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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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Avoiding Powder Coating Buildup on Racks, Carts & Fixtures?
October 24, 2021
Q. Hi Good day
I hope you are well.
My job is to paint aluminum parts with electrostatic powder paint; I use hooks to hang the pieces.
After a while, a thick color forms on the hooks, which is very large.
I burn the hooks on a monthly basis.
I saw a video on YouTube today where a hook was coated with electrostatic powder paint and was thick, and it was soaked in chemical liquid, and after a short time the paint was easily removed from the hook. This chemical liquid posed no danger to the skin of the hands.
I have a few questions for you.
Do you know the ingredients of this chemical liquid and what compounds does it consist of?
A low-risk, inexpensive chemical with very fast and good performance?
Do you have another solution for removing paint on the hook that is low risk and also has fast performance.
Do you have another way to prevent the accumulation of electrostatic powder paint on the hook?
Of course, I read an article on a site:
The hooks were said to be covered with silicone tubes before painting (use of silicone tubes that can withstand high temperatures)
After painting the parts the paint can be easily removed from silicone tubes.
I have never used this method, has anyone used this method or low-risk and cheap methods?
Paint the parts - Isfahan, Iran
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. We have an electrostatic powder coat finishing system on which we use steel paint hooks to hang our product on as it passes through the system. The problem being that we experience massive paint build-up on these hooks over time. We currently are having these hooks burned off on a monthly basis. I am looking for a way to eliminate this build-up in an attempt to cut the cost of burning and also reclaim a portion of this powder build-up. Please send ideas on product, cost, and availability.
Thanks,
John McNabbShelby-Williams - Greeneville, Tennessee,USA
2001
A. Unfortunately there is very little, that I know of, that you can do. Your hooks must ensure a good earth reaches your work piece, in doing this they themselves have a good earth which powder is attracted to. One suggestion is to blow the powder off of the hooks before they reach your oven, however beware not to blow the powder off of your work piece.
Good Luck
Drew Devlin- North Lincolnshire
2001
A. I have worked on this problem before. The easiest way to fix this is to place some hi-temp cured silicone tubing over your hooks. They will build up eventually but the paint breaks off. This is also a cheap item & can be cut off & replaced.
Sincerely,
Cliff ShephardCharlotte, North Carolina
2001
A. Dry Ice blasting will clean off any product and recapture whatever residue was on the product.
Paint residue is easily removed by dry ice blasting.
Dry ice blasting will replace most solvents.
Ken DoengesConsultant to Manufacturing - Warrenville, Illinois
2004
Multiple threads merged: please forgive chronology errors and repetition 🙂
Q. We use metal carts and racks with our electrostatic powder coat system, which will bake at about 400 degrees. I was wondering if there was a coating that I could put on the carts and racks to prevent the powder coat from sticking and building up in areas not needing paint. I realize that I must have a conductive portion of my cart and rack to ground out the parts to be painted. However the remaining portions of the carts and racks constantly get new powder drifted on them and over time get a very thick coating of paint. This requires cleaning and high temperature baking to remove. I have hopes that there is a product that will minimize this. If you have the answer please respond.
Thank you,
David AnnasManufacturer of Fitness Equipment - Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
2004
A. Years ago we use a coating on our booths and racks orange peel is what we called it, too many years to remember where I purchased it
.... But to answer your question, Yes, would coat; after painting away would pull right off depending on type of powder coating epoxy, poly, PVC, or hybrid and thickness was how easy it was to remove.
plater - Charlotte, North Carolina
2004
A. I've been in powder coating for 16 years and I haven't seen anything that really works, the paint just wants to stick to everything! Go figure. The real mystery is, if you can't get paint to stick to a part that's been coated a couple of times, why does it stick to a cart that has 100 mils on it? I have seen a vacuum advertised in a powder coating magazine that you can use to take the powder off of these areas before you push it into the oven, but if someone really had a viable solution, there wouldn't be so many businesses advertising rack and hook stripping services.
Sheldon Taylor
supply chain electronics
Wake Forest, North Carolina
2004
A. What kind of reclaim system is on your booth? A down-draft booth may be desirable, as it should be able to pull over-sprayed powder away from your part immediately. We have a down-draft booth with old-fashioned cyclone recovery, and it does a nice job of pulling overspray away quickly
Mike Heierpowder coating shop - Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
2004
A. You need to use a good electrostatic powder coating equipment, which has good transfer efficiency, when you have a good gun you able to coat recess area (corners) easily, (you can reduce faraday's cage effect) . When you use a gun which has less transfer efficiency. When you try to coat corner you may find it difficult to coat ,you need to spray more powder. Hence you find more powder buildup. To eliminate this problem -use Itw Gema, Nordson, Wagner Equipments. Further you have to check Powder Properties also.
Murali- Tamil Nadu, India
2004
A. Contact any of the many masking companies and purchase silicone tubing that when slit will wrap and protect your rack.
PS Cured silicone will handle the heat and will not effect the coating.
Brad Dickison- Rome, Georgia, USA
2004
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