Powder coat on the cheap

[Finch]

I was powder coating the final few parts on my car tonight and thought I should share the budget friendly powder coat oven I built last summer. To start this is far from being up to code but for those who learned to not touch things that are hot or bare electrical wires when you were young this could be an option for you.

Like most people on here I re-purposed on old range to be a Powder coating oven some time back and it has been great for anything that is small enough to fit. When I needed to fit longer or larger items in I started looking around for powder coating ovens and about fell over at the cost. One day while cleaning out my shop I pull out an old pickup bed tool box I had from several years ago and it hit me.

Since I had the box my total spend for this is less than $50 buying all new parts. I cannot count how many things I have powder coated and it works flawlessly.

Basically I bought a couple new bake elements, a manual thermostat , a dryer cord, and some oven wire. Made a quick bracket, drilled a few holes and away I went. I plan to take the time to build a shield to cover all the electrical parts but who knows if that will ever happen.

Once I had it fired up I used a laser temp gun to set the temp and made a mark on the t-stat. I am amazed at how well the aluminum box insulates and retains the heat. you can hold your hand 1/4 inch away when it is 400 degrees inside and not move it for hours.

I am already on the lookout for a oversized 2 door metal cabinet to make the next bigger and better unit.

Enjoy,

[Topless69]

Brian thats sweet. I just bought a p. gun and am looking forward to trying it out. I also have a old oven to start out with. I am going to start with an alternater bracket but really want to do my aluminum intake with a chrome powder eventually. If you have any beginers advice or tips and pics I would be forever grate full. Thanks Jeoff.

[FirstGenZq8]

wealth of knowledge over on the eastwood forum. take a few days and read up. http://forum.eastwoodco.com/forumdis...daysprune=&f=9

[CarlC]

Now that's a great idea! Nice work.

You may want to paint a spot on the outside and paint it flat black to use your IR gun. IR guns do not like shiny surfaces. For training I use a similar example and can be up to 50% off of the target temperature.

Better yet, a $5 oven thermometer.

[oestek]

Great tip, Finch! To think I walked past a million truck boxes at the swap meet last weekend...

[Topless69]

thanks for link firstgen. would still like to hear from the Brian too. can never get too much info.

[Finch]

I have learned a few tricks over the past year with all the parts I have done. For new chrome parts I use a medium scotch brite and do a thorough scuff job then wipe down with a simple prep wipe. For older parts like cast aluminum that has some corrosion or pitting I use a DA sander and 180 grit to work out the defects. Then before coating I bake the parts at 400 for 20 minutes to cook out the oxidation. If you don’t the bad areas will outgas and bubble up the power. Good thing is if this happens you can hit it with the DA and re-coat the part with good results the second time.

I sometimes use a first coat of powder as a filler and block out the part then recoat to get the best results.

I saved an endurashine intake that Edelbrock would not warranty. It was on my camaro and had turned gold in color due to the seepage caused when under boost. I coated it with a black chrome powder that is translucent and it really came out nice.

Best thing is to jump in head first, hard to screw anything up really bad since you can re-coat over the powder.

[Finch]

Now that's a great idea! Nice work.

You may want to paint a spot on the outside and paint it flat black to use your IR gun. IR guns do not like shiny surfaces. For training I use a similar example and can be up to 50% off of the target temperature.

Better yet, a $5 oven thermometer.

I set the temp by taking readings from a part hanging in the oven. Once it stabilized at 400 I put a line on the knob.

[recklessnova]

what gun are you using? I have the harbor freight gun I converted into a hopper that works great and now I just picked up two craftsman guns for cheap at sears on clearance. both work great but always looking for new ways to do it.
Dig That oven
Im just going to graft two ovens together so I can do wheels
Josh