Powder coating a small light

[TranquillityBase]

I slipped this one in while working on some motorcycle farkle oo:

This light was powder coated using a Harbor Freight powder coating unit and cured using an electric household oven.

***THE OVEN IS DEDICATED FOR POWDER COATING ONLY***

The pics make the coating look much thicker than it actually is.

Black specks are leftover black powder that was still in the gun (I blew, and blew, and blew, then the cows came home...I blew some more, and there still was black powder in the gun, just not that I could see :green

I think the next light will have a black and yellow body:twothumbs

Hope you like...

 

[wquiles]

Looks very nice

How do you like the Powder Coating kit/system from HF? Would you buy it again, or get something else/better if doing it again? How do you keep it away from threads and other dimensionally critical surfaces? Do you have additional pictures of the prepping work?

EDIT: Is this the one you have/use?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94244

I ask since I have been wanting to do some Home Aluminum Anodizing, but it is kind of mesy, expensive, requires space for all of the solutions, etc.. I simply don't have the space and I am worried about the chemicals with my two small children, so the Powder Coating might be a good solution.

Will

 

[StarHalo]

I slipped this one in while working on some motorcycle farkle

It's farkin' nice :thumbsup:

 

[TranquillityBase]

Looks very nice

Thanks, Will

How do you like the Powder Coating kit/system from HF? Would you buy it again, or get something else/better if doing it again? How do you keep it away from threads and other dimensionally critical surfaces? Do you have additional pictures of the prepping work?

I love it!

No prep photos...I will post my 'How to' in this thread.

Will, feel free to give me a call. tbasepm (at) gmail.com if you need my number.

EDIT: Is this the one you have/use?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94244

Basically the same...HF has changed the control unit slighty...I purchased my unit 3 ~ 5 years ago.

 

[Drewfus2101]

I love powdercoating and don't understand why more people are not doing it on flashlights. I'm pretty sure it will hold up better than Type II anodizing.

If only I had a 220 plug in my garage, I would have a powdercoating oven out there.

Nice work, looks great.

 

[TranquillityBase]

Not much of a 'how to', but here goes...

Aluminum bodied host, glass beads blasted (the blasting step isn't required). The light was used and carried daily for a few months.

I disassemble the light, washed the head, body, and tailcap, with citrus cleaner. I baked the host at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (I have had problems, in the past with funky flow-out, with parts that were blasted before powder coating). Pre-bake is suppose to cook off unwanted/undesirable constituents that may affect the finish.

The host was allowed to cool, then I assemble it with standard the red silicone o-rings (I left as much gap as possible between the body and head, and the tailcap and head). I hung the light from the inside of the tailcap, coated it, and then hung it in the oven with that same hanger.

I'll post a photo of the hanger, later today.

 

[jch79]

So can my bike frame fit in that oven?

Sweet looking finish on a sweet looking light. oo: And TB does aluminum?!?! Return to the good ol' days? :nana: How do you think this thing would handle abuse?

:wave: john

 

[TranquillityBase]

So can my bike frame fit in that oven?

Sweet looking finish on a sweet looking light. oo: And TB does aluminum?!?! Return to the good ol' days? :nana: How do you think this thing would handle abuse?

:wave: john

The new bike?!?!:nana::devil::wave:

 

[jch79]

Not cool dude. :mecry: LOL

I'm gonna go have a Brooklyn Lager to drown my sorrows. :nana:

 

[Kiessling]

Ah ... yellow. Good choice. Very sexy.

 

[TranquillityBase]

Yellow sexy, black and yellow sexy more :nana:

The black piece was a test part ...

The wire, is the hanger I used for hanging the yellow light for coating and curing.

Knurling on the yellow light was knocked down in the lathe, and the knurling on the black part was left sharp...it's not powder fill-in/flow-out that makes the two appear different.

 

[wquiles]

Thanks Scott for your informative post and your time on the phone - much appreciated

Will

 

[TranquillityBase]

You're most welcome Will...it was my pleasure

 

[jar3ds]

how tough is this stuff? Can it hold up to abuse? Thanks!

 

[TranquillityBase]

jar3ds, I'm curious myself...

I know it's very difficult to remove via media blasting. What that means for the EDC flashlight :shrug:

Here's another test piece (yellow). A very thin coat (probably less that 10 seconds of spray time). Very thin, full coverage, with nearly no loss of detail.

 

[jar3ds]

i think the black specks are awesome... good contrast with the yellow

 

[TranquillityBase]

For those following this thread, here's a pic of a light in matte black...oo:

 

[will]

I have been Powder Coating lights for the last 3 years. I use the home Powder Coating kit from Eastwood Auto. (http://www.eastwood.com/) They also have a large number of powder coat colors in small amounts.

Just a few notes worth mentioning:

Powder coat can be removed by using a strong paint remover.

I use aluminum foil to mask off areas I don't want to coat. There are also heat resistant tapes that can be used.

Don't powder coat any threads, Powder coat is pretty thick.

My opinion - anodize is harder than powder Coat.

One advantage of powder coat - there are more colors available, like white for example.

some samples of Maglites. The wood covered light is actually wood covered, not powder coat.

 

[McGizmo]

Cool stuff TB! Have you tried it on any Ti? I have a system myself that I used on some brass LED fixtures but I never did any flashlights that I recall. I've wondered about coating Ti but question the effective adhesion to the metal. Probably a good blasted surface might provide sufficient mechanical bond but I wonder. :thinking:

 

[Kiessling]

The white one is really beautiful.