DIY Powder Coating and Media Blasting

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
For a while I did some powder coating using the Harbor Freight unit (Powder Coating Gun with 10-30 PSI Powder Coating System) and a combo microwave/convection oven I found on Craig's list. The HF unit works OK although it is somehwat of a hassle to set up since I have to change the regulator on my compressor and there are a lot of wires to mess with along with the coater, it's electrics box, and the clumsy bottles it uses to store the powder.

The oven was a disaster in that I did several jobs that had worse orange peel than I expected, and finally I tried some clear that simply didn't harden fully. Having eliminated all the other possibilities I checked the oven and found that when set to 450 it was topping out at 350. Stupid me for not using an IR thermometer but I had misplaced mine.

Next step was the largest toaster oven I could find at Target, for <$100. Checked it immediately: got a little over 450.

At about the same time I got an e-mail from Alsa Corp. (makers of the soft feel paint) with an introductory offer of their new powder coat gun for ~$80. Looking at it I realized immediately it's the more self-contained one that Sears used to sell, and ordered it.

Powder Coating System

It is far easier to use than the HF unit, partly because it is easier to get an even powder flow, and because it is so easy to set up. In fact, these days I just leave it on the bench near an outside door loaded with satin black powder, and whenever I make a little box or bracket I just turn on the oven, grab the gun, shoot the part and bake it for ~45 minutes. Done.

In case you haven't done/experienced powder coating, the resulting surface beats any Rustoleum satin-black paint job I ever did hands dow, especially for durability but also because I don't have to wait 24 hrs for the work to harden while worrying that I'll find some bug embedded in the paint. If I don't like the powder result I can either sand and lay on another coat or I can blast it all off and go again. Done over in 45 min.

Speaking of blasting, as kind of a lark I bought the Harbor Freight 15 lb soda blaster and am surprised and happy to say it works very well.

Soda Blaster - 15 Lb. Portable Soda Blaster

I have a large blast cabinet in which I have used glass beads, aluminum oxide, plastic media, etc., but I really resent the shop space that thing takes up given how frequently I use it.

With the HF unit and soda (their XL grade) material removal rates are similar to what I got with the blast cabinet with glass beads at ~12 CFM. It took just a few minutes to strip the battery compartment lid of my SPF GT40 (which BTW just barely fits in the toaster oven).

But with the soda blaster I just take it out in the driveway, blast the part, sweep up or hose away the soda, and I'm done.

$75 for the blaster with my July 4th 25% coupon; $40 for a bag of soda.
 
Alan

Looks like you got a steal on the Alsa gun; they're charging $200 now.

I've used the HF powerdercoater for a couple of years (just weekend here-and-there use). It is pretty easy to use, but it seems to me like you end up wasting a lot of powder. Also kind of makes a mess when pouring the powder from the gun jar back into the storage jar. I use Eastwood powders, by the way.

I agree with your assessment of powdercoating. If you can fit it in an oven and the part can withstand 400 deg F, powerdercoating is a great way to finish a part. Just a note, be careful when powdercoating mating parts. Powdercoat is thick and you can easily make two parts no longer fit together (yes, I found that out the hard way).

I think the powder is polyester, isn't it?

By the way, the first time I did powdercoating I was deathly afraid of the curing process stinking up the whole house, because there were so many warnings about that. Not a big deal, though, really. You can barely smell it, at least from my oven. I just run the stove vent with no adverse side effects in the house.

Eric
 

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
Looks like you got a steal on the Alsa gun; they're charging $200 now.

I've used the HF powerdercoater for a couple of years (just weekend here-and-there use). It is pretty easy to use, but it seems to me like you end up wasting a lot of powder. Also kind of makes a mess when pouring the powder from the gun jar back into the storage jar. I use Eastwood powders, by the way.

It was a steal, but not quite as good as it looks, because the $200 deal comes with a bunch of powder; I just got the gun itself, some hooks, some plugs and some silicone tape, all of which I already had.

BTW I think you can find the Sears Craftsman one on ebay from time to time.

What you said is exactly why I don't like the HF one, along with the fact that it stops and starts and spits and needs you to shake the gun to keep it going. So far the Alsa gun has been completely constant in powder delivery, except of course when it's starting to run out of powder.

There's an unexploited neatness possibility with the Alsa gun: if we can get extra cartridges we can just leave them loaded with different powders and swap cartridges as necessary. However, when I bought the gun I asked about extra cartridges and at the time they didn't have them.

Yeah I use Eastwood as well. There are cheaper alternatives but at the rate I use the stuff it's not worth messing with.
 
Alan and others. I went on Ebay and found several powder coaters. One by WAI posted for Summitt Racing for $131 that looks a lot like the one you posted.
WAI Powder Coat System 01-07100 | eBay
Two by Eastwood for $82 and $101. Don't know if there is any difference in the two.
Eastwood Hotcoat Powder Coating Gun - PowderCoat Coat - eBay (item 230650667415 end time Jul-29-11 08:33:09 PDT)

Eastwood Hotcoat Powder Coating Gun - PowderCoat Coat - eBay (item 370524109511 end time Aug-02-11 06:43:52 PDT)
The last two were from Craftsman and was for $31.
* New in box * Craftsman Powder Coat System Model 17288 - eBay (item 320695170539 end time Aug-03-11 17:08:45 PDT)
The other was a Lot of 10 with 4 available? Not sure how that one goes.
Lot of 10 New Craftsman Powder Coat System Model 17288 - eBay (item 220779923545 end time Aug-04-11 08:39:47 PDT)
What is your take on these as far a quality and price.

Bill
 

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
Alan and others. I went on Ebay and found several powder coaters. One by WAI posted for Summitt Racing for $131 that looks a lot like the one you posted.
WAI Powder Coat System 01-07100 | eBay
Two by Eastwood for $82 and $101. Don't know if there is any difference in the two.
Eastwood Hotcoat Powder Coating Gun - PowderCoat Coat - eBay (item 230650667415 end time Jul-29-11 08:33:09 PDT)

Eastwood Hotcoat Powder Coating Gun - PowderCoat Coat - eBay (item 370524109511 end time Aug-02-11 06:43:52 PDT)
The last two were from Craftsman and was for $31.
* New in box * Craftsman Powder Coat System Model 17288 - eBay (item 320695170539 end time Aug-03-11 17:08:45 PDT)
The other was a Lot of 10 with 4 available? Not sure how that one goes.
Lot of 10 New Craftsman Powder Coat System Model 17288 - eBay (item 220779923545 end time Aug-04-11 08:39:47 PDT)
What is your take on these as far a quality and price.

Bill

Bill --

The craftsman ones and the WAI one look exactly like mine from Alsa. If I were you I'd snap up the $31 craftsman one. If you don't like it, I'll take it off your hands and keep it as a spare.

BTW here's a review of the craftsman one: Riser's Powder Coating Trials

Also, Summit carries separate "cups" (cartridges) for $10. I just ordered three.

They also have several colors in 1.5 oz quantity for ~$5 ea.. I'm not sure that makes sense since Eastwood's 8 oz bottles are usually about twice that.

Thank you Bill! That was a great find.
 
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