wquiles
Flashaholic
I always wanted to give a tougher finish to my project lights than the OEM Anodize in the factory Mags, and although for Al the HAIII is the best/preferred method, I refused to deal myself with HA Type III since I have two small kids in the house. It is of course true that you can send your parts to be HAIII somewhere, but after talking to Brian (Mirage_Man) and others who have gone that route, and heard about some of the problems and inconsistent finish/color that sometimes results from HAIII, I decided to compromise and invest in a powder coating (PC) setup as the "consensus" seems to be that PC is more durable than the standard Anodize process, but not quite as strong/durable as true HAIII. I want to thank other forum members who have shared with experience with blasting cabinets and with powder coating, both publicly on various threads on CPF, and by email - you guys are awesome :bow:
From my reading prior to PC a part you really need to clean it well, and if possible make the surface slightly porous so that the PC can adhere well. So I started by making my own small, portable sand blasting cabinet. I bought this Maxus benchtop cabinet:
Which I then proceeded to clean up and seal it as most reviews on most of these low cost cabinets show that they are "very" rarely truly sealed from the factory (mostly coming from China).
I also added a car air filter to the intake port, not so much to prevent dirt from coming "in", but dust from coming out the intake port, even though my vacuum generated a very strong negative pressure inside (specially now that it is "well" sealed):
So with some kits parts from Horror Freight I build me a mobile system:
The height was set so that I can comfortable work/view everything as ergonomically as possible (silver "V" holders not painted black yet in this picture):
I also installed an air regulator right on the cabinet so that I can dial just what I need regardless of the shop's higher PSI on the lines:
To start with I am using AO 70 grit:
For my vacum I am using a small "contractor" grade (whatever that means!) with both filters in place, although I still "vent" outside:
and of course I am still using a good, vented P95 filter:
How does it work? At roughly 40-50 PSI I got this in a relatively short time. I left the right side untouched for a comparison, and to see how well the PC will adhere to the untreated surface:
I then degreased, cleaned, and baked the part in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Once the part was cooled, I then applied the powder with my PC gun (I have the older version of this one, when it was still being called the Hyper Smooth Pony PC system). The powder that I am using to try everything is a "textured" black powder. Here is a photo of the coated part on top of an untouched black cut-off for comparison:
The "textured" baked powder feels great on the hand/skin. Very "grippy" without being abrasive - I bet it would be great with greasy/dirty hands. The finish is fairly low-gloss - in the photos above it seems brighter than in person due to the close proximity of the twin lamps (one on each side). The coating was not very thick, since I can still screw the tailcap with no problems (of course I would have to touch up the edge on the lathe [or sandpaper by hand] to make it conductive again if this were part of a complete Mag light). I have other color and finishes to try, so this will be a fun and practical project for the next couple of weeks/months :thumbsup:
From my reading prior to PC a part you really need to clean it well, and if possible make the surface slightly porous so that the PC can adhere well. So I started by making my own small, portable sand blasting cabinet. I bought this Maxus benchtop cabinet:
Which I then proceeded to clean up and seal it as most reviews on most of these low cost cabinets show that they are "very" rarely truly sealed from the factory (mostly coming from China).
I also added a car air filter to the intake port, not so much to prevent dirt from coming "in", but dust from coming out the intake port, even though my vacuum generated a very strong negative pressure inside (specially now that it is "well" sealed):
So with some kits parts from Horror Freight I build me a mobile system:
The height was set so that I can comfortable work/view everything as ergonomically as possible (silver "V" holders not painted black yet in this picture):
I also installed an air regulator right on the cabinet so that I can dial just what I need regardless of the shop's higher PSI on the lines:
To start with I am using AO 70 grit:
For my vacum I am using a small "contractor" grade (whatever that means!) with both filters in place, although I still "vent" outside:
and of course I am still using a good, vented P95 filter:
How does it work? At roughly 40-50 PSI I got this in a relatively short time. I left the right side untouched for a comparison, and to see how well the PC will adhere to the untreated surface:
I then degreased, cleaned, and baked the part in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Once the part was cooled, I then applied the powder with my PC gun (I have the older version of this one, when it was still being called the Hyper Smooth Pony PC system). The powder that I am using to try everything is a "textured" black powder. Here is a photo of the coated part on top of an untouched black cut-off for comparison:
The "textured" baked powder feels great on the hand/skin. Very "grippy" without being abrasive - I bet it would be great with greasy/dirty hands. The finish is fairly low-gloss - in the photos above it seems brighter than in person due to the close proximity of the twin lamps (one on each side). The coating was not very thick, since I can still screw the tailcap with no problems (of course I would have to touch up the edge on the lathe [or sandpaper by hand] to make it conductive again if this were part of a complete Mag light). I have other color and finishes to try, so this will be a fun and practical project for the next couple of weeks/months :thumbsup:
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