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Basseducer

Powder Coat Oven

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I use quite a bit of tin in my jigs, the reason being better availability locally.

However the downside is that when I try to cure my PP what remains after curing (at recommeded temperature) is just the hook (or wire for spinner baits) - a bit of a downer.

Problem solved when I added a PID, pretty accurate as far as I can tell. Whils theoretically way too cold (210 °F) the paint still becomes quite a lot harder than without curing, might be due to curing approx 30 minutes. With the PID I get much better control, I found that just 10°F difference determined if I got a good looking jig or a runny one.

When I saw the thermostat problems mentioned earlier I thought I might as well share my solution, a PID should work quite well for anybody who has a broken thermostat, or wants to get way better precision.

Easy to connect (using an SSR) and easy to set up - just enter the desired target temperature, then lean back and enjoy a cold one.

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Well, I finally got off my arse and tidied the oven up a bit. Didn't quite like the bird's nest of wires cluttering my work bench.

Ripped out the old thermostat, redid some of the internal wiring, added a homemade "heat shield" (fire blanket from IKEA and thick aluminum foil in layers) between oven compartment and the electronics.

Time to bake me some jigs :flame:

 

o05mwz.jpg

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Well, I finally got off my arse and tidied the oven up a bit. Didn't quite like the bird's nest of wires cluttering my work bench.

Ripped out the old thermostat, redid some of the internal wiring, added a homemade "heat shield" (fire blanket from IKEA and thick aluminum foil in layers) between oven compartment and the electronics.

Time to bake me some jigs :flame:

 

o05mwz.jpg

 

 

Nice.  I mentioned once that I would like to pick up a small countertop oven for powder coating someday, and every time we walk by one on the closeout or clearance shelf in the store now my wife points it out.  LOL. 

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Powder is the one thing I've found that's not too sensitive though.

True, in my case it's the high tin content that causes a bit of a problem. Setting the PID to 105°C gives med "droopy" jigs, the metal softens enough to deform slightly.

Highest I've run so far is 98°C but I'll try to step up one degree at a time to see where the "magical" breaking point is - I want to run as hot as possible without deformation.

Still, the paint seems to come out plenty tough enough, especially compared to without curing.

The nice thing is I hang the jigs in a cold oven, set the timer to 60 min, then I can go and have a beer or other fun activity :)

It shuts down when the time is up, so usually when I remember the jigs they have already cooled down.

 

Of course, it's a well known truth that adding shiny stuff makes any product better, so what better than LED displays...? :D

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Well to bring this topic back to life. My first Eastwood oven quite heating to anything higher than 300* after over a year. Contacted Eastwood, they replaced it no charge. The replacement ovens thermostat quite working after 3 months and would run up to 400* regardless of the setting. Called Eastwood and they replaced it. Their customer service is great, but their product is cheap. I think I am going to try and build my own after the spring rush ends in May.

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I like the roominess of the Eastwood oven but the thermostat is way off - set at 350º it's slightly under 300º.  I checked this by placing the same oven thermometer in my almost new kitchen oven which showed a temp of 355º.

I baked at what on Eastwood's dial read 350º for an hour and then tried the whack-a vice test and the bounce-on-loading-dock test. Results: the paint is fully cured.

ff556d26-0be9-4eb6-babe-13660b210a7a_zps

Note: The temps you see on the dial on the oven and on the thermometer were set for a lower temp alloy but were still off quite a bit.

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So what other options are out there.  Horrible Fright used to sell a powder coat oven that looked a little more industrial than the Eastwood, but its gone the way of the dodo along with everything else HF used to sell that doesn't have a super high turn rate.  I ran a cross a toaster oven for free a while back, but its just so tiny I haven't been able to make myself actually use it.  Well, not for powder coat anyway.  I moved it into my office and use it for warming up sandwiches.  LOL. 

I still say the big Oster toaster oven looks similar to an Eastwood and they are available down the street from most folks at their local Walmart.  I realize that average home user isn't as particular or as aware of the details as a tacklemaker, but if they had as many problems as WW has with his Eastwoods don't you think WalMart would have dumped them? 

I'm still looking for a powder coat oven myself, so all these things are worth thinking about.  I'd actually like something a bit bigger though as I want to do some bigger parts as well.  I'm about to the point were I am going to start looking for commercial oven.  It would push the electrical capacity of my little shop with everything running, but I could do like I do with welding.  I only do it on days when I am not machining, or after I shut down all the machines in the evening. 

 

 

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I recently purchased the Eastwood oven.  I thought the fan was louder than it should be so I called Eastwood.  I was a little disappointed with Tech Support, but they ended up shipping me another oven.  Because it cost less the $100, they didn't pickup the first one, which was a good thing.  The second one showed up with a bad temp control dial.  It is very hard to to to the lowest setting and the oven doesn't get hotter than 375.  Oh, and the fan sounds the same so I'm using the first one and saving the second for as a backup.  I couldn't recommend this oven.

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I have used nothing  but yard sale toaster ovens since I have been doing this,. Even if I could not find another one, I would just go to wally martz and buy a large opening one for a lot less than a powder coating specific oven.  I have never seen one of these ovens, is there some advantage to these that you are looking for? Serious question, not busting anyone's chops.

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2 hours ago, BLT said:

I have used nothing  but yard sale toaster ovens since I have been doing this,. Even if I could not find another one, I would just go to wally martz and buy a large opening one for a lot less than a powder coating specific oven.  I have never seen one of these ovens, is there some advantage to these that you are looking for? Serious question, not busting anyone's chops.

I powder coat jigs up to 8" and the Eastwood oven can handle those longer jigs.  

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7 hours ago, fshng2 said:

"What is the lowest temp PP will cure?"

 

That was my question a couple of years ago when experimenting with Rotometals' 281º bismuth/tin alloy. Here's a response from Kurt Urban of CS Coatings:

"Unfortunately powder paint needs a minimum of about 275 degrees to achieve the chemical cross-linking for a complete cure. You may see some hardening at 225,  I would just test some cure samples and see if their durability is acceptable."

"There are slight gases from the polyester and coloring agents that are released during curing, so I would not advise using an oven you cook in."

What I'm doing now, using 288% bismuth/12% tin alloy, is getting a full cure in the Eastwood set at 350º -which is actually 300º - and baking for one hour. (At least my Eastwood's timer works properly.)

I broil my burgers in an Oster until they're medium rare.

 

 

Edited by Will Wetline
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I go for around 320 when baking. I only put them in for 25 minutes. I put them in a cold oven and plug it in. When I baked them longer, it seemed to take away the gloss and dulled them out. I do a drop test from around 3 feet every batch, and they don't chip. Now that drop test most times is NOT intentional lol.

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7 hours ago, Will Wetline said:

 

That was my question a couple of years ago when experimenting with Rotometals' 281º bismuth/tin alloy. Here's a response from Kurt Urban of CS Coatings:

"Unfortunately powder paint needs a minimum of about 275 degrees to achieve the chemical cross-linking for a complete cure. You may see some hardening at 225,  I would just test some cure samples and see if their durability is acceptable."

"There are slight gases from the polyester and coloring agents that are released during curing, so I would not advise using an oven you cook in."

What I'm doing now, using 288% bismuth/12% tin alloy, is getting a full cure in the Eastwood set at 350º -which is actually 300º - and baking for one hour. (At least my Eastwood's timer works properly.)

I broil my burgers in an Oster until they're medium rare.

 

 

 

Thanks for confirming my process, I bake  @350 for 1/2 hour in my Eastwood.

 The proof is in the pudding.   My jigs pass the drop test with no cracking or chipping, only a dent in the lead.

How are you checking your oven temp?

 

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On 3/23/2017 at 10:13 AM, Bob La Londe said:

So what other options are out there.  Horrible Fright used to sell a powder coat oven that looked a little more industrial than the Eastwood, but its gone the way of the dodo along with everything else HF used to sell that doesn't have a super high turn rate.  I ran a cross a toaster oven for free a while back, but its just so tiny I haven't been able to make myself actually use it.  Well, not for powder coat anyway.  I moved it into my office and use it for warming up sandwiches.  LOL. 

I still say the big Oster toaster oven looks similar to an Eastwood and they are available down the street from most folks at their local Walmart.  I realize that average home user isn't as particular or as aware of the details as a tacklemaker, but if they had as many problems as WW has with his Eastwoods don't you think WalMart would have dumped them? 

I'm still looking for a powder coat oven myself, so all these things are worth thinking about.  I'd actually like something a bit bigger though as I want to do some bigger parts as well.  I'm about to the point were I am going to start looking for commercial oven.  It would push the electrical capacity of my little shop with everything running, but I could do like I do with welding.  I only do it on days when I am not machining, or after I shut down all the machines in the evening. 

 

 

Bob,

I am torn between building my own electric oven or purchasing a small electric household oven. I love the size of the eastwood but i am so tired of the crappy quality of this product

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23 hours ago, BLT said:

I have used nothing  but yard sale toaster ovens since I have been doing this,. Even if I could not find another one, I would just go to wally martz and buy a large opening one for a lot less than a powder coating specific oven.  I have never seen one of these ovens, is there some advantage to these that you are looking for? Serious question, not busting anyone's chops.

The advantage was the capacity that it holds and to still be able to run it off a 110v circut. The disadvantage is the horrible quality

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I talked a friend out of a small oven today.  Well talk and a little cash.  I'll give it a shot in the next couple days and see how it does.   If it works out well I'll tell all you guys.  If it turds up well... I might not say anything.  LOL.  Its actually a largish counter top convection oven.  I don't know how that's going to work out, but I will find out. 

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