Yes, there are a few different ways to powdercoat plastic. The easiest way is to buy powder for plastic. It is a brush on powder that has a gel adder. It works decent, but id suggest a few practice runs first. The other is a chemical process that makes plastic conductive. Dave
Yes, there are a few different ways to powdercoat plastic. The easiest way is to buy powder for plastic. It is a brush on powder that has a gel adder. It works decent, but id suggest a few practice runs first. The other is a chemical process that makes plastic conductive. Dave
Thanks for the suggestions... I am trying to use the powder I already have so the color matches. Changing to a different type/manufacturer kinda defeates what I am trying to do (color match). If I can't get the exact same color, I will just us regular paint...
I have been playing around w/ a couple methods this afternoon; some of my test parts came out real good so I think I will try and PC one of the valve covers tomorrow.... Will post results/pics
[This message has been edited by ALJR (edited 10-29-2011).]
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05:29 PM
Kento Member
Posts: 4218 From: Beautifull Winston Salem NC Registered: Jun 2003
The Type of Plastic makes a big difference. The LS Composite Intake can handle the heat for proper curing. IF you already have powder you can get a product that will convert the powder to liquid and allow you to spray it on like regular paint and it will harden and dry like normal. It will not be as durable as the standard process but it will match.
**************************************** 88 Formula CJB Arrived Finally. #689 of 1252 Time to start Working TONY! There are Two kinds of Fiero's : Notchies and Donors!
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05:50 PM
bmwguru Member
Posts: 4692 From: Howell, NJ USA Registered: Sep 2006
I'll tell you what you can do but you absolutely have to know how to paint properly. One of the industry secrets is mixing the powdercoat with a thinner and spraying it on in light coats. The other thing you can try is to use a reducer to break the powder down into a liquid form and add it to a clearcoat mix....almost like adding pearl to the clearcoat before you spray.
I've used standard powder coat on wood -just for the hell of it I coated some golf Tees chrome as joke awards for some golf budds. I simply dipped in the coating. They did burn at 400deg, but I suspect plastics may warp .
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11:10 PM
Oct 30th, 2011
Kento Member
Posts: 4218 From: Beautifull Winston Salem NC Registered: Jun 2003
I've used standard powder coat on wood -just for the hell of it I coated some golf Tees chrome as joke awards for some golf budds. I simply dipped in the coating. They did burn at 400deg, but I suspect plastics may warp .
Most of your powders can cure as low as 275* you just have to bake them a lot longer and they will not bond correctly per the manufacturer at that point. Im an sure they would look good but would not be as durable at full cure. Since you are using a different material then metal it may turn out fine. The curing process is designed to open the pores of the material so the powder will bond with it. since plastic and wood are much more porous then most metals the lower temps would most likely be fine. I plan on experimenting over the winter with different materials and see how it works out with some old powder I have.
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**************************************** 88 Formula CJB Arrived Finally. #689 of 1252 Time to start Working TONY! There are Two kinds of Fiero's : Notchies and Donors!
[This message has been edited by Kento (edited 10-30-2011).]
OK, pc'ed both the valve covers today. Did the firewall one first because it is less visable and it gave me a chance to pratice a bit more on an actual cover (rather than some smaller test parts). The coating was thin and not as perfectly smooth/glossy in a couple small spots, but will not be visable one installed. However, it did cover enough to get the proper color... The rear valve cover came out really good, good enough that I am going to keep it
What I did... On some of my test parts, I heated the part in the oven @200 before spraying the powder on, after spraying I cured it at the normal 400deg. This high of a temp caused the plastic to outgas; not too sure if the gas was from the plastic itself or contaminents that were soaked into it priour...
On the actual covers, I cleaned the heck out of them. Sand blasted (black beauty) them inside and out. Washed them several times with soap and water and a couple times with acetone (wanted to make sure no oil would seep out/through. I baked the covers @ 300 deg for about 20 min. I did this several times to cook off any gasses that may have vented. I also scrubed the covers with acetone between bakes. I wanted to make sure these things were clean and dry!
For the aplication of the powder, I heated the cover to 300deg on the oven tray, removed from oven and started to spray the powder (at a very low rate) is such a maner that the powder melted a bit and clung to the plastic. I had to hold the hot cover w/ some gloves (from the inside of the cover) to position the cover so gravity would keep the powder in place till it melted. I had to put the cover back in the oven (for 5 min) to heat it back up so i could continue... I cured the PC at 375 for 10 min and the parts came out looking good... BTW, do one cover at a time as they would cool to quick...
Working on the pics now, will get them up shortly...
Pics added
[This message has been edited by ALJR (edited 10-30-2011).]
Thanks The SC came out perfect, smooth as glass and high gloss. The valve covers came out maybe a 6.5 out of 10. But the part of the valve covers that is so/so is not visable, so its all good...
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10:54 PM
Nov 4th, 2011
Pappy Member
Posts: 842 From: Land of Confusion Registered: Apr 2010
