Powdercoating advice please.

[NittanyLion]

I started powder coating my bullet pens and some other components and I'm finding that all brands are not created equal. I was gifted a few bottles of different brands and I'm getting very different results. Can anyone offer advice on what brands work best for you? Most interested in a high gloss clear coat., but have been using black and red as well.

Also, what else do you powdercoat other than tubes? Components, full kits, etc?.


Any advice is appreciated.

 

[PenMan1]

I've had very good success with the Eastwood powder coat gun and their powders.

I started with a cheap Harbor Freight rig and used their powders, this system never produced results that I was happy with.

Moving to the Eastwood system was some of the best money I've spent in pen making.
As a drying over, I use a $5 toaster oven I got from Good Will. My "paint booth" is a medium sized Home Depot moving box. After a spraying session, I just pour the overspray into a container and reuse it. I NEVER add the once used powder back to the original container for fear of contaminating the new powder.

I know others that do mix the overspray back into the container. I just don't. The Eastwood colors work VERY WELL, but they don't come cheap. Why take the chance?

 

[Monty]

My setup is basically the same as Andy's except I've had good results with Caswell's Super High Gloss Clear powder.

 

[NittanyLion]

I've had good luck with Eastwood.....got these second hand, but never bought directly from them. The Harbor freight black seems to give me fits. I also have an old bottle of caswell gloss, but not the super high gloss. It's giving me some trouble as well.

I'm using the HF gun as well, and an old toaster oven. Both seem to do fine, I really think some of my problem is the powder I'm using, especially since it's all second hand and I believe at least 5 years old. Do you know if there is a shelf life? Does age really matter much if the bottles have sat around for 5+ years? I think I'm leaning towards placing an order from Eastwood since it seems to be working well.....I just didn't want to dismiss anyone else if there is a far superior product out there.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[rherrell]

I use Columbia Coatings for all my powder coating stuff, they also have EXCELLENT customer service, whenever I call I usually talk to the PRESIDENT of the company, how many places do that?

This is what I use for my casing pens... Gloss Clear TGIC

Stick to the TGIC powders, all that other fancy stuff is for the big boys!:biggrin:

Get a 1 pound container and try it out, you can't go wrong for 13 bucks.

 

[Sylvanite]

I started with Eastwood powders, and have always been satisfied with them. I mainly use the low-temp full-gloss clear. It costs twice as much as the regular gloss clear, but I get less heat discoloration on my bullet pen kits with a lower temp cure. For other things, I've had good results with Eastwood's other colors, including the gloss clear, gloss black, reflective chrome, and smoke chrome.

I'd expect good performance from Caswell and Columbia Coatings powders as well. I tried the Harbor Freight red powder paint once. The color faded pretty quickly with exposure to the sun.

I hope that helps,
Eric

 

[NittanyLion]

I use Columbia Coatings for all my powder coating stuff, they also have EXCELLENT customer service, whenever I call I usually talk to the PRESIDENT of the company, how many places do that?

This is what I use for my casing pens... Gloss Clear TGIC

Stick to the TGIC powders, all that other fancy stuff is for the big boys!:biggrin:

Get a 1 pound container and try it out, you can't go wrong for 13 bucks.

Well, I ended up placing an order with Columbia. Did my first run with this gloss clear....very good stuff. Probably the best I've tried. I Did buy some of their Pink, can't wait to try that. I'm thinking pink casings for the ladies!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[jttheclockman]

I use Columbia Coatings for all my powder coating stuff, they also have EXCELLENT customer service, whenever I call I usually talk to the PRESIDENT of the company, how many places do that?

This is what I use for my casing pens... Gloss Clear TGIC

Stick to the TGIC powders, all that other fancy stuff is for the big boys!:biggrin:

Get a 1 pound container and try it out, you can't go wrong for 13 bucks.

Well, I ended up placing an order with Columbia. Did my first run with this gloss clear....very good stuff. Probably the best I've tried. I Did buy some of their Pink, can't wait to try that. I'm thinking pink casings for the ladies!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Pink?????????????? Are you kidding?????????????? You are going to get letters. Today women strive for equality. A pink shell casing:biggrin:

 

[NittanyLion]

I use Columbia Coatings for all my powder coating stuff, they also have EXCELLENT customer service, whenever I call I usually talk to the PRESIDENT of the company, how many places do that?

This is what I use for my casing pens... Gloss Clear TGIC

Stick to the TGIC powders, all that other fancy stuff is for the big boys!:biggrin:

Get a 1 pound container and try it out, you can't go wrong for 13 bucks.

Well, I ended up placing an order with Columbia. Did my first run with this gloss clear....very good stuff. Probably the best I've tried. I Did buy some of their Pink, can't wait to try that. I'm thinking pink casings for the ladies!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Pink?????????????? Are you kidding?????????????? You are going to get letters. Today women strive for equality. A pink shell casing:biggrin:

Pink handguns are actually good sellers here....I'm betting the pink bullet pens will be the same! I'll be sure to post pics!

 

[jttheclockman]

I use Columbia Coatings for all my powder coating stuff, they also have EXCELLENT customer service, whenever I call I usually talk to the PRESIDENT of the company, how many places do that?

This is what I use for my casing pens... Gloss Clear TGIC

Stick to the TGIC powders, all that other fancy stuff is for the big boys!:biggrin:

Get a 1 pound container and try it out, you can't go wrong for 13 bucks.

Well, I ended up placing an order with Columbia. Did my first run with this gloss clear....very good stuff. Probably the best I've tried. I Did buy some of their Pink, can't wait to try that. I'm thinking pink casings for the ladies!

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Pink?????????????? Are you kidding?????????????? You are going to get letters. Today women strive for equality. A pink shell casing:biggrin:

Pink handguns are actually good sellers here....I'm betting the pink bullet pens will be the same! I'll be sure to post pics!

Pink handguns too??? Oh my. What is this world coming to??/