In Need Of Powder Coating Advice

tc70518

I am adding hurricane rated aluminum shutters to my product line. My shutters need to be powder coated, and I am looking to set up my own powder coating system. I am not looking to spend a fortune, so this is what I found.

I found these ovens being sold on Ebay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/powdercoat-powder-coat-coating-batch-oven-electric_W0QQitemZ120403480357QQcmdZViewItemQQptZC ommercial_Painting?hash=item120403480357&_trksid=p 3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39% 3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

And I found this gun sold by Columbia Coatings....
http://store.columbiacoatings.com/cg...ategory%3DHSCS

Anybody familiar with either of these, and does this seem like a decent start for doing my own powder coating?

Any suggestions are very welcome!

Thanks in advance.

THINKPAINTING

I would get a price from a Powder Coater first before investing in my own eqipment.

Its not as easy as it looks, and you must be setup and meet all city, or town regs............

Checkout eastwood company for DVD about PC.

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tc70518

I'll check into regulations, but I have gotten a quote and it was through the roof. $2200 for 12 sets of shutters. Even if I give them regular business and they gave me a price break, it would still cut way into my profit margin. I'm not worried about how hard it is to do. Practice makes perfect like anything else.I'll check out the DVD's on eastwood. Thanks for the advice!

nEighter

Powder coating is subject to UV damage. The color will fade. Epoxy possibly?

tc70518

Just about everyone in this industry uses powder coating for aluminum shutters. What type of epoxy are you referring to?

tc70518

Are you familiar with aluthane?

nEighter

Really? No not familiar with the product you stated. I know from the automotive industry that powdercoating exterior stuff is always frowned upon (i.e. rims) because the sun eats the color right out of them. I wonder if there is a different type of powdercoat for shutters Good luck on your search, keep us posted as to what you find out.

tc70518

I'm going to investigate the color fading thing. If I could find a way to paint effectively on aluminum without it chipping easily, I'd much rather do that than set up a powder coating oven in my shop. I've just always been told powder coating was the way to go with aluminum shutters due to it's durability. I've primed and painted some of my aluminum awning frames in the past, and it chipped way too easily.

rustyjames

There's automotive finishes that'll stand up to the weather. For coating aluminum, as well as galvanized, it's important to use the correct undercoats as directed by the manufacturer.

Traditions2

I would think there would be all kinds of coatings superior or at least equal to the durability of powdercoating. The material may cost alot but nowhere near the price you quoted to powdercoat the shutters.

tc70518

I renegotiated that price from the powder coater. I got him to drop about $800 off the total price. That brings it to roughly $7 per square foot for all the shutters. From what I'm hearing, the average is about $6 per sq. ft., so that's close enough for now. I'll use him for now and see how it goes. There is one guy who is painting his shutters, and he washes his aluminum with alumi-bright, then primes and paints them, and he says it works out well. I'm going to test some small pieces with that method and see how it works out.