Powder painting at home: selection and manufacture of equipment

The use of powder painting has grown in popularity among homeowners seeking a polished and long-lasting finish. DIY enthusiasts can now try this technique, which is frequently used in industrial settings, at home.

It can be difficult to select the appropriate equipment and figure out how to use it for your projects. However, you can learn how to set up your own powder painting system without going over budget if you have the right advice.

This post will discuss how to choose the appropriate tools and even demonstrate how to build some of the equipment. Powder painting can be a creative and fulfilling process, whether you’re revitalizing old furniture or giving metal parts a new lease on life at home.

What is needed for work

In order to paint with powder, you must divide the process into sections and use the appropriate tools and equipment.

To produce excellent work, you’ll need:

• Cleaning area. All parts undergo mandatory preparation. At this stage, the old layer is removed and degreasing is carried out. A manual or specialized tool can be used for the process. If you plan to perform constant cleaning, then the best solution would be sandblasting equipment.
• Spray chamber. A separate closed place for applying paint with good ventilation is a guarantee of the absence of further problems. The chamber also allows you to save some of the lost paint. In industrial products, a filter – a recuperator is used to collect unused powder, at home it can be replaced with a cyclone vacuum cleaner.
• A gun (spray gun) for painting. A special sprayer is needed for work, which you can buy or try to make yourself.
• Chemistry oven. It is in such a chamber that the painted part is baked. This equipment should allow you to control the temperature regime, because the process of coating formation depends on it.
• Final drying area. A separate place will be required for cooling the processed product. If the process is not continuous, then for these purposes you can use the oven after its gradual cooling.
• DC power source.

All areas must have a convenient location, and the suspension system is given careful consideration. The task can be made simpler by using a hanger trolley. Even with small amounts of equipment, a reasonably large room is needed; however, some areas can be combined if preferred.

Powder coating equipment: selection and self-production

Handicrafts can be used to make many essential tools and gadgets. You can save a lot of money by doing this, but it will take a lot of time and work. It is advised to buy some equipment in order to get the best outcome.

Sprayer

One of the most crucial tools is the sprayer; the type of coating produced depends on how well it is sprayed. As a result, it is preferable to choose pre-made solutions over trying to build the gadget yourself. The idea behind painting is that when paint particles go through the gun, they pick up a charge.

There are two primary types of the device:

1. Electrostatic. In it, the particles are charged by external influence. With its help, you can paint with any type of powder compositions.
2. Tribostatic. This option is simpler, the particles acquire a charge due to the rapid flight from the nozzle and friction with each other. This method of spraying requires compliance with certain conditions, the quality of the coating is affected by humidity. It is also necessary to correctly calculate the length of the connected hose, which depends on the power of the compressor.

The following are the spray device models that are most in demand:

• An interesting option is the "Start" gun, especially with serial number 50. This type is universal and combines both paint application technologies. For this purpose, the device is equipped with an additional tube for tribostatic spraying.
• More affordable is the "Leader". It allows you to do the work at home. It has a low paint consumption.
• For professional processes and large-scale production, the "Tesla" brand equipment will be an excellent solution. The cost of such an installation is significantly higher than the previous options, but it provides a comfortable level of work.

Obviously, hand sprayers that are simpler can be used on their own.

Vital! Every variety needs to have a grounding source installed, regardless of the option chosen.

Thinking enthusiasts are capable of creating their own spray guns by hand. This video does a perfect job of explaining the entire process:

Painting chamber

A painting chamber is something you can construct on your own; complicated materials are not needed. However, a lot of artisans think that this area can be left untended. In fact, setting up a tidy, easily accessible space that is protected by a thick layer of polyethylene film is sufficient if the event is held just once. However, with continued effort, a device like this won’t be unnecessary.

The chamber creation algorithm:

1. A frame of the required size is welded, a metal profile is used for this. If painting will be carried out in a special room, then if there is free space, the chamber is made stationary. The created box must be spacious enough.
2. From the outside, the profile is sheathed with iron sheets, and thermal insulation is laid on the inside. It is necessary to achieve maximum tightness, which will save most of the unused powder.
3. For better paint collection, it is recommended to make the floor latticed.
4. Forced ventilation is provided separately.

Placing the painting area along one of the room’s walls will make the task easier. Iron sheets are used to cover the adjacent surfaces, a container for the partial collection of composition is positioned underneath the suspension point, and the point is suspended from the wall at a certain distance. A heavy curtain closes off the area.

Oven

When powder coating, one of the most crucial components is the oven. The composition particles that have been applied to the part’s surface must be melted. The choice of the ideal temperature is a crucial requirement. The heating of the entire product—rather than just its surface—is the fundamental step in the polymerization process.

Manufacturing the oven

The process of manufacturing such a device is not simple. There are multiple steps in the process’s intricate algorithm.

Getting the required materials ready

To build the oven, you will require:

• welding machine;
• grinder;
• drill with metal attachments;
• scissors.

• basalt wool slabs 100 mm thick;
• metal profile measuring 5 * 2 cm;
• galvanized steel sheets;
• tangential fan;
• heating elements (for a chamber 100 cm wide and deep with a height of 200 cm, 12 pcs will be required.);
• thermal sensors and a control unit.

Note: Proceed with extreme caution when creating a drying chamber. Doing the work qualitatively from the beginning is better than patching problems as they arise.

Building of the connection and frame

A specific scheme is followed when welding the structure:

1. Individual calculations are performed. When creating a drawing, much attention is paid to the doorway: in order to eliminate heat loss, the door must fit very tightly.
2. Initially, the outer contour is arranged. Its size must accommodate the inner contour, located at a distance equal to the thickness of the insulation used. Literally, it is necessary to obtain a “frame in a frame”.
3. Litz wires are arranged along the inner contour to fix the thermal insulation.
4. Basalt wool is laid along the entire perimeter.
5. Sheet metal is cut, which is used for complete cladding. It is necessary to achieve a tight fit of all joints, for this, the sheets of the inner section are bent at the edges. In order to save money, the outer casing can be made using gypsum fiber sheets.
6. A place for hanging the parts is arranged.
7. A tangential fan is separately modified. Boxes are added to it, which will provide an input and output. Moreover, the input should be noticeably larger.
8. Ten are installed on one of the walls. The order of arrangement is determined individually and depends on the size of the furnace. Temperature sensors are fixed at the top and bottom.
9. A separate connection to the 380 volt network is provided. All connections are brought out to the electrical panel, where machines and a control unit are installed.
10. A door is hung. The system is tested.
11. Ten are closed with a steel box with slots at the top and bottom for free air circulation. A hole is cut above the heaters, into which the narrow part of the fan box is inserted. The mechanism itself is located outside, which will prevent its damage.

The ideal settings are established after testing the chamber on a part that has been powder-treated. The ones that are made or bought first are the oven and the spray gun because they are the most crucial.

Note: If you want to paint small individual elements, you can bake them in a regular household oven.

Powder painting at home is a quick and satisfying process, particularly if you want a high-quality, long-lasting finish. You don’t have to hire someone else to coat a variety of objects professionally if you have the right equipment.

It’s important to take your individual needs and the kinds of projects you’ll be working on into account when choosing equipment. There is a variety of options available, from do-it-yourself setups to more sophisticated systems, whether you’re coating small parts or larger surfaces. It can be more affordable to build your own equipment, but it does take careful planning and a thorough understanding of the materials and methods involved.

Ultimately, powder painting projects at home gives you control and flexibility. Any DIY enthusiast or hobbyist can benefit from knowing how to accomplish results that are comparable to those of professionals with a little practice and the correct equipment.

A long-lasting and reasonably priced method of achieving professional-looking finishes on a variety of surfaces is powder painting at home. Selecting the appropriate tools is crucial before beginning; these include a powder coating gun, a curing oven, and protective gear. This post will help you choose the right tools and even offer advice on how to build some of the equipment, so you can confidently take on your DIY powder coating projects.

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