Always happy to give back something to my fellow DiyAudio's.
Here are some tips to modify the El-Cheapo powder coating guns which can be bought for ~$70 TOTAL! What a great deal. No affiliation to any PC sellers, none.
Mine gun is a Harbor Freight El-Cheapo, there are others which are speculated to be the same gun re-badged. If your looks like mine it probably is from the same factory in China.
OK, first, the fluidization of the powder is VERY important and as it comes with the screw on upside down cup, it doesn't work very well.
I cut off both chrome plated copper tubes and installed (2) 3/8 X 6' vinyl tubes. One is for Air introduction to the relocated cup and the other is for fluidized powder delivery to the gun.
Next slide please.
Here are some tips to modify the El-Cheapo powder coating guns which can be bought for ~$70 TOTAL! What a great deal. No affiliation to any PC sellers, none.
Mine gun is a Harbor Freight El-Cheapo, there are others which are speculated to be the same gun re-badged. If your looks like mine it probably is from the same factory in China.
OK, first, the fluidization of the powder is VERY important and as it comes with the screw on upside down cup, it doesn't work very well.
I cut off both chrome plated copper tubes and installed (2) 3/8 X 6' vinyl tubes. One is for Air introduction to the relocated cup and the other is for fluidized powder delivery to the gun.
Next slide please.
Attachments
Next, on the other end of the 2 tubes, cut 2 holes in the lid of 1 powder cup. You only need to cut 1 (one) lid. Use brass fittings with barbed ends on the underside of the lid. (as shown) then add a length of the same 3/8 vinyl tube to the end of one fitting.
I used brass fittings with a barb on one end and threads on the other.
Seal the outside of the lid with an epoxy or similar hard substance. DON'T , DON'T use silicone to seal the top. You don't want silicone anywhere near you equipment. If you do and you get fish eyes, don't say I didn't warn you. 😱 (fish eyes)
Next Slide Please
I used brass fittings with a barb on one end and threads on the other.
Seal the outside of the lid with an epoxy or similar hard substance. DON'T , DON'T use silicone to seal the top. You don't want silicone anywhere near you equipment. If you do and you get fish eyes, don't say I didn't warn you. 😱 (fish eyes)
Next Slide Please
Attachments
Remote Pot hose photo.
Add powder to the plastic jar and screw the lid onto the remote powder jar. Next connect the tube with the added short vinyl tube (inside the remote cup) to the short post of the gun. You can choose to either cut off the top of the post or drill a second hole in the post. I cut the rounded top of mine off. Attache the other hose to the curved pick-up tube. I cut that one as well, it may kink the delivery hose if you do not. Give it a try both ways.
Next Slide Please.
Add powder to the plastic jar and screw the lid onto the remote powder jar. Next connect the tube with the added short vinyl tube (inside the remote cup) to the short post of the gun. You can choose to either cut off the top of the post or drill a second hole in the post. I cut the rounded top of mine off. Attache the other hose to the curved pick-up tube. I cut that one as well, it may kink the delivery hose if you do not. Give it a try both ways.
Next Slide Please.
Attachments
Next, Add a decent quality pressure regulator, not a flow regulator... they are different. Add a dissecant moisture filter in line near the gun if it is not already installed.
While you are in the area make sure the High Voltage wire is attached securely, it helps with the static charge of the powder.
Next Slide Please
While you are in the area make sure the High Voltage wire is attached securely, it helps with the static charge of the powder.
Next Slide Please
Attachments
OK, now that we have improved the fluidization and air flow to the gun and cup, we need to improve the air flow at the gun. Remove the plastic deflector tip at the end of the gun, it unscrews. Save it for the hard to reach tight places, we wont reinstall it right away.
Take a pair of long nose needle nose pliers and reach inside the barrel of the gun and remove the triangular shaped static charge inductor. (I made up the static charge inductor thingee) Still, remove the triangle piece, note the needle tips point to the front of the barrel. You'll notice the rear of the unit is flat. Take a rat tail file, and file down that flat side to a clean airflow shape. Some people have beveled both sides and found it to work well, I only filed one side because I wanted a Vortex type of flow. I don't actually see the powder coming out the barrel like a vortex, but it may help. YMMV. It is more consistent and even flow out of the barrel.
Next Slide Please
Take a pair of long nose needle nose pliers and reach inside the barrel of the gun and remove the triangular shaped static charge inductor. (I made up the static charge inductor thingee) Still, remove the triangle piece, note the needle tips point to the front of the barrel. You'll notice the rear of the unit is flat. Take a rat tail file, and file down that flat side to a clean airflow shape. Some people have beveled both sides and found it to work well, I only filed one side because I wanted a Vortex type of flow. I don't actually see the powder coming out the barrel like a vortex, but it may help. YMMV. It is more consistent and even flow out of the barrel.
Next Slide Please
Attachments
OK, now the powder is flowing well we need to get it out the end of the barrel better. You may be wondering what the screw on the bottom of the barrel is for; it adjusts the air flow seperatly from the regulator. Open this screw all the way out, unscrew it and some have cut the tip off and just replaced the threaded part. I did not cut the tip off of mine, simply unscrewed it most of the way out. It seems to work well for me. Try it unscrewed, then cut it off if you wish. Your choice.
Next Slide please.
Next Slide please.
Attachments
OOPS,
no more slides.....sorry.
To clean the gun and pick-up tubes, just unscrew the cap from the powder bottle, and blast a shot of compressed air up the pick-up tube. A giant puff of powder will come out the barrel of the gun, this is good, 30 - 40 seconds has cleaned mine perfectly. The beauty is each cup of powder has it's own top and stays dry, never gets mixed up with different colors. The top cap stays with hoses and gun.
You can now wrangle the gun into places and positions you could not before, it even works upside down!
I get a much more even powder flow and controllable pattern, easily cranks up to a flood if you want. This is without replacing the dispersion tip at the end of the threaded rod. When spraying powder I move the tip in small circles while moving across the object being sprayed.
If you have any tips or advice please share it with us.
Great websites with forums are; in no preferred order
http://www.powdercoatingonline.com/forum/index.asp
http://forum.eastwoodco.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9
http://forum.caswellplating.com/powder-coating-questions/
http://www.powderbuythepound.com/forum/
The last one is one of my favorites.
Thanks for reading.
Ron
no more slides.....sorry.
To clean the gun and pick-up tubes, just unscrew the cap from the powder bottle, and blast a shot of compressed air up the pick-up tube. A giant puff of powder will come out the barrel of the gun, this is good, 30 - 40 seconds has cleaned mine perfectly. The beauty is each cup of powder has it's own top and stays dry, never gets mixed up with different colors. The top cap stays with hoses and gun.
You can now wrangle the gun into places and positions you could not before, it even works upside down!
I get a much more even powder flow and controllable pattern, easily cranks up to a flood if you want. This is without replacing the dispersion tip at the end of the threaded rod. When spraying powder I move the tip in small circles while moving across the object being sprayed.
If you have any tips or advice please share it with us.
Great websites with forums are; in no preferred order
http://www.powdercoatingonline.com/forum/index.asp
http://forum.eastwoodco.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9
http://forum.caswellplating.com/powder-coating-questions/
http://www.powderbuythepound.com/forum/
The last one is one of my favorites.
Thanks for reading.
Ron
Damn,
I thought I was finished.... precoating or Conversion coatings.
When sandblasting use aluminum oxide not glass beads, some have found out glass beads explode on contact and lodge inside the metal pores, only to melt out later when curing the powder causing fish eyes 0~0 Muy bad Ju-Ju.
I wash everything in Acetone first, rinse (not really needed), Zinc Phosphate from the auto paint store. Rinse. PRE heat part to outgas, should be minimum 30* higher than the powder cure temp., preheat for min. 20 minutes, powder coat warm to hot if possible. Make sure your ground is clean.
Good luck,
Ron
I thought I was finished.... precoating or Conversion coatings.
When sandblasting use aluminum oxide not glass beads, some have found out glass beads explode on contact and lodge inside the metal pores, only to melt out later when curing the powder causing fish eyes 0~0 Muy bad Ju-Ju.
I wash everything in Acetone first, rinse (not really needed), Zinc Phosphate from the auto paint store. Rinse. PRE heat part to outgas, should be minimum 30* higher than the powder cure temp., preheat for min. 20 minutes, powder coat warm to hot if possible. Make sure your ground is clean.
Good luck,
Ron
Good info, entertaining presentation.
I don't have any powdercoating to do at the moment, but when I do I will certainly revisit this thread.
w
I don't have any powdercoating to do at the moment, but when I do I will certainly revisit this thread.
w
Coupla questions.
Zinc Phosphate? Wazzat? A wash? A spray paint? A conversion coating?
On aluminium only? From the Auto Parts Store, really? What do they call it?
Does the Harbor Freight product include variable HV?
If so, what determines your settings?
Have you experimented with different base material formulation powders?
_-_-bear
Zinc Phosphate? Wazzat? A wash? A spray paint? A conversion coating?
On aluminium only? From the Auto Parts Store, really? What do they call it?
Does the Harbor Freight product include variable HV?
If so, what determines your settings?
Have you experimented with different base material formulation powders?
_-_-bear
Big Bear,
Zinc Phosphate is a "conversion coating" which is applied either with a sprayer or wipe on. (I use an old clean T-shirt) I'm cheap. It is NOT a paint, Don't use Zinc primer under Powder Coating, it will outgas and peel.
It can be used on any metal surface prior to Powder Coating (PC).
The Zinc Phosphate is a phenomenal rust inhibitor and adhesion promoter, it is the same as "bluing" used on firearms. Good stuff.
I bought mine from an auto paint supply store. Kragens or Grand Auto won't have it. A quart was ~$16, and I suspect I will never have to buy more in my lifetime. A little goes a long way. After application set time ~1 - 2 minutes, it is rinsed off under tap water. Some prefer to use Deionized Water, if I were doing it commercially I would use DI water.
It is called Zinc Phosphate! 🙄
The PC equipment I purchased from HF is NOT variable HV, I have not found the need for variable voltage yet. I'm just a hobbiest.
I suppose you could use a Variac to adjust the voltage if needed, I have not tried that yet. The only thing the "box" does is supply low amperage high voltage to charge the powder inside the gun while spraying powders.
I have used several types of powders and I like TGIC polyesters the best. Good weather resistance, ease of application, good corner adhesion, flexible with a durable finish. Lays down nice and provides a smooth professional finish. Not as good at chemical resistance as an epoxy. Epoxy's are brittle and harder to spray a good finish with, but are a great insulator. I used an epoxy on my Aikido Preamp build...still in progress. I'll put up a pic later today.
Ever done any PCing yourself?
Ron
Zinc Phosphate is a "conversion coating" which is applied either with a sprayer or wipe on. (I use an old clean T-shirt) I'm cheap. It is NOT a paint, Don't use Zinc primer under Powder Coating, it will outgas and peel.
It can be used on any metal surface prior to Powder Coating (PC).
The Zinc Phosphate is a phenomenal rust inhibitor and adhesion promoter, it is the same as "bluing" used on firearms. Good stuff.
I bought mine from an auto paint supply store. Kragens or Grand Auto won't have it. A quart was ~$16, and I suspect I will never have to buy more in my lifetime. A little goes a long way. After application set time ~1 - 2 minutes, it is rinsed off under tap water. Some prefer to use Deionized Water, if I were doing it commercially I would use DI water.
It is called Zinc Phosphate! 🙄
The PC equipment I purchased from HF is NOT variable HV, I have not found the need for variable voltage yet. I'm just a hobbiest.
I suppose you could use a Variac to adjust the voltage if needed, I have not tried that yet. The only thing the "box" does is supply low amperage high voltage to charge the powder inside the gun while spraying powders.
I have used several types of powders and I like TGIC polyesters the best. Good weather resistance, ease of application, good corner adhesion, flexible with a durable finish. Lays down nice and provides a smooth professional finish. Not as good at chemical resistance as an epoxy. Epoxy's are brittle and harder to spray a good finish with, but are a great insulator. I used an epoxy on my Aikido Preamp build...still in progress. I'll put up a pic later today.
Ever done any PCing yourself?
Ron
I thought that was what you were talking about... now I have to ask which store in specific did you find the Zinc Phosphate?
I've never seen it around here...
I've never done any Powder Coating, have had some done by professional powerdercoaters... but visited someone whose small biz is doing it and I was impressed by the results. It gives a nice finish that is good in many ways. It does seem "thick" compared to a lacquer for example, but not every finish is good for every circumstance, and Powder Coat seems like a very good option to have available!! 🙂
I'll check out the HF gun next time I visit their store... 😀
I've never seen it around here...
I've never done any Powder Coating, have had some done by professional powerdercoaters... but visited someone whose small biz is doing it and I was impressed by the results. It gives a nice finish that is good in many ways. It does seem "thick" compared to a lacquer for example, but not every finish is good for every circumstance, and Powder Coat seems like a very good option to have available!! 🙂
I'll check out the HF gun next time I visit their store... 😀
I will be trying this mod. Just bought a harbor freight gun and ready to give it a try!
Thanks to everyone for the postings.
Thanks to everyone for the postings.
Ummm....if you don't need another new hobby....
For amp top plates and smallish boxes just take it to your local metal finisher who runs black nearly every day of the week and ask him to toss yours in with a production run.
I show him it's a hobby piece; I've never paid more than 20 bucks and once for free.
For amp top plates and smallish boxes just take it to your local metal finisher who runs black nearly every day of the week and ask him to toss yours in with a production run.
I show him it's a hobby piece; I've never paid more than 20 bucks and once for free.
Bill,
That's great. I'm glad you can get it done for a good price. Not all of us have Powder Coaters that will do it inexpensively.
You MUST remember this is DIY after all. 😉
What's wrong with another new hobby? Why limit your knowledge to simply a few fields?
It's relatively inexpensive to PC small pieces at home (<$80) and you don't have to wait on someone else's schedule or drive there.
I'm not really sure why you posted in this old thread, but the process is fun, easy and cheap. Plus its DIY.
Ron
That's great. I'm glad you can get it done for a good price. Not all of us have Powder Coaters that will do it inexpensively.
You MUST remember this is DIY after all. 😉
What's wrong with another new hobby? Why limit your knowledge to simply a few fields?
It's relatively inexpensive to PC small pieces at home (<$80) and you don't have to wait on someone else's schedule or drive there.
I'm not really sure why you posted in this old thread, but the process is fun, easy and cheap. Plus its DIY.
Ron
Hi Renron,
-Chris
This is actually preferred to starting a new thread. It keeps the knowledge in one spot and people can read back to see what options there are.
Your suggestion is also worth considering. Some folks have to divide limited time, so you can't expect everyone to learn absolutely everything related to their hobby. I have that problem too. Then there is the fact that married people need time for their partners as well.
-Chris
Chris,
Please explain to me what BillEpstein added to the relevancy of this thread. Its about learning to powder coat at home...IF YOU WANT TO!!!
If someone doesn't want to learn (or want to make the time to learn) Powder Coating, then why post paying someone else is cheap? Why bother?
Also; "so you can't expect everyone to learn absolutely everything related to their hobby."
Why did you present this as I EXPECTed everyone to learn absolutely everything related to their hobby? WTF? Putting words into my mouth (post) is bad form for a Moderator.
Don't want to know how to PC yourself? Fine. Move along. Don't turn this into a cable thread.
Don't waste your time.
Ron
Please explain to me what BillEpstein added to the relevancy of this thread. Its about learning to powder coat at home...IF YOU WANT TO!!!
If someone doesn't want to learn (or want to make the time to learn) Powder Coating, then why post paying someone else is cheap? Why bother?
Also; "so you can't expect everyone to learn absolutely everything related to their hobby."
Why did you present this as I EXPECTed everyone to learn absolutely everything related to their hobby? WTF? Putting words into my mouth (post) is bad form for a Moderator.
Don't want to know how to PC yourself? Fine. Move along. Don't turn this into a cable thread.
Don't waste your time.
Ron
Hi Ron,
I am in agreement that if you have the time and energy, learning a new skill is good. However, your comments seemed to suggest that everyone should do it at home themselves. Bill made an excellent suggestion for those of us who simply do not have the time or opportunity to do as you suggest at home. Now they are all aware that there are two options for having something powder coated inexpensively. That was your goal, wasn't it?
symbol displayed.
You asked, I answered. Your comments were unfair to Bill who suggested an alternative. Now you will have more folks who consider having a nice finish done and may then decide to do it themselves after trying to go Bill's route. Besides, I found this thread interesting.
Cable thread? Are you suggesting that I involve myself in messing up cable threads as a rule? I think you just attributed something to me that is untrue. Nice. 🙄
-Chris 😉
I am in agreement that if you have the time and energy, learning a new skill is good. However, your comments seemed to suggest that everyone should do it at home themselves. Bill made an excellent suggestion for those of us who simply do not have the time or opportunity to do as you suggest at home. Now they are all aware that there are two options for having something powder coated inexpensively. That was your goal, wasn't it?
I did not put any words into your mouth, you simply didn't like what I had to say. As for being a moderator, I am also a normal member (with extra work to do). When any of us (moderators) are acting as a moderator, you will see the
symbol displayed.You asked, I answered. Your comments were unfair to Bill who suggested an alternative. Now you will have more folks who consider having a nice finish done and may then decide to do it themselves after trying to go Bill's route. Besides, I found this thread interesting.
Cable thread? Are you suggesting that I involve myself in messing up cable threads as a rule? I think you just attributed something to me that is untrue. Nice. 🙄
-Chris 😉
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