The Powder Coating Thread
- Thread starter steviejr92
- Start date
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
I actually have one of those, I use it with my wood fired pizza oven in the back yard.
I wonder if wood fired would make the pedal sound better.....
pbrommer
Well-known member
Might make the tone kinda smokey. But if you want that woody tone….
Stickman393
Well-known member
I'm looking into getting a little powder coating setup.
Spurred by a recent acquisition: I recently dumpster-dove a lab-grade electric oven. Dunno if it works or not yet, but I'm capable of repairing it regardless.
Looking at guns and the like, anybody talked about that cheapie vevor 50kw unit the evil empire sells?
Im a cheapskate, as evidenced by where I grabbed the oven.
Spurred by a recent acquisition: I recently dumpster-dove a lab-grade electric oven. Dunno if it works or not yet, but I'm capable of repairing it regardless.
Looking at guns and the like, anybody talked about that cheapie vevor 50kw unit the evil empire sells?
Im a cheapskate, as evidenced by where I grabbed the oven.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
The Eastwood 150 and 250 JUST came off sale, they were $60 and $100 respectively. I think they do something quarterly.
Interesting idea on the lab oven, may need to dig into that.
Interesting idea on the lab oven, may need to dig into that.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I stepped up to a lab oven in 2021 after using a toaster oven for years, I wanted to be able to do more than 2 pedals at a time. I got mine direct from China though, so it cost more than a dumpster dive.
I haven't tried the Vevor unit, but it looks A LOT like the gun Harbor Freight sells under the "Central Machinery" name, which was the first gun I ever had. It got usable results for the most part, but it wasn't amazing. I don't know if it was because of the top-mounted powder canister letting powder come down freely, but I seemed to get inconsistent flow and a lot of clumping problems with that gun.
I used the HF gun for maybe a year before I moved up to the Eastwood, and I used that for about a year before moving up to the Redline EZ50, which has been my gun for about 5 years now and I still love it. It wasn't cheap, but that was before I started using Tayda's enclosure finishing so I was coating 40-50 pedals a month and it was well worth the investment.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
Ok - so finally getting around to this, cold weather and other obligations took the last few weekends.
Grounding is critical but there’s very little actual guidance beyond drive an 8ft copper rod into the ground. I’m in Colorado and the soil here is clay when it’s dry, it’s basically cement. I’m also not thrilled about drilling a hole through my garage floor to do so… at least not yet.
So what are my other options?
I’ve seen suggestions about tying into the house electrical ground via an outlet but that feels like crazy town to me especially since this setup needs to be something I can break down and store when not in use.
At this point it feels like Schitt’s Creek:
“Fold in the cheese.”
“How?”
“You just fold it in.”
Grounding is critical but there’s very little actual guidance beyond drive an 8ft copper rod into the ground. I’m in Colorado and the soil here is clay when it’s dry, it’s basically cement. I’m also not thrilled about drilling a hole through my garage floor to do so… at least not yet.
So what are my other options?
I’ve seen suggestions about tying into the house electrical ground via an outlet but that feels like crazy town to me especially since this setup needs to be something I can break down and store when not in use.
At this point it feels like Schitt’s Creek:
“Fold in the cheese.”
“How?”
“You just fold it in.”
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
The grounding from the gun itself would be your best bet but again it’s not going to give the best grounding needed. I would still try to find an area rig it outside your garage and try to drive the rod down. Get a 25 foot wire from Amazon and solder a clamp on one end and attach the other end to the grounded. If you’re having trouble still maybe hot flocking the part will help!
The powder coating booth I have plugs right into the wall and uses the grounding from the outlet. If you can find a way to rig a wire that will only connect to the ground in the outlet that might work as well.
The powder coating booth I have plugs right into the wall and uses the grounding from the outlet. If you can find a way to rig a wire that will only connect to the ground in the outlet that might work as well.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
Gotcha - so the gun itself can act as a ground, just not the best possible.
Haven't started, just getting everything lined up and doing a refresher and waiting of some practice enclosures to get here as well.
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
The grounding wire that comes with the gun can be used but it’s meant to ground the gun not the part but it should still work!
Erik S
Well-known member
Seems like one of these could work.
Desco Banana Jack Outlet Plug Adapter | Universal Ground Connection | 3 Prong Outlet Earth Connection | ESD Control | Unbreakable Plastic | Adapter - 0.164 in D | STI - DESCO - 09838 (Pack of 2) - Amazon.com
Desco Banana Jack Outlet Plug Adapter | Universal Ground Connection | 3 Prong Outlet Earth Connection | ESD Control | Unbreakable Plastic | Adapter - 0.164 in D | STI - DESCO - 09838 (Pack of 2) - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
Ok -
So I would use this adapter to run a ground to the enclosure, the gun will be grounded to the same since it is on the same circuit and should be fairly ok?
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
Yes, you’re only pouring ground into the outlet it’s not pulling any voltage from the wall. You should be perfectly fine. But I would make sure to use a different outlet for both the gun and part.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
Could you define outlet?
Naturally not using the plug with the adapter but can it be the same over all unit? IE use the top for the ground, the bottom for the gun? Or do I need to use a completely different one?
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Maybe I've been wrong about this, but doesn't the gun ground need to be electrically the same as the part ground? Every gun I've used has had a grounded plug with an extra wire to the plug so you can effectively clip your part separately to the outlet ground, and I've never felt the need to use anything else. Maybe I'm just spoiled by always having lived in a house with a decent ground, but I've never even considered driving a separate rod into the ground outside.
steviejr92
Authorized Vendor
From what I read and researched the wire that comes with the gun is meant to ground the gun itself. Pretty much for safety reasons but I’ve never done this myself I’ve always used the grounding wire to ground the part. The grounding that comes with the gun is very very subpar which is why I recommend using a ground rod. I can literally shoot the part without the gun on and only air and will still stick to the part.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Huh, I just consulted the owner's manual for my gun because it occurred to me I never actually did that and I wanted to see what they said about the ground clip:
Welp, I've been doing this technically incorrect for six years or so now.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
So between the last three posts, the word ground and every possible variation of it has been used about 2,359 times and I’m more confused than when I started.
I don’t have a dedicated ground rod… yet. I could get one of those outlet adapters that lets you pull a ground from a wall socket.
Could I get clarification?
Connect the gun ground to:
Connect the part to:
I don’t have a dedicated ground rod… yet. I could get one of those outlet adapters that lets you pull a ground from a wall socket.
Could I get clarification?
Connect the gun ground to:
Connect the part to:
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
So based on the user manual of my gun (Redline EZ50), the ground clip from the gun's power supply is supposed to be clipped to the ground rod you theoretically have driven outside. My house actually has a dedicated ground rod, it's on the side of the house near where the power mains come into the house, but I have never felt the need to do anything with it.
The manual doesn't actually say anything about grounding the part being coated. So I have no idea what's going on anymore.
CheapSuitG
The TubeSchemer
We broke powder coating!!!