Powdercoating status

rlisbona · February 3, 2023, 5:14am

We got power to the oven and booth tonight. They were both missing ground lugs in the control boxes so we still need to get them properly grounded.

We ran the oven up to 450 for about 75 minutes, got light smoke for about an hour as the oil burned off the sheetmetal.

Booth HEPA filter was damaged during shipping, a new one should arrive in next few days.
Light socket in oven is loose and will need to be disassembled and fixed.
We are missing a few sheet metal screws the fell off during shipping
Temporary location is in old metal shop area by automotive.
Still need to get the air hookup and get the spray gun configured.

Thanks to HB, Tim, Michael, Nate for helping with wiring and Alan for his occasional supervision.

Photomancer · February 3, 2023, 5:18am

We’re Bad . . . . should have put the brisket in an aluminum pan.

Photomancer · February 3, 2023, 5:56am

Okay, just saying, but suppose a some select piece of bovine were to be really heavily dusted in rub so it made crusty . . . would that be considered “Organic All Natural Non-toxic Powder Coating”? Just thinking out loud here.

Jerry_Kassebaum · February 3, 2023, 7:55pm

You guys working with the powder coating oven are AWESOME! Thanks!

steve_a · February 3, 2023, 9:31pm

Looks great BUT… (don’t you hate that?) Had a quick look. You mentioned running it up to 450 for 75 minutes. Didn’t hear you mention that the front glass pane was shattered. Just wondering if that was damage from shipping or if it was fine during the heating and if it shattered after that. It SHOULD be a tempered piece of glass. Fortunately, it looks easy to replace and you can probably get a replacement pane from the builder in the mail. The damaged filter and missing screws seems to be a common complaint with this builder. I suggest… just suggest… removing the latches and replacing them with magnetic latches. It looks like they screwed the latch into the metal stud material on the door without any backing, so they will probably need attention at some point. While I know it will NEVER, EVER happen… it’s big enough for a person to be accidentally latched in (Which will NEVER happen) …but I would do it anyway (replace the latch that is… not latch someone in…)… though it will never happen.

rlisbona · February 3, 2023, 11:06pm

Ugh, Glass was not shattered last night. I’ll take a photo and contact them to get it replaced.

Mrholthaus · February 8, 2023, 8:25pm

@delpn and @rlisbona fired up the oven and booth last night for testing. Thanks to both of you for working so hard on making this a reality. Thanks @TBJK for helping wire it up. Nate is still working on developing a process for it before we hold classes. I took some pictures last night of the first true part to be sprayed using our new system. It looks great, no dirt/debris. A very clean finish. This is a battery hold down out of a car. Pics are before and after being baked.

rlisbona · February 8, 2023, 8:56pm

We were getting what seemed like a lot of overspray, We currently don’t have an earth ground so that might be a factor.

The new filter to replace the one damaged during shipping shows it was delivered today.
We need to move the spraybooth so overspray from the automotive degreaser doesn’t land on the filter or worse, land on the part being powdercoated, Thanks to @delpn for catching this potential issue.
New glass is supposed to be shipping but I don’t have a tracking number yet.

TBJK · February 8, 2023, 9:01pm

Correct, The Hepa Filter made it in today. I was there when it came in.

TBJK · February 8, 2023, 9:02pm

Let’s not forget to add @michaelb into the equation of the wiring. He may not want to be associated with it though. Lol

delpn · February 9, 2023, 8:07am

A few thoughts…

I think we’ll need a workbench / cart / table to more effectively use the needed accessories that are required to correctly powder coat. It would be nice to have a work surface to pour powder, and prep things as well as store consumables and accessories in. Rolling Cabinet
Need a T fitting and a second air hose with a blow gun to clean the machine and powder booth after use.
Need some pliers and tonges to move things in and out of the oven.
Need to discuss building or buying a rolling cart to mount parts on.
Consumables.
- Rubber Gloves
- Lint free (paper) towels (if such a thing exists)
- N95/N100 respirator
It would probably be good to wire an outlet to power the gun. Would be nice to have a switch on the gray panel of the spray booth for the outlet (or tie it to the fan or light switch). Ideally an outlet to plug the gun into either the left or right side of the spray booth would be nice.
We may be missing a nozzle to the spray gun which is why it wasn’t steering the spray. Not quite sure but it appears there are multiple nozzle options. The gun only came with two nozzles and very little explanation on which ones to use (still digging around for more info). Examples of Nozzles
Powder is shipped in bags so I bought some storage containers to try out. Looking for options. Currently I have two of them. Would be nice to get a few more.
It would also be convenient to have a few spare jars to stage the powders before starting a spray project. Spare Powder Jars from Powder by the Pound
A way to organize the powder storage containers. I’m thinking we could unbolt the rack on the front of the cart and make a sheet metal organizer for the powder containers.
After Spraying some metallic colors I recommend primer for anything exposed to the weather. So we will probably want to order some to keep on hand.
It takes about 30 minutes to preheat the oven to 400 F. Once the door opens it drops to about 220 F and takes another 20 minutes to get back to 400 F.

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more to come I’m sure. Can’t wait to get the new glass installed. Hopefully we can figure out what caused it to break or put a silicone gasket in so it’s not under as much stress during thermal cycling.

SWA · February 9, 2023, 2:02pm

A nonmetallic rubber cart? Something along these lines? Or should it be metal?

rlisbona · February 9, 2023, 3:14pm

I would prefer a cart <36" wide that we could store in the paint booth with at least 1 drawer deep enough to store powder in containers

ozindfw · February 9, 2023, 3:36pm

I may have something in my shop I can spare. I’ll measure it.

ozindfw · February 9, 2023, 4:49pm

16 x28 X 34 tall

I will not be able to bring until I’m in next week. If you want it before then it’ll need to be picked up in Southlake

delpn · February 11, 2023, 8:44pm

That cart is about right.

The goal I have for a cart is someplace waist level to fill and remove powder from the gun and clean the hopper.

A place to store accessories for the gun like spare nozzles, air guns for cleanup etc…

A cabinet to store unused powder and spare hoppers.

That cart would fit that need if the shelf was removed and doors and sides added.

It appears in use currently though. Is there any reason we are opposed to something new?

delpn · February 11, 2023, 8:45pm

I would prefer a cart <36" wide that we could store in the paint booth with at least 1 drawer deep enough to store powder in containers

I’m not sure we need to limit the width to 36". I think a cabinet would be slightly easier than a drawer but both could work.

ozindfw · February 11, 2023, 8:47pm

It’s in use storing junk I need to go through.

If it needs that much modification a HF tool cart is probably a better choice.

delpn · February 11, 2023, 8:55pm

A little update after powder coating last night:

It seems that the heating coil on the left is either not working or not glowing red during use. I’m wondering if this could be contributing to the slow heating (35 minutes to 400F).
I’m thinking it might be nice to add a 110V hookup to the fan, light and PID controller of the oven. I have a theory that we may want to run the fan and possibly ramp the oven temp down to control cool down and maybe prevent another window from breaking. If the fan were wired to a 110V we could leave it plugged in all the time and have the fan turn off on a second PID timer program.
I’d like to add a air gun to the cart to help with cleanup. Currently the method I use is to borrow automotive’s venturi air gun and blow all the dust into the spray booth with it’s fan on.
Longer term we probably want to get spare guns and hoppers. The gun retains particles even after it is cleaned with compressed air. I imagine if someone is spraying white or clear coat they don’t want contaminated particles. So I’m thinking at some point we want dedicated gun and hopper for different colors. If we get a lot of use with primer, base coat and clear coat spray it might even be worth it to get two more powder spray systems and stack them. Then we’d have one gun for primer, one for base coat and one for clear coat. This would be a super pro setup.

delpn · February 11, 2023, 8:58pm

It’s in use storing junk I need to go through.

If it needs that much modification a HF tool cart is probably a better choice.

Need is relative I guess. For those in the software world we’re at an MVP stage with the Powder Coat system. That cart may be good to borrow and try to see if it fits the needs and educates us more on what we need.