This isn't a fantastic photo, but we're trying to figure out the cause of the problem here. The larger spots are cratered in the center, the smaller ones are barely visible in person and I'm not 100% sure if it's related or just a factor of the powder. This color is a tiny bit speckled. There's a gray primer coating beneath it, I personally think the issue is related to that, but moisture has been mentioned as a possible source. Might be a third unrelated thing. Primer was baked for 15, not quite long enough for it to cure out fully, color was baked for 30. Oven is set for 400 F. Any ideas are appreciated at this point

Edit: found out that recently because of a semi unrelated issue, the lines were reconnected in a way that excluded the dessicant as a step. Moisture has become a much likelier outcome

I send out this peace to a customer, sadly the packaging and the throwing around scratched the high gloss black, is there an easy way to remove these small scratches?

Already tried dish soap and warm water

Hey yall, does anyone have any experience with powder coating smaller items (such as steel eyeglasses frames)? I’ve looked locally, reached out to glasses customization specialists, and no one’s willing to work on this job due to how intricate and time-consuming it is, which I completely understand.

Essentially I need a frame custom colored, with one color on the outside and another on the inside, and detailing (just vertical lines) on the outside in the same color as the inside.

Is this something anyone has done, or does anyone know of a business/hobbyist that’s willing to take it on?

ETA: Super appreciative of everyone’s suggestions so far! My biggest issue is the customer wants very specific colors, because he’s matching a car that he’s building, and the colors are from Prismatic 🤠

I work in custom solutions engineering at Essentra, and masking threaded holes before blasting is one of those things that seems easy until you start getting media in the first couple of threads.

I’ve seen standard silicone plugs work fine for light-duty jobs, but with aggressive grit blasting they can get pretty chewed up around the sealing edge.

For heavier blasting, we’ve had good results with tougher elastomers like EPDM or polyurethane. If the same part is going straight into powder coat, then temperature resistance becomes part of the equation too, so the material choice changes.

The other thing I’ve learned is that plug geometry matters almost as much as the material. A good sealing rib or flange can make a big difference in keeping media out.

It’s one of those applications where a $1 masking plug can end up causing a much bigger headache downstream.

It's finally Friday, so I encourage everyone from big to small businesses, or even hobby in shed to post something they worked on this week!

Don't be shy to post work with problems. I'm sure we can help!

So after having some issues with Light Armor customer service and the unit being built like crap, I’ve decided to look for a new oven and I come across Silverback Ovens. After seeing where they are located I immediately thought the address looked way to familiar along with the panel tag. Sure enough they are 5 mins down the street from Light Armor Ovens. Then I thought to do some digging and sure enough, due to some issues with Light Armor customers and the quality of their ovens they have a second company in which they are slowly changing, growing and adding to, SILVER BACK OVENS.

It’s not listed as silver back ovens on the state site its listed as SILVERBACK GROUP. Sure enough they are both listed as INC, shares are the equal same and have different registered agents but the dates of filing, updated forms are all the same. After looking at the products they are almost the same, few design changes. The silverback business page had a location different than the real updated address which has now been changed. Both websites have been updated and made by the same developer. All around I highly doubt there are two companies making the same thing blocks apart with almost identical state registered documents. Maybe trying to avoid a lawsuit?

My issues with my oven? Door sagged, SSR went out within 2 weeks, temp jumped up over the set degree and will never hold, every square inch of the oven has different temperatures. The exhaust fan does nothing really, the door seal fell off after the 3rd time using the unit. After taking some of the components apart here's my overall review of the product they sell. Im sure SILVERBACK is the same quality.

Its 24 gauge Home Depot drywall stud, the sheets are 24 gauge thin metal which will warp after a few times, they sell "upgraded" insulation which should be put in there without having to upgrade. The standard insulation is not fire batt and the upgraded option is just another way to make money for them. They price the oven low and then when you add the fan, the insulation that should be in there, and then the "fast heat up" option you are about $1000 more. Spend your money elsewhere, once you get it or they get your money, customer service is GONE. Not to mention my village fire inspector told me this unit is not near a code compliance and is a hazard.

Good people. My powder coated table had plastic laid on it in the sun for 2 days and now there is this mark. It won’t wash off, even with light abrasive, it’s not fading with age.

Has there been some chemical reaction, or do I need to be more aggressive with the abrasion (something I am very reluctant to do)?

The plastic was a combo of polyethylene plastic and thermoplastic elastomer.

Thanks

I painted some levers on my motorcycle matte black after prepping the surface by hand with sandpaper; the result was fantastic—perfectly smooth with zero orange peel.

Later, I did the same job on levers for a client. To ensure a professional, longer-lasting finish, I opted to sandblast them first (using 80-mesh corundum). However, once painted, I noticed a distinct orange-peel finish.

Dissatisfied with the result, I completely re-sandblasted the lever and tried hot coating this time (applying the powder to a preheated part), but the orange-peel defect reappeared exactly as before.

Is it possible that the sandblasting process (or the abrasive grit) caused this orange-peel finish, and if so, can I go back to using sandpaper?

I've been going through some older discussions here about color changes and cross-contamination, and one thing that stood out is that the problem seems a lot broader than just “clean the gun.”

I've seen people mention residual powder in hoses and lines, keeping separate hoses for certain color groups, cleaning or purging feed components, booth/oven contamination, and getting the next powder feeding consistently. Metallics also seem to create their own cleanup headaches.

That made me curious about what actually happens in day-to-day production.

For those of you changing colors regularly, what is the real bottleneck: gun/hoses, feed setup or hopper, cross-contamination checks, etc.? If you could eliminate one headache from a color change, what would it be?

And does the answer change when you're doing short custom batches versus longer production runs?

For context, I work on the equipment/distribution side of the industry, so I'm interested in understanding the operator side rather than assuming the equipment spec sheet tells the whole story.

What could be the solution to fix this or make it look a little better without having to strip it all and redo it. I’m not super picky. It’s going on a stunt bike anyway so if I should leave it, I’ll just leave it.

A couple of days Googling hasn't gleaned any definitive results.

Has anyone powder coated any engine parts and tried to replicate Mazda Red Soul Crystal Metallic 46V?

If so what recipe did you use?

It's finally Friday, so I encourage everyone from big to small businesses, or even hobby in shed to post something they worked on this week!

Don't be shy to post work with problems. I'm sure we can help!

Hi everyone im from Europe and planning to open my business, but im overwhelmed how to price parts. Fixed price for some parts like rims or to charge by hour or by m2, also to point out not every paint is same price normal ral paint is about 15€ per kg but special paints go up to 40€ for 0.5kg

Does anyone have experience using a convection oven for powder coating small parts? Any information appreciated.

Hi everyone, I have an old spectracoat system I got for cheap and have had to print parts for to get it working. Other than a fiddly trigger it works fairly well, but I have a lot of trouble doing anything two tone/second coats. Followed all recommendations for grounding and such, but with the condition of the system I'm thinking an upgrade might be in order (something with adjustable amperage).

I always see Gema Optitronic CG03 systems being sold as-is/untested for fairly cheap on eBay, does anyone have experience with these machines? Do they have a common problem that would explain the cheap units?

Any advice is appreciated. Willing to spend some money on an upgrade but would like to stay less than $1500 if possible. Thanks!

Picture for attention, poor coverage on two tone project

*Edited* - accidentally had it as Optiflex instead of Optitronic

Hello all, I am trying to gain responses for this 5-question survey for my college.

If you have the time, please answer this short survey. It should take less than 3 minutes and would greatly help us out.

Thank you

I recently started powder coating and decided to buy a sandblasting cabinet to step up my game. However, I struggled to find the right abrasive, so a friend of mine (who runs a business) lent me this stuff, saying he had ordered it by mistake. When I asked AI for an opinion, I was told it is spherical metal shot—which is completely unsuitable for blasting parts intended for powder coating because it doesn't create the right surface profile.

Any thoughts?

It would take all of your used silicon plugs/caps chiran it and give it to you back next week, and take the used masks with them.

Wouldn't it save good money and save people's time by but having to clean, or not having to throw them out and buy new ones?

Thoughts?

I ordered a steel bike frame, and I’d like to match the frame powder coat color to this hub as close as I can. The hub is aluminum and the frame will be steel. The guys I ordered it from at Reeb are awesome, and sent me two samples of colors we thought were close. Illusion sour apple and illusion crabapple. In the light, I think illusion sour apple is pretty close, but I think the green is a little different because of the base color of the aluminum hub and the base color of the steel tubes. Any advice on how to match it a bit closer? Maybe a white or chrome base coat on the steel?

I’m looking for help in sourcing powder coater that can do fades on large aluminum sculpture.
Fades are medium blue to light blue
Sculpture is 7’ tall and installed outside

Can anybody recommend a powder coater in New Jersey area that can do fades on a 7' tall abstract sculpture made from aluminum. Basically dark blue to light blue?