Powdercoating knowledge.....do you have any?

[chrisroberts916]

Originally Posted by decentZ89

my kit just came via fedex today..the oven we have at work is HUGE but it doesnt have a window..i feel as though this will cause some difficulty as the instructions state after flow out you bake for 20 min..im not gonna know what the part begins to flow

It glosses over in a minute or two and time is not dead set you can cook over or under couple minutes. I bake all mine at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 min. Most times say so many minutes after the piece is up to temp. I preheat EVERYTHING now. That really helps.

[zookie400]

Originally Posted by kfxguy

Ok, I figured I'd start a thread for the people who know how to pc and for those wanting to or just starting out...like me. So for you guys that know how to, would you mind lending us some tips/tricks and do's and don'ts. Like:

How do you know how thick is too thick. Or too thin?
its very much like paint, thin even coverage is best, too thick and it will run. you can always add more (unless you are doing transparents, then you only have one chance)

Transferring to the oven and a little powder comes off what do you do
spraythe part HOT, the powder will start to melt and wont just blow off. also, this helps keep the outgassing at minimum.

Do you get a better result on a part if it is completely smooth. Or does the pc fill in fine scratches?
pc will fill sandblasting marks made from coarse aluminum oxide (black beauty) which is pretty good, but it will not fill in the stamped VIN numbers. you can coat once, sand down, recoat, repeat to fill in pits, or there is PC'able epoxy out there (works like bondo)

How far away should you stand when spraying?
6-8 is a good distance, but you will learn by experience where the best gun placement is depending on what you want done.

Can you powder it outside on something to hang it on over the grass and then transport it to your oven? How easy does the powder come off when fresh out the gun? (uncured)
you can, especially if the part is hot like i stated above.

Do you plug off all holes? Do you leave the plugs in while baking? Can you mask things off and remove tape before putting in oven without disturbing the powder?
i love the silicone plugs. PC'ing and tapping holes later is a bad idea, becasue you are chipping the PC before its even on the MX track. it will rust under and flake away starting at all th spots you tapped. the tape works but not well. it gets the job done for external masking, but it will shrivel up and fall off as soon as the part goes into the oven. a pita if you have multiple coats to do.

Hopefully this will answer some questions I have and some others have.

a few other pointers i have would be:
-bake the part for 15 minutes at 450 prior to putting powder on it. this will get rid of any water, and will show smoke and brown spots where there may be missed oil or wax
-spray the part HOT. its much easier, and really helps on a frame where faraday effect is your worst enemy.
-if faraday is preventing you from covering an area, stop charging the part and spray just like regular paint. if course, the part needs to be HOT for this to work otherwise the powder will hit the part and fall to the floor.
-prep work is very important, just like painting
-phosphatizer will really help adhesion and prevent rusting from underneath
-aluminum outgasses, GET OUTGAS FORGIVING AGENTor your truck rims will be full of fisheyes.
-i get better coverage and an overall smoother application using the lowest pressure possible. it is much slower. the high pressure will get the job done quick but you waste a lot of powder and end up with random thick spots on the part, that could end up being runs.
-for multi stage coatings, only the final stage should be a high gloss. dont try to lay blue candy over mirror black...its just going to peel like a tourist on a florida beach.
-keep in mind the curing temp and times are based on part temp, not oven temp. a little guess work is involved here if you dont have a fancy PMT thermometer but as a basic rule i add 5 minutes to cook time (on a preheated part and oven) and it has worked well for me so far.