Powder coating thriller.....

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CaptG

CaptG

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
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2,686
Location
Otsego, Mi, USA.
Just let me say this, and listen close. When you are using your powder coat gun and you reach over to turn the rack so you can coat the other side, TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE CHARGE PEDAL. Just because you let up on the pc gun trigger does not mean the juice is also off. And if you should accidently make contact with the end of the little metal rod that sticks thru the spray pattern cone on the very end of the gun, your life will momentarily get a bit exciting. DAMHIKT. Got to go now. I have to see if I can get my new spike hairdo do lay back down before SWMBO gets home and starts asking those questions that will lead to yet another lecture.
 
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When I was a kid, I used a push-mower with a bare metal strap attaching to the spark plug. It was not very snug, and would occasionally slip off (especially when mowing under fir trees). I got pretty good at grabbing the insulated wire and sticking it back on the plug before the blade spun down.

Then one day, I happened to grab a little too close to the unshielded part. I felt the shock run all the way up my arm, and down my leg to ground.

After that, the zap off a powder-coat gun seems downright tame.

Regards,
Eric
 
Gary, even after taking your foot off of the switch you need to touch the little metal thingy to the rack or wire or to the alligator ground clip, DON'T touch the rack or what ever you are using to hold your parts before you dissipate the charge, kinda like working on a condenser, I've gotten knocked on my butt from them but so far I've been fortunate not to get zapped from my PC gun
 
Gary,

Good story, but I also would like to see pix!! :biggrin:

When I was a teen-ager, the shut off switch on my father's walk behind tractor broke. He used a plastic handled screwdriver to short out the motor by grounding the spark plug to the frame. One day I was plowing and needed to shut down the motor. Since I didn't have a screw driver so I whipped out my pocket knife. I held it carefully by the handle (and also by the metal rivets holding the handle on!!) and shorted out the motor. It took me about 30 minutes to find where I threw the knife!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:
 
Thanks Ken, I will keep that tip in mind, and Jon, no pictures, ( it woulda been a dandy), but it did happen,lol. Eric, I also know all about them small, and the big motors, too. Stimulating, ya thats it, just stimulating.
 
That would have been a sight to see.

When I was in high school, I took an electronics class where we learned how to fix TVs. It is amazing how much charge can be built up on the picture tube. We used a long screwdriver to short out the charge. When you do it sounds like a firecracker going off. If you get your hand too close to the blade you get a pretty hefty zap. Your whole arm will go lifeless and flops around like a big wet noodle for awhile. It really isn't all that painful but having a totally numb arm is kind of unnerving.
 
what an electrifying way of ensuring that others might protect themselves.....that's what i love about this forum.....people willing to 'take one for the team' so others might learn from them......let's just call those that go in harm's way.....the 'wise' ones!
 
hughbie said:
what an electrifying way of ensuring that others might protect themselves.....that's what i love about this forum.....people willing to 'take one for the team' so others might learn from them......let's just call those that go in harm's way.....the 'wise' ones!
Click to expand...

I would not really say I was "willing", and at that particular moment "wise" was at the other end of my mental process. But I will bet that I don't do it again, well, at least not soon, lol.
 
I have modified a set of HF punches that I use to hold my tubes while I PC them. I actually hold the punch (with the alligator clip attached to it) to coat my tubes with no problems.

It only takes one ZAP to totally RESPECT the end of the gun though!
 
I've never been zapped by a PC gun, and a possible reason suddenly occured to me. I wash the parts in acetone before powder-coating, and wear a nitrile glove when handling the clean parts. I don't bother to take it off before spraying. Perhaps the glove is insulating me. Or maybe the gun itself (Eastwood) is insulated.

Just a thought,
Eric
 
Sylvanite said:
I've never been zapped by a PC gun, and a possible reason suddenly occured to me. I wash the parts in acetone before powder-coating, and wear a nitrile glove when handling the clean parts. I don't bother to take it off before spraying. Perhaps the glove is insulating me. Or maybe the gun itself (Eastwood) is insulated.

Just a thought,
Eric
Click to expand...

I got popped through a nitrile glove (that is why I was so cavalier to start with).
 
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