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Mon Oct 14, 2013 10:03 am

Hello , has anyone tried powder coat system from HB? i was in there yesterday and i saw they had a kit, dont know if it will hold up to heat in engine area i was thinking tins and other small stuff .....

Wed Oct 16, 2013 3:33 pm

ditto would like to see what folks say

Wed Oct 16, 2013 3:37 pm

Never powder coated before i should buy just to experiment

Wed Oct 16, 2013 4:09 pm

if its anything like their tools it might work once and then break.

Thu Oct 17, 2013 4:47 am

I have used it on my bumper brackets and on the handles, beauty rings, trim, Light buckets, and Hood emblem. It works well, and it doesn't use a ton of powder. The only thing I would suggest is using insulated rubber gloves. I got to close to the end of the gun and got dropped to my knees by a shock.... hurt like a bitch... :x

But it still worked well. This is the guy I asked about it before I got mine.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6602139&highlight=#6602139
It is very forgiving you just get a few inches away and above. and if you mess up just clean the part and start again. And I got my powder from http://www.powderbuythepound.com/ they have a wider verity of colors.
Here is a pic of what I have done so far.... Gloss Black, and Chrome Silver
And I plan to do more.... :)

Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:49 pm

I bought one and used it on all my engine parts. I didn't use their powder but I use their gun. Mine is holding up excellent. In fact I am going to do a bunch more parts on Saturday.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:50 pm

I take it you need a special oven for all this stuff?

Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:07 pm

I use a big oven we have at work but you can use an old one if you have one in your garage. I wouldn't do it in your kitchen oven. Ha Ha.

Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:52 am

I have an old gas oven... not recommended because of open flame, but I get it to temp then shut it of and it works. An old electric oven would be the better.

Wed Oct 23, 2013 5:43 pm

I own and use that gun, Eastwood 's gun, and a very high end pro small batch gun. I actually like the harbor freight gun better than the eastwood gun for doing a small part or two. It works fine and cleans up pretty easy for powder color changes. You might have trouble getting powder to lay into creases and odd shaped areas with it, the eastwood gun is no better about that.

The lower grade eastwood/hf guns are good for basic stuff. I get better powder adhesion (static charge) and a more even layer with the pro gun. It has different tips and the electrical charge can be varied on it so it can get into crevices and odd shapes better than the more diy style guns. It is much more versatile. But that's to be expected with the difference in cost.

All in all the hf gun is a nice little unit and works fine.

Wed Oct 23, 2013 5:46 pm

Oh, also do NOT use powder bought from hf. It all fades very badly . And it's just generally really bad quality. Powder by the pound is a great place to get good quality powder at a good price.

Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:17 pm

The Gun Works Ok As with most HF tools, I still have mine on the shelf from years ago , as a back up Gun, The powder does fade it does not hold up very well , Another reliable source on powder is http://www.columbiacoatings.com/ Have been using them For years.

Thu Oct 24, 2013 6:08 am

I've used mine for a bunch of stuff, even built my own oven for it. The gun tends to spit and belch the powder out, but it works and does make a super durable coating.

I've bought powder from these guys:

https://www.powderbuythepound.com/Complete_Powder_Collection/

Sat Oct 26, 2013 7:58 pm

I never trusted the harbor freight powder but I do use their gun all the time. I buy all my powder from these guys. Never been disappointed.
http://www.pendrypowdercoatings.com/

Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:11 pm

All the powder suppliers mentioned her are pretty good and you'll find if you get really into it that you'll like certain powders from certain suppliers because they just shoot or bake better or that particular powder just works better for you.

Here's some tips you didn't ask for:
The parts must be super duper clean bare metal for best results
Best to clean, dry, sand blast, rinse with denatured alcohol (or similar non petroleum cleaner)
Some like to "outgass" parts by heating them real hot for a while and letting them cool down before laying powder. I only do this with aluminum and large cast pieces.
Nice clean and dry air supply to your powder gun
Best to slightly warm the part before coating. For some reason cold parts don't suck the powder on as well.
Check the part carefully with an led flashlight once coated to look for bare or thin places
Bake longer than the directions state. The times they give are from when the part reaches the cure temp not when you stuck it in the oven. Almost all powders from suppliers that will sell to us are resistant to over curing so it's generally better to go a little longer than not long enough.

Post pics of your work!

Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:58 pm

don't forget you can use pearls and metalflakes in the clear for some added POP.

first coat eastwood gloss black,

paint with pearl apple red flakes in the clear
clear over that to bury the flakes

in my daily driver

Fri Nov 01, 2013 3:06 pm

By the way, there is a bunch of JB weld used for body filler on that piece.
it takes the heat very well, you have to hot flock the part to get the powder to stick to the JB weld, thats why the black looks wet and lumpy in the first pic.

my rehooped wide 5 smoothies with eastwood gloss white
paint with pearl - silver crystal pearl in the clear, and clear over that
http://www.paintwithpearl.com/Pearls/silvercrystal/silvercrystal.htm

Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:26 pm

W1k1: I didn't know you could mix in your own pearls and flakes with clear. That is pretty sweet I'll have to give it a shot! Do any of them have trouble with the heat? Do you just test it first?

For those who may not know, hot flocking is basically just shooting powder on a part that's already hot so the powder melts on contact.

I've used jb before and my hypersmooth gun will lay powder over it without flocking. I've also used masterseries mixed about 50/50 with powdered aluminum I bought on eBay which is nice for spreading over pitted metal and handles heat well.

Here's another tip. If your part has inside corners and tight spots do those first.it's hard to get the powder into them without over doing it.

Fri Nov 01, 2013 4:40 pm

Sorry, didn't notice you had a link to the pearls and flakes in your post. I'll definitely have to try some of those.

Fri Nov 01, 2013 5:28 pm

They list which of their products will not work with powdercoat.

My house numbers have been used a few times as color samplers as has the mailbox.
The numbers were a blue transluscent that got coated red, then transluscent red with red apple metal flake, covered by a clear with gold pearl.
They change depending on the light.
Some days it's fun just trying different things. I use electrical box blanks for color samplers as well, they are cheap.