Powder Coating Preparation

[kmetros]

I took my intake, blower tubing and 80MM MAF to a local powder coater and they had a problem with the thermostat on the unit that was baking all of the old coating off the parts and some of them warped from the excessive heat. The company will pay for the replacement of the parts, and I now have them in my posession, but I'm wondering if I need to clean the intake at all? It's got a ton of carbon buildup on the snakes and I don't know if I can just take it to them like that or if I need to clean them up first? I don't know if they always bake the parts first, or if they did that just to get the old coating off (I'm assuming the later). I thought the guy also mentioned sand/bead blasting and a chemical dip as part of the process?

Any input from someone that is familiar with powder coating would be appreciated.

TIA,

Kurt

 

[luigisho]

Kurt,

Look for member iselltonsofthings here. He has recently started selling powdercoating services. Also, Mike D. from http://www.hypercoat.com/ is also a SHO guy. It might vary from shop to shop really.

 

[iselltonsofthings]

Kurt,

I always remove all of the carbon buildup before doing any of the powder coating.

There are two reasons for this.

1. After you spray the powder on the part and place it in the oven, the temputure will make the carbon start to smoke. There is also always the chance of the oil bubbling to the surface and potentially catching on fire. I can't see it happening because there is no open flame, but there is still the chance.

If there is enough smoke inside the oven, it can discolor the finish.

2nd reason, is that you will eventually want to clean that carbon out of the runners before installing them on the car. Since Berryman's B-12 or equivilent has no problem eating away paint, I'm sure it will do damage to the fresh powder coat layer.


To answer the question about why they bake the parts, please check out my website under the FAQ.

http://www.keystonepowdercoating.com

Here is a direct link:

http://www.keystonepowdercoating.com/faq.htm#3

As for preparation, I first sand blast the parts, blow the majority of dust off with compressed air, wipe the parts down with an oil/grease remover chemical, then prebake the parts for about 1/2 hr at 375 degrees, remove parts & let cool, then powder coat, and rebake for about 15-30 minutes at around 375 degrees depending on the substrate.

I hope this info helps. If you have any other questions. Drop me a PM.

By the way, I'm sorry to hear about the bad news regarding the broken thermostat. I hope you get everything straightened out.

Sincerely, Scott

 

[DHMag]

to properly prepare the surface for powdercoating, it is preferred to use aluminum oxide blasting media, rather than glass bead media. if you use the glass, itll leave a residue that is unseen to the ***** eye.

if it were me, id start with a manual cleaning with B-12 or the like. my preference for carbon removal is aircraft quality paint remover. cleans up with water. when youve gotten 90%+ of the carbon removed, bake it at 250* for 30 minutes. this draws out any other oil that is saturated into the metal. let it cool, degrease it once again, then blast it.

 

[torinogt]

The shop should do the blasting for you. They did when I got all of my work done.

 

[PiccoloAtWork]

Just for the record, is $14 a piece a good price for Powdercoating. This includes the bead blasting. And how many parts are there on the intake? Including the throttle body, Covers?, and the four intake supports. Thanks anyone who can understand what I type! haha