Heater elements

[Alex]

Thats interesting I think its very possible to do in your home then, does the powder coating have some metallic ingredient in it or is it more like a static type charge holding it on?

 

[rtbcomp]

Hope it can get hot enough, was the hotplate used for cooking or just keeping food warm?

Powder coating is good if the surface is prepared properly, if not it forms a skin that isn't stuck to the metal, this allows water in and rust to form.

Gritblasting is the best way to prepare the surface.

 

[Alex]

I like sand blasting, thought of getting one from MM until I realised a compressor of 10cfm would be required for continous use.

I saw on TV that you can put acrylic plotter cut letters on some steel and then sand blast on top of it, then when you remove the sticky letter its nicely grained around the metal showing the letter where it was shielded.

 

[Ratty]

What you need to know?
Basically you in effect spray on the powder and electorstatically charge it at the same time to help it stick to the metal
i.e. you have an earth clamp on the item to be powdercoated like in welding and the guns positively charged on a foot pedal (might be other way around cant remember!) and the powders stuck surprisingly well once its all done even before curing

This sounds like the flock 'gun' I have (called a fabricoater) you coat the surface to be flocked in a special adhesive, without the adhesive the flock would simply fall off, what holds the powder in place ?

 

[rtbcomp]

I like sand blasting, thought of getting one from MM until I realised a compressor of 10cfm would be required for continous use.

10 cfm would be struggling, I have that pot (£20.00 cheaper off Ebay, inc carriage) and my 14 cfm compressor maintains 80 psi.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site:www.mig-welding.co.uk+gritblasting

 

[rtbcomp]

what holds the powder in place ?

Static electricity

 

[Moseph]

What you need to know?
Basically you in effect spray on the powder and electorstatically charge it at the same time to help it stick to the metal
i.e. you have an earth clamp on the item to be powdercoated like in welding and the guns positively charged on a foot pedal (might be other way around cant remember!) and the powders stuck surprisingly well once its all done even before curing

I used to have to visit a steel fabrication plant as part of a job some years ago and was told on the powder coating line that I must not touch any of the parts on the powder coating rail as all the paint would fall off. If it's only static, then it makes sense that it would fall off if I grounded it, but maybe they were just taking the p***. I was only 20 at the time!!!

 

[andrewg1323]

I've always found it requires a bit of a rub to get the powder to come off, you can pat it lightly fine!

This fabricoater thingy any ideas where i can get one? i'm looking for an electronic flocker as at the mo i;m doing it manually using static which isnt ideal!

 

[Ratty]

This fabricoater thingy any ideas where i can get one? i'm looking for an electronic flocker as at the mo i;m doing it manually using static which isnt ideal!

I got mine here Andrew http://www.flockingequipment.com/flock/flock.htm

 

[rtbcomp]

This fabricoater thingy any ideas where i can get one? i'm looking for an electronic flocker as at the mo i;m doing it manually using static which isnt ideal!

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=fabricoater&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK%7CcountryGB

 

[andrewg1323]

Ah yeah seen that one, unfortunately cant justify the £300 just yet!
Have however found smaller ones designed for model railways etc and putting the grass in for around £80

Mines a plastic bottle that allegedly generates static as it goes i brought for £4 far cheaper

 

[Ratty]

Ah yeah seen that one, unfortunately cant justify the £300 just yet!
Have however found smaller ones designed for model railways etc and putting the grass in for around £80

Mines a plastic bottle that allegedly generates static as it goes i brought for £4 far cheaper

It's an outrageous amount for what seems little more than a tube of batteries, a plastic hopper and a croc clip. Don't know how they justify it - I wrote mine off against a job so I don't care!
Later found this http://www.btowstore.com/epages/Store2.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Store2.Shop1349/Products/FLOCKGUN
only £7.95 might be worth a try

 

[rtbcomp]

It's an outrageous amount for what seems little more than a tube of batteries, a plastic hopper and a croc clip. Don't know how they justify it - I wrote mine off against a job so I don't care!
Later found this http://www.btowstore.com/epages/Store2.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Store2.Shop1349/Products/FLOCKGUN
only £7.95 might be worth a try

It does have a means of generating an EHT. I wonder if a piezo-electric lighter off a gas fire or a battery ignitor off a cooker would work.

 

[andrewg1323]

i'm wondering if i can alter my powdercoater to take flock :lol: same principle!

 

[Lippyp]

I used to work for a company that refurbed office furniture, they used a specialist company to repaint filing cabinets on site for people that used a static system to make the paint stick to the cabinets and minimise overspray, worked amazingly well.

 

[Haze]

It does have a means of generating an EHT. I wonder if a piezo-electric lighter off a gas fire or a battery ignitor off a cooker would work.

how about the laser out of a printer

 

[rtbcomp]

how about the laser out of a printer

Yup, laser printers and photcopiers have EHT power supplies, they can push quite a bit of current out though, maybe putting several 5 Megohm in series with the output will limit the current.

 

[Haze]

maybe you can find something useful in old television sets.

 

[rtbcomp]

maybe you can find something useful in old television sets.

Not easily, TVs and monitors have their EHT curcuit as part of the line output circuit, not a convenient black box (or at least they did last time I took one to bits!)

 

[Haze]

I thought the very old telly's had EHT transformers, which when they failed used to produce sparks and smoke, but my memory fails me so i could be wrong.

I should never have smoked that joint when i was 15