Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Effectiveness of "home" powder coating setups
2000
Q. There's an auto restoration supply company [Eastwood] which sells a home powder coating kit .
which has been written up positively in several auto restoration magazines.
The price is good ($200) and they make it clear there are hazards associated with powder coating: dust inhalation and spontaneous dust explosion when exposed to a flame or spark. Your own air compressor [adv: air compressors on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and oven (not your wife's cooking oven) are required.
My questions are...are there other hazards? Dust clean up with a vacuum is not recommended due to explosion hazard.
Second...how good are these coatings compared to a professional job?
The reason most folks get into home coatings is for cost - but is money actually being saved if it needs to be redone in a few years?
Thanks!
Dennis O [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]- Roseville, California, USA
A. There are other expenses--such as a blast cabinet, or are you going to sand each piece to bright bare metal?
Quality is going to depend on how well you can follow instructions- that is what they meant, not what you think it meant.
I have seen the product of a couple of nearly professional small rigs and it was quite good. I have no idea of how many rejects they had along the way.
There are explosion proof vacuums- many are air-powered.
I would definitely look at all of the costs that you can think of, and the space required before I would jump into it.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2000
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