The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop low temp powdercoat ... use on body??

I recently read some literature on low temperature
powdercoat paints... they were developed to make
the powdercoating process available to pieces that
might be harmed by the 300-plus degree process of
normal powdercoat..such as wood, some plastics, etc. ....the advertisement stated baking with low temp was done from 80 to 110 degrees....
This info made me wonder if the process could be used on metal .... metal using the low temperature process...
I have contacted an electrical engineer friend of mine for some thoughts but would be interested in ideas from here also......
With that low a temp to initiate the process...
could I make a low dollar oven from plywood and insulated house sheathing .... and if my truck was apart... with front end, cab, and bed seperated.... paint my truck in sections in my
homebrewed oven???
Perhaps the oven would be better built from
metal barn siding and spray on insulation...but you get the idea....baked on finish for entire truck from garage home-made oven...
I read also during my research that gas ovens were NOT, NOT, NOT used in the powdercoat process
because of uneven heating.... so a concern of mine if I was to attempt an oven build for low temp powdercoat..
I would imagine the oven could be made just big enough for each of the 3 pieces seperately... maybe 7ft wide, 7ft long(swb), and 5ft or so high...
Anyway... we're talking about an oven roughly the size of a queen size bed/5ft high that only needs to get up to 110 degrees... if it will work..
I was thinking about some simple probes to use as temperature monitors... cooking or 18wheeler
refer probes.... I would need to figure out heating source and regulation.. and be able to accomplish a fairly even temp inside the oven...
I really don't know how sensitive the powdercoat
powder/paint would be to say 10 to 20 degrees difference between the top and bottom temperatures in the oven....this is what I would be trying to monitor with the probes... consistent temperature....
I suppose I could rig a vent of some kind in the top...to release heat if the top was hotter
than the bottom... which I assume would be the case...so heat could seep out and keep the overall inside temp fairly even....something simple like a square hole that I covered in various amounts till I figured it out....
anyway.... if there are those here with powdercoating experience who could speak to this issue..... or those with ideas on oven design..
... I would like to hear from you... thanks,
K

if the powder melted at 80-110 deg, you could just put the parts out in the TX summer sun!

powder coating is a fairly exacting process in terms of temps and metal cleanliness, and I think you'd spend more building and testing the oven than it would cost you to have the parts done, and you'd still have nobody but yerself to blame when it peels off later!

a couple pages for you to consider:
Navy test info and someone who does it
don't forget the phosphate bath


Bill

If you want that kind of durability, you could go with Immron or Deltron. I have bounced tools of that catalyized paint without chips or holes.

Is that temperature in Fahrenheit or Celcius? 100 degrees C seems more likely and is 212F.
The more difficult part of powdercoating body panels (which can be done, btw, plenty of electrical equipment cabinets are powdercoated) is finishing the metal so it looks right. You can't powdercoat over filler.

You can make a fairly inexpensive powdercoat baking oven of any size you want.

Check out what this guy has done: http://www.powdercoatoven.4t.com/Index.html

I'm gathering parts for this based on his construction.

Paul