Powder Coating DIY - Questions about Process and Set Up

So a buddy and I want to buy/build a powdercoating set up, as well as possibly a sandblasting area.

We are motivated, and very mechanically inclined.

The premise is this. we can get an extra oven cheap/free (kitchen over)
I have seen powder coating sets online for $70 (just gun and electric static thing) to $200 (a full kit with colors ect.) we are also planning on getting an electric air compressor from craigslist.


I want to get fanatics input on this. We are doing this mostly to be able to powder coat things for ourselves - wheels, parts, tools, ect, but we are also debating making a little business out of it. a word of mouth kind of thing, nothing big.

we also want to make a small sandblasting box and use an airpaint gun+ compressor for that.

There is one little caveat. we live in an apartment, however our bills are paid so electricity isnt an issue.


My main questions are this.

1. How hard is it to powdercoat things in a home setup? - we will have a dedicated oven for this task. or build an oven top hot box - big enough to fit one rim
2. Home build sand blaster? on a scale of 1 to 10
3. companies? what you guys use or recommend?
4. Local vendors in the DFW area?
a. harbor freight? - for the sandblasting part
5. any extra comments from guys who have experiance.

and of course all DFW fanatics would be welcome to bring their business to us. you would be surprised how far a 6 pack of decent beer will get you in this world.

thanks a bunch guys you are the best.

bored

If you're serious about doing some blasting then you will want a big azz 220v compressor... start hunting CL now for a used, at least 5hp, 60 gallon from a quality manufacturer like IR, Quincy or Speedair. Also, you will want to buy some protective clothing and breathing apparatus. You do not want to ruin your eyes and/or lungs.

Just last month I picked up a handheld speedblaster to be able to blast my own small parts like brake calipers, exhaust brackets, motor brackets etc. Very handy but I've come to realize you need serious air power or it takes awhile to just do a small part. Doing it in the open air also uses up your consumables (glass bead, alum ox etc) so a blast cabinet would be good if you are doing alot of stuff

Originally Posted by GDA

If you're serious about doing some blasting then you will want a big azz 220v compressor... start hunting CL now for a used, at least 5hp, 60 gallon from a quality manufacturer like IR, Quincy or Speedair. Also, you will want to buy some protective clothing and breathing apparatus. You do not want to ruin your eyes and/or lungs.

Just last month I picked up a handheld speedblaster to be able to blast my own small parts like brake calipers, exhaust brackets, motor brackets etc. Very handy but I've come to realize you need serious air power or it takes awhile to just do a small part. Doing it in the open air also uses up your consumables (glass bead, alum ox etc) so a blast cabinet would be good if you are doing alot of stuff

ya we were planning to build a blast box that would recollect sand for reuse. we dont need anything crazy as far as air compressors are concerned and i would rather have an electric one and it takes longer than have a gas powered compressor. i live in an apartment and we are going to be doing this on my porch.

I work in a research lab, so i have access to masks and allsorts of protective equipment. seems like we are looking at a similar set up to yours, if you dont mind how much did you pay fora speed blaster and where did you get it from?

I bought this one from a SO dealer so it would be covered by lifetime warranty - http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

Thinking ahead on that one... ;>)

I run it on my 30 gal CMan Professional 110v compressor. I can run it for a couple minutes before I have to wait for my compressor to catch up. I've only used it twice so far but I'd guess I get probably 2 minutes blasting followed by 2 minute breaks. Between this use and running my air drills I have come to realize the limitations of my compressor setup.

thats a pretty decent price. ya, i mean if you are running a few things at the same time, i would want something a bit more powerful but for a small job i will look around a try tofind a nice one.

powdercoating is the priority though more so than sandblasting. do you have any experience with that?

Never done any powdercoating so you might be the future hook up if you get up and running

Edit - you can get that same blaster for about half that price from other tool stores but then you might not get free replacement tips or wear parts down the road like you should if you buy one from one of the tool trucks.

Originally Posted by GDA

Never done any powdercoating so you might be the future hook up if you get up and running

haha for sure. I mean i am picking up some m68s on saturday, and they will stay silver till the summer. Once school gets out me and my buddy plan on getting the necessary stuff and get rolling from there.

The thing is though i would like to find someone who knows what they are doing before then to come and school us a bit, especially when it comes to baking stuff. but when we get it up and running you can expect a thread on here opening up shop.

Do I understand you correctly...

1) You live in an apartment
2) You're going to install a large(ish) air compressor in the apartment
3) You're going to be doing sandblasting and powder coat spraying in the apartment

Conclusion: You're going to have some VERY unhappy neighbors (and landlord). <--- that's the landlord showing you the T's * C's of your lease...

Go hang out next to even a small air compressor for a while, and then imagine the guy living upstairs having one running in his den. I won't even go into the potential problems with spraying powder coat in an apartment (not being anything remotely close to an expert on the subject - but it sure sounds like a really bad idea).

Originally Posted by habbyguy

Do I understand you correctly...

1) You live in an apartment
2) You're going to install a large(ish) air compressor in the apartment
3) You're going to be doing sandblasting and powder coat spraying in the apartment

Conclusion: You're going to have some VERY unhappy neighbors (and landlord). <--- that's the landlord showing you the T's * C's of your lease...

Go hang out next to even a small air compressor for a while, and then imagine the guy living upstairs having one running in his den. I won't even go into the potential problems with spraying powder coat in an apartment (not being anything remotely close to an expert on the subject - but it sure sounds like a really bad idea).

like i said the sandblasting was a secondary idea. and a small air compressor (electric) running rarely during the day would be ok. and there is nothing in my contract that forbids me to do this.

mainly i just want to powder coat. the idea was to get a separate dedicated oven that would live on the patio. i would spray on the patio and bake on the patio. not in my kitchen.

I am really looking for someone who has a home powdercoating kit to let me know about success/failure/price/products. thanks.

There was a recent issue of Project car that went over the basics of powdercoating.

I doubt your apartment will have a 220v hook up.

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

There was a recent issue of Project car that went over the basics of powdercoating.

I doubt your apartment will have a 220v hook up.

? what is project car? is that a magazine? link?

also i have washing machines, and a full kitchen, should have a 220V plug i can split/......?

you're going to do this inside of your apartment?

http://www.projectcarmag.com/

that seems like a pretty cool mag but they dont do subscriptions? WTF?

i will do it on my patio.

Yeah, its a pretty new mag. I would try to order a back issue.

Patio? I thought powdercoating was somewhat messy. Your neighbors will probably be a little annoyed.

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Yeah, its a pretty new mag. I would try to order a back issue.

Patio? I thought powdercoating was somewhat messy. Your neighbors will probably be a little annoyed.

let me worry about my neighbors

its kinda difficult to explain but the way the building are built my neighbors wont have a clue whats going on. plus i will have a tarp ect. this is why i need someone with experiance to give some advice.

Originally Posted by mvrk10256

let me worry about my neighbors

its kinda difficult to explain but the way the building are built my neighbors wont have a clue whats going on. plus i will have a tarp ect. this is why i need someone with experiance to give some advice.

I bet that within a month, one your neighbors will call the cops thinking you are cooking up meth.

Weird smells, big blue tarp on the patio, shady activities in a garage?

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I bet that within a month, one your neighbors will call the cops thinking you are cooking up meth.

Weird smells, big blue tarp on the patio, shady activities in a garage?

lol i live on campus in university owned aparments. The cops are outside my building 24/7 patrolling. they be *****ez sometimes, i do not think the smell is that strong.....



wish i had a garage....

COPS: Sir, we received a complaint that you might be cooking meth.

MVRK10256: Nope, just powdercoating car parts.

COPS: Yeah, likely story. We've heard that excuse a million times. We weren't born yesterday.

MVRK10256: Seriously, check out my thread on E46fanatics.com

COPS: What's all this meth talk with bigjae1976? Hands on your head...you have the right to remain silent.