Hey guys, though I appreciate the referrals and compliments, I see no reason not to support Brian in his quest to learn more on his own and help in any way we can.
All powder coaters start off somewhere, and cheap "hobby guns" are the typical introduction to the industry. I'd recommend buying one to see if you enjoy the work rather than spend a bunch of money on better equipment and then later decide it's not for you. (The first time that sucker gives you a 100,000 kilovolt jolt and you pitch it across the garage, at least you won't be out a lot of money when it crashes into a zillion pieces.)
Eastwood is NOT the way to go though. Most everything you see in their catalog can be bought outright from its manufacturer (they just slap their labels on stuff and mark it up 40-60% to sell it to the public). "Their" powders are made by other suppliers as well, and from what I've seen of it have to guess they typically sit on a shelf in their hot warehouse for a long time because they arrive chunky and generally unusable. You can find fresh powders in a wider range of colors elsewhere if you do a little research.
When the time came to upgrade my own curing oven, I did my homework, saw what was available on the open market and decided to build my own rather than finance somebody else's retirement fund. They aren't cheap and you don't always get what you pay for, so start out with an old used ELECTRIC oven (hit Craig's List), coat a few pulleys and brackets and see if you like it.
I wish you the best of luck! I'm here for tech advice as things arise ... feel free to give me a call if I can help you out with particulars.
