Craftsman Powder Coat Guns?

[IMPATIENT 1]

Has Anyone Bought Or Tried A Craftsman P/c Gun.i Seen One This Weekend At Sears And Was Interested In Buying One To Do Small Pieces.it Looked Like A Cordless Drill.

[Cas]

I saw those and was wondering the same thing. I did a little checking and was told that not all guns will except all powders. Being I spoke to someone that does powder coating, I want to believe him but then again, he may have said that cuz it may cut into his biz.
If it's true, then there's a limitation on the kinds and colors. That little gun looked pretty cool though.
If you're looking to get a p/c gun, check out Eastwood (www.eastwood.com), they've got a few guns and lots of colors.

[Hemicbx]

I just bought the Eastwood system, Delexe Kit for $129. I am happy as a pig in. . .
I bought it for the primary reason of doing my jet pump. Just got it re-assembled last night, I'll post pics soon.
The thing is easy to use, fairly forgiving, and as near as I can tell, just flat works. The third piece I did was my JG bowl and it turned out freaking awesome.
The best part of it when compared to painting is that cleanup is a bunch easier (blow it off) and it can be done in poor weather. Did my stuff in December in PA. Cold.
Most of the guys on the Eastwood PC forums prefer the eastwood system, but there is a general feeling that the majority of the finish quality is, like anything else, in the prep work, not in the method used to apply it. There are several on the boards here who've used the Harbor Freight gun with great results. I'm sure the Craftsman system is good. They usually arent in the business of putting their name on inferior stuff.
BTW, the Eastwood Delux Kit comes with some extra little trinkets that really help to make your first few pieces go a lot smoother: silicone plugs of various sizes, fibreglass masking tape, SS hanging wire, EXTRA BOTTLES, and gloss black powder, and two extra colors. All that for only $30 over the price of just the gun.
Hemicbx

[IMPATIENT 1]

I just bought the Eastwood system, Delexe Kit for $129. I am happy as a pig in. . .
I bought it for the primary reason of doing my jet pump. Just got it re-assembled last night, I'll post pics soon.
The thing is easy to use, fairly forgiving, and as near as I can tell, just flat works. The third piece I did was my JG bowl and it turned out freaking awesome.
The best part of it when compared to painting is that cleanup is a bunch easier (blow it off) and it can be done in poor weather. Did my stuff in December in PA. Cold.
Most of the guys on the Eastwood PC forums prefer the eastwood system, but there is a general feeling that the majority of the finish quality is, like anything else, in the prep work, not in the method used to apply it. There are several on the boards here who've used the Harbor Freight gun with great results. I'm sure the Craftsman system is good. They usually arent in the business of putting their name on inferior stuff.
BTW, the Eastwood Delux Kit comes with some extra little trinkets that really help to make your first few pieces go a lot smoother: silicone plugs of various sizes, fibreglass masking tape, SS hanging wire, EXTRA BOTTLES, and gloss black powder, and two extra colors. All that for only $30 over the price of just the gun.
Hemicbx
SOUNDS LIKE I NEED THE EASTWOOD KIT THEN.THE 129.00 IS CHEAPER THAN THE CRAFTSMAN ANYWAY,PLUS I LIKE TO BUY STUFF THAT I KNOW WORKS.THANKS :idea:

[sanger rat]

I started out with the HF gun. After it took a dump I went with a Redline from Pendry powder. It puts out much higher votage and uses less powder than the cheapies. It's not on there website right now so give them a call. www.pendrypowdercoatings.com

[Hipshot]

How does the process work? After you spray the part do you then put it in your kitchen oven or what. If it is fairly easy to do and looks and lasts a while I will difinitely look into getting a system.

[IMPATIENT 1]

How does the process work? After you spray the part do you then put it in your kitchen oven or what. If it is fairly easy to do and looks and lasts a while I will difinitely look into getting a system.
i've only watched someone do it,i can paint so i figured i'd learn to powder coat as well.noone in 100 miles of me does it.i wouldn't use your everyday cookin stove for it.fumes from coatings are toxic! you can use a household stove if you never plan on cookin in it again.

[El Prosecutor]

That is a slick setup - very tempting. The Eastwood site is advertising a 10% off "everything" sale right now as well. :idea: An electric oven from a thrift store would probably hold a bowl or suction housing. . .

[YeLLowBoaT]

How does the process work? After you spray the part do you then put it in your kitchen oven or what. If it is fairly easy to do and looks and lasts a while I will difinitely look into getting a system.
Basicly you use a electrostatic gun to apply te powder then heat it to have it bond.
Really what you have is a "sand blaster" that gives a + charge to the powder. You apply a - charge to the part. Its like take 2 magnets and put then + to - they stick toegether really well. Now think "cream bula(sp??)" where you aplly sugar to the top of a custard and use a toruch to "carmelize" the sugar in to a hard surface.

[shirkey4750]

I belive Sears owns Eastwood, I have a catalog from Sears that is identical to the Eastwood one. I called one day ordering polishing material and the lady answered saying Eastwood and then started laughing.

[Hemicbx]

I picked up an old kitchen oven from a buddy. Easily held a split bowl. I think I could jam a 15" whel into it. 450° until it flows out, then back off to 400° for 20-30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Done.
I'm not a very good painter (although I keep on trying to learn). My powder coated parts look great. The biggest problems are the imperfections in the castings. Believe me, these old Berk castings aren't very sweet.
Hemicbx

[sleekcrafter]

I picked up an old kitchen oven from a buddy. Easily held a split bowl. I think I could jam a 15" whel into it. 450° until it flows out, then back off to 400° for 20-30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Done.
I'm not a very good painter (although I keep on trying to learn). My powder coated parts look great. The biggest problems are the imperfections in the castings. Believe me, these old Berk castings aren't very sweet.
Hemicbx
You need a high temp filler for porus metals and poor castings, to smooth out the imperfections. Something like this
https://www.pendrypowdercoatings.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=186&osCsid=0a598b6a4d5014d99a530d53ecf11bbe
I'm going to pick up an old oven for when I do my parts, I fear my wife :crossx:
Sleek

[flat broke]

Since Hacker and I have done a good amount of stuff with the HF gun, and a trial run with the Craftsman deal, I'll throw my .02 in the mix.
First off, save your $$ on the craftsman deal. It's a pile of crap that basically uses a fan to blow powder out of the cup, past the emitter and onto your part. There is no difuser, so the powder is more prone to clump, and also less likely to be charged for better adhesion (good material transfer).
You can pick up the HF gun for less than a hundred, and save the rest of the $$ for the lifetime warranty (you'll need it). If you're doing lots of parts (entire rig kits, favors for friends, etc.) you'll end up wearing out the HF gun, but for onesie twosies its fine. As indicated earlier in the thread, DO NOT USE YOUR HOUSEHOLD OVEN as the fume are toxic and can also be explosive. This means you need to find an electric oven to use specifically for PCing stuff. The bigger the better as that will become your limiting constraint on what you can and can't powder.
Second, just like with paint, prep is everything. Dirty parts, porous parts, etc. lead to less than stellar results. Take the time to properly preheat larger porous castings to get them to off gas before you apply powder. Nasty parts can be filled and smoothed with a temperature stable filler.
IMHO the novelty of the DIY aspect of doing your own PC work wears off quickly. It's messy, good powder isn't cheap, and when you factor in your time, you can sometimes come out with more invested in the job than if you sent it out. But if you're doing custom stuff, want total control over finishes and timelines, then it is an excellent alternative. Like anything, look at the total amount you'll have to invest to do the job correctly before you jump in.
Chris

[sanger rat]

I started out with a old freebe kitchen oven. Now I have one made from a old 7up machine and one from a stand up freezer.

[Hemicbx]

OK, finally, here are some pics. As I said above, this was done with the Eastwood Hot coat system and is my first shot at powder coating. I used their color called "Appliance White". Not sure how close it really is to Berk white, but who woud know and who would care. I just wanted it nice, white, & durable. Plain ol white can only show up so well in a picture, but trust me, it came out pretty sweet. I did everything from the transom adapter back:
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/521/1341100_1431.JPG
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/521/1341100_1432.JPG
Hemicbx

[IMPATIENT 1]

looks sweet hemi!

[gqchris]

Man that looks CLEAN Hemi!

[Cas]

Great Job! You want to experiment with an intake manifold I have? I'm looking at the black chrome to have it done in. :)

[Hemicbx]

I'm all about experimeting with this stuff. I just picked up some of the aluminum Bud bottles for test pieces. The cross country shipping (twice) probably makes a local guy look a whole lot better for you.
I'll be hitting some motorcycle calipers in semi-gloss black this weekend, I hope.
I had a lot of guidance from this forum on the PC deal. Flat Broke in particular gave me some good advic. Sorry, I can't remember the others right now. Also, like I said above, the Eastwood forums were invaluable.
Hemicbx

[flat broke]

I'm all about experimeting with this stuff. I just picked up some of the aluminum Bud bottles for test pieces. The cross country shipping (twice) probably makes a local guy look a whole lot better for you.
I'll be hitting some motorcycle calipers in semi-gloss black this weekend, I hope.
I had a lot of guidance from this forum on the PC deal. Flat Broke in particular gave me some good advic. Sorry, I can't remember the others right now. Also, like I said above, the Eastwood forums were invaluable.
Hemicbx
You might want to check into a high temp stable powder for that caliper project. Brakes can get pretty toasty if they are used often. Thanks for the kind words on the other stuff. Your pump came out looking good.
Chris