging hook touches the part. Try an experiment. Prime a piece of scrap steel, let it completely cool off, and then spray the topcoat.
I have been painting cars for 45 years. I know I must sand/scuff primer on a car before spraying on the topcoat. I just transfer that habit to powder coating. Maybe it is unnecessary, but I do it anyway.

 

[harrisonm]

flakes, sparkle, multi color on one part, etc...

Flakes and sparkle is easy. Eastwood has a powder called Cosmic Clear (CC). If I wand sparkle, I take the part out of the oven, spray on a light to medium coat of the CC, put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, then take it out and spray a coat of high gloss clear on top while still hot. it looks great. You DO have to be very careful when spraying clear on a hot surface. It is too easy to get too much on. Then you can get sags and drips just like with paint. You can let the part cool down to about 175 if you want to be more careful.
Also, I mix the CC with regular high gloss clear at about 1:1, If I don't do this, there is too much sparkle for me. Unfortunately, I don't have any good closeups of the sparkle. You might be able to see it in the pumpkin and the peacock. You would be surprised how much yard art I powder coat. And here is a picture of the 4-color job I did on my valve covers and air cleaner lid.

 

[volaredon]

I would eventually like to figure out how to do jobs like what you did in those valve covers

 

[Ceedawg]

I’m not sure it’s good to powder coat wheels, anything aluminum, the heat could do something to that material. I heard this a long time ago ago. One guy did a 4130 CM chassis, it got to hot and messed up the integrity of the steel. Just throwing this out there to be safe.

 

[MMissile]

Aluminum requires the parts to be "out-gassed". My friend who owns QC Coatings, sometimes has to do it multiple times.. depending on how poor the quality of the material is.
His shop does Chrome-Moly racecars, all the time. They have decades of experience, and know correct procedures for different materials and applications.

On a side note, it used to be that welds on moly, were suggested to be stress relieved. Look at the old Mopar bibles....

 

[Icetech]

Aluminum requires the parts to be "out-gassed". My friend who owns QC Coatings, sometimes has to do it multiple times.. depending on how poor the quality of the material is.
His shop does Chrome-Moly racecars, all the time. They have decades of experience, and know correct procedures for different materials and applications.

On a side note, it used to be that welds on moly, were suggested to be stress relieved. Look at the old Mopar bibles....

QC did the sidepipes on my ffr cobra.. and some other stuff for me over the years, good people

 

[volaredon]

I've heard of people powder coating aluminum rims before.
I've also seen some pretty crappy aftermarket aluminum wheels. When I worked at sears a Camaro came in at the last minute for tire work, and the bead seat area cracked on the tire machine. It had a set of wheels on it I had never heard of. Come to find out later it was a cheap knockoff brand. Mine are a factory set of Mopar wheels as used on early 90s trucks and vans. Which hopefully means they're better than some aftermarket ones (quality wise) and they'll withstand the heat needed for power to melt.

 

[harrisonm]

I've heard of people powder coating aluminum rims before.
I've also seen some pretty crappy aftermarket aluminum wheels. When I worked at sears a Camaro came in at the last minute for tire work, and the bead seat area cracked on the tire machine. It had a set of wheels on it I had never heard of. Come to find out later it was a cheap knockoff brand. Mine are a factory set of Mopar wheels as used on early 90s trucks and vans. Which hopefully means they're better than some aftermarket ones (quality wise) and they'll withstand the heat needed for power to melt.

Aluminum requires the parts to be "out-gassed". My friend who owns QC Coatings, sometimes has to do it multiple times.. depending on how poor the quality of the material is.
His shop does Chrome-Moly racecars, all the time. They have decades of experience, and know correct procedures for different materials and applications.

On a side note, it used to be that welds on moly, were suggested to be stress relieved. Look at the old Mopar bibles....

First, MMisile is right about outgassing. I powder Coat aluminum all the time, and I always run the parts through a 45 minute cycle or two in my oven. Even if a part looks good, impurities can cause bubbles if you don't. And, of course, I have to charge the customer for that extra handling and oven time. I will say this; I don't like doing wheels. I will do them, but I don't like to. They are a pain to do.

 

[harrisonm]

There have been a few questions about applying primer, sanding primer and fixing dents. I have a few pictures that can help a bit with a few of the questions. I recently powder coated a strange looking air cleaner for a 56 Studebaker. It had several rust holes that had to be repaired and a BUNCH of dents. I don't have a before picture to show the rust holes.
1. First, I cut out the rusty spots and welded in little patch panels. Then I ground the welds smooth and applied a skim coat of regular JB Weld. It is like applying body filler. Then I filled in all of the dents with JB Weld. Make sure you use the 24 hour cure type. It's good up to 500 degrees, and the 5 minute cure type is only good to about 350. As you can see in the first two pictures, I had to apply a lot of JB.
2. the JB is hard to sand, so don't apply too much. I block sand with 320 grit dry until the repair is smooth and undetectable. Sometimes I will use 220 first to knack down the JB and then switch to 320. If I am not going to coat the part in primer, I will smooth it out a bit with 400 dry. If I only repair a few places and am coating with a dark color, I usually don't use primer.
3. Then I coated the entire air cleaner with two coats of primer. I get the part hot (over 300 degrees) before applying the primer. It sticks better to the JB that way. Then I block sand the primer with 320 grit dry until the entire is smooth and the repairs are undetectable.
4. Then I coated the part with semi-gloss black. I get the part hot (over 300 degrees) before coating. Powder sticks to a part that has JB coated by primer better if the part is hot. People call the Hot Flocking. The customer was very happy with the part.

 

[volaredon]

I haven't done anything PC lately, for one thing the oven had to be bounced outside of the garage as I had to replace the windows on that wall of the garage... one of which is directly behind the only possible open spot the oven can sit.. Just getting the rest of the crap inside shifted back around where I can work, trying to decide if I want to remount the big industrial fan I had mounted on the wall over the other window I replaced in the same place I had it was or somewhere else..... It has a 2 speed motor, and low is too low, high is too high, and I have to switch wires at the motor (a pain to do where I had it) to switch speeds. Among other things within that space

 

[volaredon]

Haven't been by the body shop that has my truck body in a couple of weeks, he's swamped with hail damage cars.... I had to go by and see if he's made any progress though, have to stick my head in there whenever I can to make sure they know I haven't lost interest, am serious about getting the job done etc. stopped by yesterday and showed them some of My PC parts and they were quite impressed.... They asked me who did them, I told them I did myself and told them some of what I've done PC on for this truck, they were all interested all of a sudden in where I get supplies, where I went/ how I learned to do it, that sort of thing. I told them what Ive gotten done on the frame since I've been there last, talked to them about where Im at with the engine and trans, etc.

 

[harrisonm]

Haven't been by the body shop that has my truck body in a couple of weeks, he's swamped with hail damage cars.... I had to go by and see if he's made any progress though, have to stick my head in there whenever I can to make sure they know I haven't lost interest, am serious about getting the job done etc. stopped by yesterday and showed them some of My PC parts and they were quite impressed.... They asked me who did them, I told them I did myself and told them some of what I've done PC on for this truck, they were all interested all of a sudden in where I get supplies, where I went/ how I learned to do it, that sort of thing. I told them what Ive gotten done on the frame since I've been there last, talked to them about where Im at with the engine and trans, etc.

Time for you to print up some business cards. That is how I started. A few people saw what I did, and one of them, brought me some stuff. Then more people saw what I did....... My brother-in-law had a high-end painter here in town paint his 67 Chevelle SS 396 about a year ago. I had powder coated a bunch of things on the car including the inner fender wells. A few weeks ago, that guy called me and asked me if I would be interested in powder coating a few things for one of his customer's cars. I did the job and he was very happy. Another person who specializes in custom car work and high-end paint jobs here was painting a car of a friend that I had powder coated a lot of stuff on. He called me too. Now I have two high end painters and car restorers who call me when something on a customer's car needs to be powder coated. Your work is being noticed in a positive way. It's only a matter of time before the phone calls start coming in for your services.