how do you do many enclosures powder coating (jig?)

[darron]

I do some powdercoating myself. usually I leave it to the pros because the results are the same and the price is not worth worrying about.

however, i have approx 50 enclosures i want to coat now in 3x different colours and changing the colours could be expensive when i could do it all myself very quickly. IF i had an easy way to do them all together.


so how do you guys handle lots at a time? i had a search. would love to see a photo of someone's jig/process.

long boring read:

here are my thoughts/problems:


normally i predrill the enclosure and hang it from a metal hook on a tray where i powder coat it and then using the same hook hang it inside the oven.

i keep the bottom panel on. this helps minimise overspray and keeps it nice and neat on the rim.

i've been doing them one at a time in a little toaster oven.

for every job i use pliers to break off the previous baked powder off the hook to allow better charge continuity.

for some pedals that are too big i prop them up in a little holder jig between the enclosure and bottom panel and put the jig on a tray in the oven.



i've just got a full size kitchen oven to use now. with trays. obviously i can't spray directly to the trays because on the first bake they will all get coated and not be good for future bakes. even if i do say 12 enclosures at a time, that's cool


i was thinking i could use raw metal hooks and spray outside, and then carefully transfer it to a new hook to be baked. might get messy trying to carefully move them and hang them together. one little touch/bump and i have to start again.

i could use some sort of rod going through all the jack holes and do them in one shot and hang the rod from a tray?

i don't want to spray them one at a time because it seems it would use up a bit more powder. so having something hold all of them and then transfer all of them to the oven in one shot would be ideal.



again... just curious what the obvious easier way is that i can't think of just yet. i'm sure you guys are smart enough to have work out an ingenious system

[John Lyons]

I would love to see how the big guys do it as well.

A bit hard to describe but I do this:
I made brackets that hold a box each. The bracket protrudes past the box about an inch
and enough for me to hold and transfer from my spraying area to my baking area which is a few feet away.
I use baking sheets and can fit roughly 4 boxes and 4 lids comfortably on each sheet. (usually 125B size)
The bracket is about the same size as the inside of the box so overspray is minimal.
The protruding bracket also makes a nice place to apply the electrode.
These are originally for construction framing in building houses etc.
I cut, riveted and bent these to work for the boxes I use normally.
The more current ones I use are taller.
I sit them on another box to get them taller so the powder flows better to the bottom edges.
I also use a rotating table (Called a Lazy Susan often) and I rotate the table/box to access all sides.

Hope this helps....

[darron]

Thanks for your response John. I was hoping that you would reply!


What your doing is almost exactly the same for what I was doing when I was spray painting my enclosures. I did it in a fridge which I converted to dust-free environment and spin the pedals around like you.

Now though with powder coating I like to do it with the base attached.

I didn't respond yet because I wanted to get back to you with a picture.



Here's what I did yesterday. 17 pedals in 3 small batches. 100% success rate so I was super-duper happy it worked out.

I sprayed them all on the same hook (coat hanger) and then transferred them to another hook. I don't want the hook I spray with to get baked and then ruin the continuity of Earthing.

With the larger oven I have so much more room to swing them around.


Here's some candy blue I did yesterday:





probably more wastage with overspray being stuck to that earthed rack. ahh well. that's why it would be nice to have a jig to spray them all and transfer them at the same time so the overspray will land on the other enclosures.

[chromesphere]

Hey Darron,

Can i ask, how did you manage to get a white decal onto those pedals?  That looks pretty hot!  Also, did you undercoat that candy blue?   I'm continuely having issues with 2nd coat not charging / sticking to the enclosure properly and usually end up using enamel spray cans for the clear coat.

I sometimes think buying from the professionals is the way to go as well.  The powder is so expensive.  And the time / effort involved (particularly with a toaster oven).

Anyway, they look good man!

Paul

[darron]

hey Paul.


It's not actually a decal, it's just the brushed metal underneath being revealed after laser engraving. I haven't tried putting clear coats on yet. It would probably be really good for candies (:    especially after lasering. hmmm.. must try that!

I don't have problems with adding additional coats though. When I experiment or cover up %^&*-ups I've sometimes done like 5 coats haha. I'll take a photo of some of the oddball things on my shelf now:






the one on the left is one that had a colour, then another colour, then i poured heaps of candies on by hand hoping it would blend, but just made lumps. then a coat of chrome, then  filled with green and blue candy. the big green one was a blue which i then covered with smoked chrome, then candy green, then dropped it accidentally in a pile of powder and kept putting lines on it :S




as for cost. i don't think it's a problem. even if i pay say $40 for some powder and it does 150 boxes that's still under 30c each. if i pay a pro and provide the powder it's $1 each with a minimum of $40 for colour changes so it's well worth paying a pro, i agree... but in this instance i just wanted to do a very short few 1590a enclosures for fun in 3x different colours, so that would have been $120 for a weekend of mucking around

[chromesphere]

Hey they look cool   While we're mentioning 'f!@# ups' this is one that i painted white, i was really happy with it, except i put it on a tray with aluminum foil to cool off and the tray had some sparkle powder on it which, kind of trampolined upward and landed on the drying powder.  So i decided to just cover the whole face in sparkles and sprinkled the powder ontop of it with my fingers.  Doesnt really show in the photo but yeah, its really sparkly!  I actually think it looks pretty cool.



I think my cost effectiveness with powder is diminished because i bought a heap of different colors.  If i just bought one color it would probably be worth while...

My powder coating gun was 150 bucks on ebay.  Its a "DIY" gun, uses a compressor etc.  But it doesnt have multiple voltage settings.  I think it is very much the bane of my powder coating existence.

Paul

[darron]

mine was 150 too. it doesn't change voltage, but the zap i always give myself feels strong enough haha. i did it twice yesterday.... DUH. feel dumberer

i think it would be a lot easier if i had more of the canisters that fit on the gun so that i could change colours with less hassle.

[chromesphere]

I think it would be a lot easier if i had more of the canisters that fit on the gun so that i could change colours with less hassle.

YES!  I have 2 and its pain swapping all the time, particularly from a dark color to a light color (spots everywhere).  Wonder if we could source some of these...

Paul

[darron]

i DID have two... lost one the first day somehow. mystery? sounds like we use the same beginner gun (:


i take the canister off and use highish pressure to blow all the lines out and never get any bleed through. i haven't been using whites like you though so maybe i wouldn't notice. if its a bit of chrome or sparkle i guess it just adds to the fun (:

[John Lyons]

I have about 20 canisters and I keep having to dump powder
into empty peanut butter jars when I need a different color
that's not in a canister. 

So how is the lid not sticking to the enclosure Darron?

[darron]

So how is the lid not sticking to the enclosure Darron?

they do. i've predrilled them (don't want my tight drilling jig scratching to powder coating later). i stick my screwdriver in the foot switch hole and grab it by the enclosure and give it a good whack or two on my wood desk so that the screwdriver puts pressure on the lid.

don't really have any problems with chipping or anything. keeps some of the spray from going where it shouldn't and i like to think it helps with continuity from the enclosure to the lid.



with the hammond enclosures i buy they usually give me 5x screws. i only use one of them to screw the base on when coating and then use the 4 shiny ones later. otherwise if i have 4x screws i do the same thing but it means 1 in 4 pedals has entirely powder coated screws and the other three are metal.

[chromesphere]

Hey Darren, forgot to ask.  Your finish looks really good!  If you dont mind me asking, where do you get your powder from?  So hard to find a supplier in Australia.  Columbia Coatings shipping is a bit expensive and i suspect the jig powder im using at the moment is low quality stuff.

Thanks for any info!
Paul

[darron]

Hey Darren, forgot to ask.  Your finish looks really good!  If you dont mind me asking, where do you get your powder from?  So hard to find a supplier in Australia.  Columbia Coatings shipping is a bit expensive and i suspect the jig powder im using at the moment is low quality stuff.

Thanks for any info!
Paul

Ta (:

Pendry Powder Coatings Inc on ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Pendry-Powder-Coatings-Inc?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Shipping is a bit much unless you combine a few together. I think he said he can post like 5 or something at the same cost? You'd have to contact him, but after that it works out well.

All the candies are very high gloss. Looks great but you would probably scuff it right away if you don't take care of it. The artwork I put on mine is so busy though that it hides things well.

[chromesphere]

Cheers man ill check it out!  Us Australians sure need a DIY powder coating retailer!

Paul.