I powder coated the yellow first, but only cooked it until it glossed over. Basically a partial cure. After it cooled, I applied the black powder, then carefully wiped off the areas where I wanted the yellow to show. Then I cured it for the full time required for the black powder.
Yes, hand bending the letters was time consuming, but not as nearly difficult as keeping them in position for welding. The material is 1/4" x 1/8" galvanized steel bar that is used for reinforcing leaded glass panels. I should have taken more time to remove the galvanizing before welding.
I’ve used the parts tumbler and it was a waste of time. You’ll need to leave your parts in there for days and the sound it makes is obnoxious.
Nowhere near the speed and efficiency of a sand blaster.
I do the same. Eastwood dual voltage. I just got another gun to have 2 colors ready. My results are much much more consistent if I preheat the part. So as far as prep goes, I don’t do it exactly right but I’m happy with my results:
I pull off plasma table
hit with wire wheel to remove slag
sand with 60-80 grit quick
preheat part to dehydrate and the powder just sticks way better.
I heat the parts in the oven for the whole preheat and cook cycle at max temp on a toaster oven, which I think is 400-450, totaling 5-10 minutes. I assume a consistent temp across the part is best for consistent coating.
Pull em out and hit with powder immediately and pop them right back in for usually 3-5 minutes. Some powders melt at different rates so keep an eye on how they react over time.
You can go too thick and get build up, even “drips”, so don’t go nuts with the powder and aim for the hard to reach areas first.
I should hit with degreaser but rarely do. I do not remove mill scale on HR. I’ve had some chipping but only if the part is very very very smooth (close to mirror polished stainless carabiners I bought). Started doing 2 colors on parts and it takes it to another level. The powder can look so flat and lifeless sometimes but with the right 2 colors it gets juicy.
I have a Japanese mini truck and started making things that I needed for it. Started with tie down brackets and moved into cup holders, tailgate chains, bike racks and storage boxes under the seat and on the dash. People saw the pics and I’ve been selling everything for the last couple years. Been a lot of fun for the most part. I use the titan and crossfire pro. ODD DEVICES
You can do the same thing by wiping it off with a dry rag or towel.
You know you should only apply powder in this manner if you have lots of Faraday areas.
Have you tried turning your KV’s down when you are having problems, and hold the gun back from the part.
Also remember cure time is based on the part temp not air temp or what your toaster oven dial says.
Regular household ovens can be easly -25 +25 off on temp.
Ill just heat up the sign with a blow torch. I would not wipe the part, never touch an uncoated surface before powder coating. The same blow torch can be used to heat the faraday area as well
I was doing this for a bit but it just was hard to reach some areas with the torch once the part is hanging so I just go with the oven now. But the torch works great. I thought I read that propane can leave “moisture” behind, I didn’t look into the details, so I’m not sure if what I saw with the torch was moisture going in or out of the metal. Either way the results were good.
Hot flocking is heating the part to almost the powders melting temperature prior to shooting it.
If you have farady issues this sometimes helps.
It is not a best practice unless the part has issues. The power will stick and start melting on contact. This can cause runs and othe issues.
Warm is ok, hot is questionable.
One thing that will help more than anything is to do a independent ground. People that do it professionally will tell you to add a 8 ft ground rod to ground your part to. I believe this will ease the need to hot flock. The only time I have had to hot flock is doing multiple coats with a entry level gun.
I do use a propane torch as well to heat parts to the point they sweat and dry. The main reason for that is to remove lent from rags or oily finger prints. I cool them completely before I spray powder.
Hot flocking is not a good way to go in my opinion, I have only done it a few times when first starting out. I now know which gun settings to use and how to apply the powder so I hardly ever have issues. But I am not using a cheap gun and I never use a torch to heat my parts.
