Dave,
Powder coating is NOT difficult. I use a powder coating gun that I bought from Harbor Freight for $69 and it does just fine. Eastwood also has a lower cost hobbyist gun, as well as, a more expensive commercial type. I bake the parts in a used kitchen stove I bought for $75 from the want ads in the newspaper. It does limit the size of the parts I can coat, but has worked great so far. The major cost involved with getting set up is the oven, at least, if you want one larger than you standard kitchen oven (but don't use the wife's!) There are instruction and plans for building your own large oven on the internet, and this would allow you to greatly reduce this cost.
Eastwood sells a great silicone plug and cover kit for protecting threads and other close fit parts. They also sell a fiberglass tape, which alone or in combination with aluminum foil is great for masking.
The quality of the powder you use will have a lot to do with the results. I use Eastwood powders and have had no complaints with it. Also, as mentioned, cleanliness is paramount. To that end, I clean all parts and wipe them down with acetone prior to applying the powder. Another thing one needs to be aware of is the porosity of aluminum. It is a good idea to pre-bake aluminum and it is imperative with used aluminum parts. If you don't do this, any volatiles in the metal will off gas during baking and cause bubbling under the coating.
Powder Coating 101 You will find this and many other primers in the
Eastwood Tech Library.
Regards,
Lynn
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