powdercoating your surefire?

[Roadblock]

I've searched a couple of times and came up with no other threads about powdercoating a flashlight. so I guess that I'll stick my neck out and ask away. I have seen threads that complain about surefires anodizing, and how sometimes it falls a little short of perfect (my new z2 looks great tho') has anybody ever had powdercoating done on their flashlights body? (doesnt scratch, and can get custom colors) just a thought I have had from the start. Any and all input will be most appreciated.

 

[greenLED]

I thought powder coating was the least resistant of coatings you can give aluminum flashlights (Hard Ano being the toughest). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

 

[teststrips]

I may be wrong, but I think powdercoating is pretty thick, and would chip easily if dropped.

I think it would probably make the light slippery to hold too.

this all comes from someone with no actual powdercoating expiriance, but are generalizations made from observations of powdercoated products that I've seen/used.

 

[Roadblock]

i was under the impression that powdercoat will NEVER chip or scratch off.....I will have to do some more investigating.

 

[Blackbeagle]

Properly prepared powercoating is amazingly resistant. One of the toughest coatings you can get. If you powercoated a small flat steel bar, you could do a ninety degree bend around a pencil without it flaking. Abrasion resistance is excellent. Resistance to chemical attack is excellent. Now for the bad news: Powdercoating is a dry granular power that is applied to a metal and then the metal is cooked to fuse the powder into a ceramic type coating. The cooking changes the metallic properties. Awhile ago when I was still diving, someone powdercoated a scuba tank and then got it filled. The aluminum had been seriously weakenend and the tank split during the fill. There are higher and lower temperature processes. The higher temp processes is supposedly best. I don't know enough about the lower temp but I do know that there is a manufacturer of gun refinishing products that sells a kit for 300 degree operation. Can be done in a toaster oven.

 

[Roadblock]

but just for the application of a flashlight it should be okay right?

 

[OddBall]

I reckon do it...

Do a spare one first maybe, a trial run & see how you like it.

 

[Al_Havemann]

Dunno… Powder Coat is still just paint and it's going to scratch and chip. One thing I can tell you, Powder Coat is a real pain to remove if you want to re-paint. Surefire HA coats and (to me anyway), worn HA is better than scratched and chipped paint.

Powder Coat is applied to a charged surface then heated to cure. The equipment isn't terribly expensive; I have a small setup I purchased from Harbor Freight, I don't remember exactly what it cost, I think it was about $190.00 or something like that.

I've painted a few things with it and been pleased with the result. There's a fair learning curve and the materials are pretty expensive. It's relatively easy to get excellent results because Power Coat will inherently form a smooth surface; it's the way it works.

A year ago I purchased a Takahashi FSQ 106 (a very expensive refractor telescope) that had been badly scratched up while being transported (was in a car accident) at a bargain basement price. I disassembled the scope, sand blasted the tube and Powder Coated it. The scope looks as good now as a factory new piece.

I've painted a few other things including small car parts and a couple of cheap flashlights. All came out quite nice but the flashlights dinged up pretty quickly from rolling around and general handling. Nice stuff, but I don't think it's a good choice for a flashlight unless the commercial painters can get a much harder finish than I was able to. I've tried layering on a heavier coating but then it seems to chip more easily.

As far as I can see, Powder Coat is durable, but it seems to scratch pretty much like any other paint does. Keep in mind though that I'm no expert, I've just played about some with it.

Al