RE: Powder Coating at Home

["TJ Noto" <tj@domain.elided>]

Tom,

I can't say enough about powdercoating, both as a process, and as an
amateur "at-home" process.  It's simply awesome.  I have the Eastwood
Powdercoating system.  I used an old oven to cure the parts.  The
hardest part about the solution was getting another 220V outlet in my
garage.  Once that was done, I was home free.

The process is very simple, it's durable, and even stands up to high
heat.  I powdercoated a whole bunch of parts on my CS, including the
brake calipers and I intend to powdercoat a lot of the Alfa suspension
bits too.

The worst thing about powdercoating is the cleanup.  It's simpler to set
up and handle than paint, but the powder itself does tend to fly around
the garage and stick to things.  The nice part is that it's still in the
powder state.  The bad thing is, it has static cling, and can be a
little tough to clean up because it's so fine.  You need to be careful
about how you vacuum it too, as it's paint, and some vacuums can catch
on fire if they suck it through their motors.

Other than the one negative, I think it's the best thing to hit home
restorers since the advent of compressed air.

TJ

TJ Noto		AFM #134  	Cowpoke Racing-"Friends in Slow Places"
http://www.cowpokeracing.com
95 Ducati 916 Strada
96 Ducati Monster 900 (Chela's)
61 Ducati Falcone 80			
70 Norton Commando Fastback	
73 BMW 3.0 CS ("deviated from museum reliquary standard"-Perez)
97 BMW Z3 (Chela's)
77 Mercedes 280C (Mimosa)
67 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce	
00 Ford F150 Supercab		
87 Suzuki RG250 (For Sale!)
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf
Of
> TJCallahan@domain.elided
> Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 6:49 PM
> To: alfaromeo750-101@domain.elided; alfa-digest@domain.elided;
> alfaracing@domain.elided
> Subject: Powder Coating at Home
> 
> This is going out to several Alfa groups (and sort of applicable to
all of
> them) -
> 
> While the Alfetta engine is being prepped (more on that soon), I'm
toying
> with the idea of picking up an old oven for the garage and buying some
> powder
> coating materials to use in my resortation/maintenance of the Alfas.
Part
> of
> my on-going skin-flint-Alfetta-owner training. :-)
> 
> Can anyone recommend a good resource for learning how to powder coat?
I've
> seen Eastwood's catalogue and wondered if their info is accurate and
good
> for
> a student?
> 
> Also, any tips on how to powder coat an item and get 100 percent
coverage?
> That is, even the smallest parts need to rest on or hang from
something
> while
> in the oven. Where the part touches the hanger or support will not
coat,
> will
> it? How does one apply the powder so that there is full coverage? Does
one
> send it through the process twice?
> 
> I'd really like to learn more about this powder coating process ...
> 
> TIA
> 
> Tom
> Seattle
> 10123
> 11615
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