Home powder coating system anyone?

[Jarvicious]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00917288000P

Saw this while I was wandering around Sears last friday and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this (or any other cheapo powder coating system).  The one I saw in the store was 200 bones while this guy is only 80 so maybe there's a difference in the included accesories?  I figured it may be worth a look though, especially for some of you guys in bigger metro areas who could coat stuff for your riding buddies.  Can anyone (professional opinions would be great) chime in on how well they think this would work out?  It seems pretty simple:

- clean part
- prep
- spray
- bake

The instructions on the box even said that it was made for standard oven curing.  Again, for all I know this may be a ridiculously cheap and worthless endeavor but if it's actually a semi decent system, I'd give it a go for $80.  Moderators, I figured Acc. and Mods would be the most fitting spot for a post like this, but what do I know 

Ooooh, update.  I just realized it's on sale for today only (Dec 1)  FROM $199, but it also requires the use of a "non-food use oven" for the curing.  I think I may be able to go without baking for a while in lieu of powdercoating just about everything I own (come on, we all know that as soon as this thing was dropped off, everything from your rearsets to the dogs tags would be a lovely shade of powdercoat black).  Someone who didn't spend all their money last weekend on frivolous electronics should pick this up and do a writeup, mostly just so I can live vicariously through you and your better spending habits.   

[DucHead]

Read the reviews:  a few are terrible.

[mmakay]

We had one of these cheap systems in a shop I worked at.  It does just fine.  Surface prep is the most important factor, not the price of the gun.  Any good quality powder can be used in them.

What you need to know is that you can't use your kitchen oven for the baking phase ... at least that's what everyone tells you.  The powder coat is said to release nasty gasses, etc. while curing that render the oven unsuitable for cooking ever again.

[He Man]

Funny you posted this up! because ive been doing a lot of research on this subject.

Once i sell my clip ons, im  using those funds for a eastwood hotcoat powdercoat gun. great reviews on it as a hobby gun and uber cheap of eastwoods ebay site (79.99+10.95 shipping)

Somethings to note. As mmakay pointed out. it releases toxic gases which are also flammable (thats why you cant use it with a gas oven). Though common sense comes around and says, how flammable are the gases really? if you modified the oven so the gases cannot reach an open flame it would be okay wouldn't it? If i vent the top, the heated air would push these gases out too and prevent combustion... all are reasons to experiment. Though this can be potentially dangerous if the gases are highly flammable (ive yet to find information on someone who has used a gas oven.)

Also, strangely, powdercoating is considered "green" at some point. The powder it self is basically a plastic resin that melts. So the gas shouldnt be toxic. It should just be something you don't want to eat. But i'm almost sure if you give the oven a good scrub and rub with an empty bake out it should be fine. Again, i have no proof to back it up. It just makes sense to me. But i would avoid using a home oven at all costs (plastic flavored baked goods don't cut it in my diet).

my plan:

Junk yard a few heating elements and build a hotbox! I have built 3 walk in fridges and i don't think theres much difference in design and quite frankly no matter how crude the hotbox looks or works, it still works. Might have the thermal efficiency of a naked  neanderthal but it'd still work.   I have left over material so this shouldn't cost much to build. Just need to find a few electric ovens to strip.

powderbuythepound.com has some nice colors too.

i really want to PC 80% gloss black my triples, rear sets, and some other stuff. then gold for my wheels and red for my shock. Id do a write up (like i was suppose to for my tire, which i never even got off yet!) now if the HDTV deals werent so good right now id get that damn gun....

goodluck if you get into this. look up degassing metals. I havent got a clue how to do it. (but apprently if you dont do it, gas bubbles surface and make dots in the PC. I figure you can just pre bake it so all the gases lift out of the pores )

Edit:

Ha-HA!

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-WB44X200-GE-Electric-Oven-Bake-Element_W0QQitemZ300274318349QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRanges_Cooking_Appliances?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116
or

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/hsh/940506831.html

 that ebay element...i assume i dont need any transformer not quite sure, id need to look at an actual oven and take a peak. its jsut a big ass resistor aint it? lol

edit 2: according to this http://www.repairclinic.com/0100_5.asp it loosk like plug and play. But some sites say most elements are designed for 220 which makes sense since its more efficent to run these things on high voltage. but most people dont have 220 going into the ktichen, let alone into the house I dont have 220 comming in, but i do have a few transformers laying around, just not sure if they are up to the amount of wattage this thing would take. they arent that big....

Sorry for the long post, i got 1 hour gap until my next class and you got my head swirling.

[DucHead]

...powder coat is said to release nasty gasses, etc. while curing that render the oven unsuitable for cooking ever again.

Which gases?  As gases are volatile, they're removed with the oven's ventilation system, and I doubt they'd render the oven useless.  I call bull.

[BumpaD_Z28]

We powder coated my rear sets satin black at a buddies house, Eastwood like setup (but can't recall the brand) ...

First we sand blasted (we plastic media actually) the parts, then hot water power washed them, then baked them dry (250 in a standard home oven bought used) then coated them, and baked them again in the over at 400.

It worked GREAT !

Cel phone pics ...



~DaVe

[yotogi]

Nice job! Granted they are cell phone pics, but the work looks perfect. Damn, all you guys get me thinking...

[mmakay]

Which gases?  As gases are volatile, they're removed with the oven's ventilation system, and I doubt they'd render the oven useless.  I call bull.

I favor the BS theory, too, but having no first hand knowledge of what goes on when the powder cures I just pass along the warning. 

FWIW, though, most ovens don't have any sort of active ventilation.  It is entirely plausible that the materials off-gas some type of vapor that forms a film of unhappy on the interior of the oven.  Cool the oven ... gunk hardens and seams fine ... cook in it and the material returns to gaseous form and nasties up your food.  This is, of course, pure conjecture.

[R2]

cook in it and the material returns to gaseous form and nasties up your food.  This is, of course, pure conjecture.

+1
A friend put a CD in the microwave at work once. I made the mistake of cooking some hot pockets in that same microwave months later. It smelled or tasted like burnt CD, I don't remember which, but I couldn't eat it. I would imagine the same thing would happen in an oven. I'm not sure if powdercoating would smell or taste bad though.

[Jarvicious]

He Man, let me know how it goes if you do end up getting that GE element.  I have 220 running into my garage but from the looks of the breaker it hasn't been used in quite a few years.  I'm fine with any 120 system (it's just a little shock  ) but working on the 220 stuff scares the hell out of me.  Not to mention it's a rental so I'll just have the landlady get someone out here.  I thought about a kind of DIY hotbox as well, though I was going to make it into a half oven/half vacuum former type of thing.  Considering said garage is about as insulated as pegboard though, it'll have to wait until at least the 50 degree weather rolls around.  As far as venthilation, I guess that window with part of a pane missing is going to come in handy  . 

Dave, is there any way you could post up some better pics of your rearsets??  They look pretty awesome but I'd like to get a clear view of the finish and such.  So far, how have they worn?  It looks like you garage your bike, but do they stand up well to sun, passenger use, rock chips, etc...?

[He Man]

220, in a very simple term is jsut two hot 110s going in. My garage only has 3 lines of 110 going in. 2 for outlets, 1 for lights. But since i dont remember how the place is wired, im pretty reluctant to go and dig shit up.

If you run a 110 on the element you wont even get half the output. so 220 is the way to go (not to mention its cheaper to operate). you could use a transformer but two of those elements is already 5000+ watts. Eitherway, i have the stuff thought about, i jsut dont know how im gonna get 220 in. I might just run wires straight into the breaker. Except i dont have any 220 cables and they cost $$$$.

220v could hurt you easily (had a friend burn a hole in his plyers messing around with 277. got a nice suprise out of that one. )

[Mash]

I've been looking at this option also, and there's a lot of know-how on the interwebs about it.  Seems almost any coating gun will work fine, but it's the powder that makes the quality of the finished product.

As far as baking is concerned, I was thinking about getting a toaster oven from the second-hand store and trying my luck on some smaller pieces.  They'll do 400 degrees and they run on 110. 

[Capo]

Somethings to note. As mmakay pointed out. it releases toxic gases which are also flammable (thats why you cant use it with a gas oven). Though common sense comes around and says, how flammable are the gases really? if you modified the oven so the gases cannot reach an open flame it would be okay wouldn't it? If i vent the top, the heated air would push these gases out too and prevent combustion... all are reasons to experiment. Though this can be potentially dangerous if the gases are highly flammable (ive yet to find information on someone who has used a gas oven.)

Sound like you might make the Darwin awards. I trust you have house insurance 

[pennyrobber]

As far as the toxic gas issue goes, I can't imagine the fumes would be any worse than oven cleaner. That stuff is pretty nasty and it doesn't seem to make your food toxic. As long as you can convince the wife/roomates then you should be good. I would say though that if you are worried about it you could always find a cheap oven on Craigslist and just set it up in the shop next to the beer fridge.

[He Man]

Sound like you might make the Darwin awards. I trust you have house insurance 

I dont think thats possible. The explosion would have to be massive. Eitherway, id be humble to join such an elite group of "outside" thinkers.  .