DIY Tip for the home powder coater.

[bkm]

As some know I have dabbled a little with a very budget minded home powder coating setup. I have probably close to $125 total in my gun and oven setup. I converted a natural gas oven to run on propane cylinders mainly because I don't have 220v in my garage and the oven was free.

The biggest problem was hanging the work inside the oven. There is really no place to hang anything except for the vent for the exhaust. You could hang a clip in there, but if it was hot you would burn your hand more times than not.

So I decided to do something about this. I went to Lowes and bought two center mount drawer sliders that were all metal. I mounted them inside the oven and then welded two pieces of 3/8 rod to them for hangers. Now I can slide out the rack, hang the part, slide it in to cook, and slide it back out to remove. I can actually use all the space inside the small oven.

Here are some pics of a Tecate westcoast swingarm going in after the second coat.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g248/bkm1168/045_zps7ec16e8a.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g248/bkm1168/047_zps8335b343.jpg
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g248/bkm1168/048_zpsda7ed729.jpg

[yaegerb]

Very nice bryan! Glad you posted pics. When you said a rack, what are showing there is more than what I was thinking. Very cool indeed

[bkm]

It worked like a champ. Oile's new swing arm turned out nice.

[atc007]

Would that be Ollie? lol

[bkm]

Nope, oile.

[Flyingw]

hey!!!!!! that's a great idea

[hippyplz]

Very cool idea, thanks for posting it.

[Scootertrash]

Ideas like this are why I love this place!!

[Maico]

I'd like to know more about your powder coating rig.

[bkm]

Its about as budget minded as you can get. Like I said in my first post the reason for the gas oven is because of my lack of 220v in my garage. Any gas oven is set up from the factory to run on natural gas and since I had to use propane, it had to be converted. A natural gas oven will not run on propane without modification.

I didn't bother converting the burners, because it cost money for the kit and I had zero use for them. The oven burner however is a very simple conversion. The regulator has a two sided cap on top. One side that says "N" for natural gas and one that has a "L" or "P" for liquid propane. Unscrew it and flip it over the the "L or P", now that is done. Then there is a brass orifice that is threaded on both sides in between the burner and the gas line. If the threads are the same on top and bottom, it is setup for natural gas. Tighten the brass orifice down clockwise to where all the threads are exposed on the top and none on the bottom. You have just decreased the orifice size due to the the higher pressure of the liquid propane.

Next I just bought a propane BBQ pit hose with a regulator to use the 20 BBQ cylinders (now there is two regulators instead of the one on the oven) and attached it to the gas line on the back of the oven and presto, now your cooking with propane bottles. (This tip can also be useful with a hunting cabin. You would just have to buy the conversion kit, $35, and convert the top burners).

The gun is a cheap as they come from Harbor Freight. This is a classic case of you get what you pay for. I went to use my gun a few days ago and when I hooked it up, it quit working. So off the HF and another new gun. This time I got it home and this one didn't work either. After some inspection I came to the conclusion that it must have been assembled on a Friday in China, because I had to finish the wiring assembly for the Asian fellow that assembled it.

I will be upgrading my gun next and then more upgrades to the oven. I want to be able to do everything on a trike/quad, except for the frame.

[Maico]

The oven part I got handled.

It's your powder coating set up I'm interested in.

[bkm]

Its nothing special. Just a harbor freight gun, some wire to make hangers, spray it, and then bake it.