Machine tool painting

[Rob Will]

I am Looking for advice on painting a powermatic 225 planer. This particular machine is the gold color from the late 1990's. (not really my favorite) What type of paint would you use? (OEM, aftermarket).
I have an automotive style paint room.

Thanks,
Rob

[Jim Becker]

I'm no expert on this, but the Hammerite stuff is pretty interesting from a machine tool perspective.

[Bruce Page]

I have painted a couple of machines using Rust-Oleum “High Performance Protective Enamel”. It’s an oil based enamel that’s pretty tough. I don’t know if you can get it in Powermatic’s baby ka-ka gold though, (I have two machines that color).

[James Boster]

Rob, I see you bought the 225. If it is gold then yes it is a later model. I don't care for the gold that much either. Mine is the older green and I found that rustoleum green "hammerite"sp? is an exact match to the powermatic green. Let's here some more details about your planer, hp,type of cutterhead, condition, and by all means how good a deal did you get on it? And as several others here on the creek will probably tell you it's not real deal without pictures.:D If you have any questions about the planer just ask. go to owwmachines.com and download a manual for it, it will guide thorugh setup and adjustments. Congrats.

[James Boster]

Rob, looked back at you earlier post and seen you asked about snipe with the 225. sorry I didn't answer that one before. The pressure bar on the outfeed of the cutterhead is the key to this on the 225. If the bar is adjusted properly there will be no snipe:rolleyes: . If it is set too low it will cause a lot of problems and if it's too high you will get snipe. The manual covers setting this piece clearly. I only plane dry lumber and have mine set so that there is virtually no snipe at all. If you try green lumber you will have to raise the pressure bar and will get some snipe, at least we had to on my friends 221. Where in KY are you located?

[tod evans]

well rob did you buy it or not? any ol` single part enamal from the auto paint store will work,so will rustoleum. or just leave it baby poop yellow and get to work.....pretty don`t cut wood....i vote for bright purple with lime green stripes and shocking pink flowers:) congratulations if you did get it......tod

[Dev Emch]

My favorate paint for machine tools is what the best machines in the past have used. Sherwin Williams Polane Plus. This is an industrial paint that is tuff as nails and on woodworking machines allows the dust to just zip right off. It has the appearance of wet finger nail varnish and is virtually solvent proof.

You will need breathing protection and eye protection. It contains isocynates and will turn your lungs into scotch tape if your ***NOT*** serious about protection.

Good Luck....

[Doug Shepard]

I got a Sears sale mailing the other day and noticed this new powdercoat gun they're selling. I think their sale ends today. Seems like it might be a good setup for painting machines.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00917288000&subcat=Power+Painting+%26+Accessories

Has anybody tried one of these?

[lou sansone]

call me chicken, but I have sprayed a lot of 2 part stuff and it is not good for you. used air fed resparaitors, but still did not like it. I say use a decent waterbase paint and let it harden up for a month or two. it will be fine for what you are doing.

lou

[Rob Will]

Yes, I bought it but not picked it up yet.
I'll post the details when I get the thing.
Tod.....how about flames with lots of pearl?

Rob

[tod evans]

Yes, I bought it but not picked it up yet.
I'll post the details when I get the thing.
Tod.....how about flames with lots of pearl?

Rob

well...............okay if ya don`t like flowers:) glad to hear you bought good stuff rob. congrats

[Jim Becker]

I got a Sears sale mailing the other day and noticed this new powdercoat gun they're selling.

Doesn't powdercoating require an oven to cure the finish??

[tod evans]

Doesn't powdercoating require an oven to cure the finish??

mental picture of a 3000# planer in a kenmore.......

[Jim Becker]

mental picture of a 3000# planer in a kenmore.......

Won't fit in my DCS, either... ;)

[jay potter]

Doug I have a hobby powder coat system from caswell plating. I have gotten good results from it but am limited to the size of the oven used to bake the parts. the largest part I have done was a 17 inch tire rim. It would work great for smaller machine parts. As for the craftsman system I think a hobby system from caswell or eastwood automotive is a much better deal. If you are interested in powder coating eastwood and caswell both have great forums on powder coating.

[Doug Shepard]

Doesn't powdercoating require an oven to cure the finish??

Well not knowing diddlysquat about powder-coating, I went back and checked out the details. Looks like it needs a 400 degree oven. I thought maybe this was a cheap way to get into it, but not for the cost of an additional oven. Dont think there's any way I'd try to do any of that stuff in the kitchen oven. I guess that rules out repainting a TS or jointer with it too.

[Joe Scarfo]

I powder coated the last machine I rebuilt. Even had the knobs and cranks chromed...

That baby looks hot...

Good Luck w/ your choice.

Joe
Now in Green Bay and sure missing those swaying palms of Tampa

[Allen Bookout]

Automotive enamal would be OK but my favorites by far are the two part Urethanes. I like Concept but the last couple of jobs I used OMNI AU MTK by PPG and it worked very well also. I buy mine at automotive paint stores. These can also be detrimental to your health. However you can get by with a good mask without going the forced air route. I like to spray outside when there is no wind blowing to minimize the danger and use a fast hardner to dry to the touch as fast as possible. Sounds like that you may have a good spray booth with fans and filters so that you will not have to worry about it.

My system seems very archaic compaired with Joe Scarfo's powder coated machines with chromed knobs. Oh well---you do what you have to do.

I agree with you about the Powermatic gold. As I have said before, makes me feel ill. There are some real good looking golds though.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

This would look cool.

[Dev Emch]

I powder coated the last machine I rebuilt. Even had the knobs and cranks chromed...

That baby looks hot...

Good Luck w/ your choice.

Joe
Now in Green Bay and sure missing those swaying palms of Tampa

Could you tell us more about this project. I am interested in what you did and how it turned out.

[Ed Kowaski]

Hi Doug,
You might want to check into getting it done at a commercial powder coater. I had a 15" Buffalo drill press done about 6 months ago. I tore it down, they stripped, masked and powder coated it for $150 CDN. I thought that was very cheap, lots of masking and plugging on the press. The finish is a gloss hammertone charcol grey with some silver veining. Looks great. :)

[Dev Emch]

Hi Doug,
You might want to check into getting it done at a commercial powder coater. I had a 15" Buffalo drill press done about 6 months ago. I tore it down, they stripped, masked and powder coated it for $150 CDN. I thought that was very cheap, lots of masking and plugging on the press. The finish is a gloss hammertone charcol grey with some silver veining. Looks great. :)

Would you have any photos of this drill press? Have you had any chipping or other damage to the finish since you put it back together?

[Anthony Anderson]

Rob, an automotive acrylic urethane single stage would work very well, since you have a spray room. It will require a catalyst and reducer along with the paint. It will not be cheap to spray this, I would say around $150 (just a guess). You would have a vast array of colors to choose from, reds and pearls being the most expensive. Make sure to wear a charcoal NIOSH respirator with prefilters. I have tried the air supplied respirators and did not care for them. If you have a good spray booth, with good ventilation and air flow you will be fine. DO NOT attempt to spray without a respirator. PPG/Ditzler, Glasurit, or Sikkens all make excellent products. Look in the yellow pages for a dealer, talk to a rep and tell them the situation and they can set you up with catalyst and reducer that you can use at home, and will dry quickly, and will be very durable. Good Luck, Any other questions feel free to ask. If you have an HVLP gun, that would be great as well. Also keep in mind that if the overspray from this type of paint gets on anything, IT DOES NOT COME OFF once it is dry. HTH, Bill

[Frank Chaffee]

Hi Doug,
I had a 15" Buffalo drill press done about 6 months ago. I tore it down, they stripped, masked and powder coated it for $150 CDN. I thought that was very cheap, lots of masking and plugging on the press. The finish is a gloss hammertone charcol grey with some silver veining. Looks great. :)

Ed,
Sounds nice.
Just as Dev has asked for more info from Joe Scarfo regarding his powder coating project, I would like to ask you for pics and info too. I am especially interested in the curing of the powder coat on what I assume is a mass of relatively heavy iron.
Thanks,
Frank

[Rob Will]

Rob, an automotive acrylic urethane single stage would work very well, since you have a spray room. It will require a catalyst and reducer along with the paint.

PPG/Ditzler, Glasurit, or Sikkens all make excellent products. Bill

Bill,
I have an account at the local PPG store. Any particular products come to mind? We have sprayed a fair amount of two stage.

Do you have any comparasion between the PPG product and the SW Polane that Dev mentioned?

Rob

[Michael Ballent]

mental picture of a 3000# planer in a kenmore.......
You might be a red neck... :p

[Anthony Anderson]

Bill,
I have an account at the local PPG store. Any particular products come to mind? We have sprayed a fair amount of two stage.

Do you have any comparasion between the PPG product and the SW Polane that Dev mentioned?

Rob

Rob, I had to do some memory searching because it has been awhile since I sprayed any of these paints and clears. The Concept Urethane single stage acrylic urethane, with an 860 reducer. The catalyst that I used was called DFX7 Supercharger (very fast). Although it appears that has been changed to DFX11 Supercharger, I would say essentially it has remained the same, but check on this with the rep. The other activators will be too slow unless you have a downdraft oven booth; the Supercharger should work well. As far as the Polane, I have never used it, but I am guessing that it is an industrial polyurethane. If that is the case then it is going to be thicker than an acrylic urethane, and will remain soft longer, and take longer to dry, but as far as durability I am sure that it will work well too, and probably at a lower cost. But since I have not used it I cannot say for sure. I am assuming that you are not a professional refinisher (please correct me if I am wrong:o ). So if you decide to go with the PPG let me know and I can give you some tips so you can get a good finish without it running to the floor:eek: . Choose a really cool color and you can paint all of the machines in the shop:D. HTH, Regards, Bill

[Dev Emch]

Rob, I had to do some memory searching because it has been awhile since I sprayed any of these paints and clears. The Concept Urethane single stage acrylic urethane, with an 860 reducer. The catalyst that I used was called DFX7 Supercharger (very fast). Although it appears that has been changed to DFX11 Supercharger, I would say essentially it has remained the same, but check on this with the rep. The other activators will be too slow unless you have a downdraft oven booth; the Supercharger should work well. As far as the Polane, I have never used it, but I am guessing that it is an industrial polyurethane. If that is the case then it is going to be thicker than an acrylic urethane, and will remain soft longer, and take longer to dry, but as far as durability I am sure that it will work well too, and probably at a lower cost. But since I have not used it I cannot say for sure. I am assuming that you are not a professional refinisher (please correct me if I am wrong:o ). So if you decide to go with the PPG let me know and I can give you some tips so you can get a good finish without it running to the floor:eek: . Choose a really cool color and you can paint all of the machines in the shop:D. HTH, Regards, Bill

Tony...
First of all, explain to us what is meant by a single stage and dual stage finish. I hear these terms thrown about but I am not sure what it means. Does it have to do with the adding of a catylst or does it have to do with having to clear out your final coat?

Secondly, the polane I use is indeed an industrial urathane. It is actually called POLANE HS PLUS where the HS means High Solids and the Plus means super shiny. This is what Hardinge and Bridgeport used to paint machine tools with. I can spill the nastiest solvent or coolant and cutting oil on it with no issues. It is equal to if not more expensive than most automotive finishes. Also, blending is harder to do as you have fewer color choices.

One guy in HI used a special blend of DuPont Imron to paint his oliver machines which was matched from the original sherwin williams lacquer used to paint the machine. This was a special part number and if you try hard enough, you may be able to get SW to mix up some original Oliver Teal Lacquer. A similar unique color was used to paint the original kindt collins patternmaker's vises.

[tod evans]

You might be a red neck... :p

tell me it ain`t so? :)

[Bill Simmeth]

Rob, congrats on the planer! Can't wait to see pics.

If you don't mind my asking, what do you do? I mean, room for an old-style 24" planer, automotive finishing room. Anyway, as your posts unfold, I'm now getting the picture that my concern of you manhandling the 225 was perhaps unfounded... :o

[Dev Emch]

Rob, congrats on the planer! Can't wait to see pics.

If you don't mind my asking, what do you do? I mean, room for an old-style 24" planer, automotive finishing room. Anyway, as your posts unfold, I'm now getting the picture that my concern of you manhandling the 225 was perhaps unfounded... :o

Bill, Rob has some help from his freiends. You know, John Deere and his possible cuzins'

[Anthony Anderson]

Hey Dev, Two stage means that there is a base coat, which is the color coat. It dries to a flat finish and offers no protection. The second stage of the '2 stage' is a clearcoat which essentially covers the basecoat (color coat) and protects the color. A single stage paint means that the urethane resins and the color are combined, you have a tough durable finish and no clearcoat is needed for protection. IOW the process is a single step of just putting the color down.

Polyurethane means two or more different types of urethane resins are used. Polyurethane is extremely durable and as you said it is resistent to just about anything you can drop on it, as are today's urethanes. Remember the old lacquer paint on cars in the 60s,70 and into the 80s around the gas cap there would always be a yellow area where the gas ate into the lacquer finish? Or the sun would break down the finish? This is impossible with today's urethanes. Polyurethanes are these days used on "fleet" or industrial machinery John Deere, Caterpillar and the like. I am not saying that they are not good paints, or that they are not extremely tough, or shiny. They are all of that. It is that they lack the clarity and depth that an acrylic urethane does.

I know that this is not important for machinery, but I was just recommending something that I was familiar with, that I knew would work for Rob, and that would be relatively easy to spray. No offense intended. Regards, Bill

[Dev Emch]

Hey Dev, Two stage means that there is a base coat, which is the color coat. It dries to a flat finish and offers no protection. The second stage of the '2 stage' is a clearcoat which essentially covers the basecoat (color coat) and protects the color. A single stage paint means that the urethane resins and the color are combined, you have a tough durable finish and no clearcoat is needed for protection. IOW the process is a single step of just putting the color down.

Polyurethane means two or more different types of urethane resins are used. Polyurethane is extremely durable and as you said it is resistent to just about anything you can drop on it, as are today's urethanes. Remember the old lacquer paint on cars in the 60s,70 and into the 80s around the gas cap there would always be a yellow area where the gas ate into the lacquer finish? Or the sun would break down the finish? This is impossible with today's urethanes. Polyurethanes are these days used on "fleet" or industrial machinery John Deere, Caterpillar and the like. I am not saying that they are not good paints, or that they are not extremely tough, or shiny. They are all of that. It is that they lack the clarity and depth that an acrylic urethane does.

I know that this is not important for machinery, but I was just recommending something that I was familiar with, that I knew would work for Rob, and that would be relatively easy to spray. No offense intended. Regards, Bill

O.K. So in the case of the original oliver machines, these painted with a special shade of green known as oliver teal. The actual paint is called Sherwin Williams Opex Laquer. Part # L61-XXG-5733-4331.

But what your saying is the two part finish has two distinct advantages. First it is extremely tuff and resistant to damage by sun exposure. Second it has a depth and clarity that a single stage will not give you.

So if your restoring vintage woodworking machines as much for the tool as the use of the tool, it may be worth consideration to go this route. Face it, guys who restore olivers are only looking at an excuse to do it. They may just as well be restoring vintage hot rods. It just happens that the thing munches wood and has no wheels. Given this side of reality, I think it may be worthwhile to get an oliver teal mixed in this new stuff. What was the name again.... Acrylic Urathane? I also gather from what you said that there are no mixtures of urathanes in this stuff. More of homogenous single urathane. Do I have it right here? Thanks.

[Rob Will]

Bill, Rob has some help from his freiends. You know, John Deere and his possible cuzins'

John's cousin is a 1958 model Mobilift made by Minneapolis Moline - Otherwise known as Frankie the forklift.

Frankie's little brother is a 6000 lb Nissan. When they have a family reunion Uncle Excavator and cousin Articulated Loader usually stop by.

Grandma was an Insley Dragline but she is now in the Old Iron boneyard. We had to leave room for the corn and soybean families at the table.

Having said all of that, the saftey concerns are never out of place. All it takes is one hydraulic hose failure or hitting a bump with your COG too high and bad things happen. A 20 ton excavator can kill you..... and so can a 3300 lb. planer......and so can a 2000 lb. bale of hay.....Thanks for the reminder.

Rob

[Rob Will]

Here's my two cent's worth......wait a minute I'm the guy that asked the question.

Automotive paints are designed to lay out really smooth - and thin.
Industrial paints may have a bit more "build".
On occaision I have seen auto paint run away from a poorly preped area like the edge of a casting or a bolt head.
I used automotive Acrylic Enamel years ago on a tractor but it turned out to be brittle. To me, the single stage urethanes have greater film thickness. (?) I'll probably stay with that funky gold and since it is metallic, I'll probably go basecoat / clearcoat (two stage). I wonder if OEM paint is available from PM?

Epoxy primer is good under any paint if one can stand the price.

.02 Rob

[Anthony Anderson]

Here's my two cent's worth......wait a minute I'm the guy that asked the question.

Automotive paints are designed to lay out really smooth - and thin.
Industrial paints may have a bit more "build".
On occaision I have seen auto paint run away from a poorly preped area like the edge of a casting or a bolt head.
I used automotive Acrylic Enamel years ago on a tractor but it turned out to be brittle. To me, the single stage urethanes have greater film thickness. (?) I'll probably stay with that funky gold and since it is metallic, I'll probably go basecoat / clearcoat (two stage). I wonder if OEM paint is available from PM?

Epoxy primer is good under any paint if one can stand the price.

.02 Rob


Rob, Basecoats are made to go on thin, as they are not meant to be the final layer of protection. The clearcoat is the protection. A single stage urethane is considerably thicker and is very durable. I would not go with a two stage on machinery. It adds cost and it is not necessary. You can make clears or single stage paints as thin as you want by reducing beyond manf. recommendations. Todays urethanes are not as brittle as the enamel that you have used. Fortunately things change for the better. Although this machine may take some abuse, I would venture to guess that it will not suffer the kind of abuse that a tractor would. If you want to repaint with the original color, take a piece of the machine to the PPG paint store and they should be able to scan it and come up with a mixing formula. Or you could just forget it and use the machine:D Regards, Bill

[Anthony Anderson]

Dev I am not a chemist but I will certainly try to answer your questions. Maybe we have a Dupont, PPG Chemist that is a member. I have only had a couple of college chem classes. Thanks, Bill



O.K. So in the case of the original oliver machines, these painted with a special shade of green known as oliver teal. The actual paint is called Sherwin Williams Opex Laquer. Part # L61-XXG-5733-4331.

But what your saying is the two part finish has two distinct advantages. First it is extremely tuff and resistant to damage by sun exposure. Second it has a depth and clarity that a single stage(a single stage polyurethane) will not give you.

So if your restoring vintage woodworking machines as much for the tool as the use of the tool, it may be worth consideration to go this route. I would go with a single stage urethane or a single stage polyurethane (as you don't need great clarity and depth)Face it, guys who restore olivers are only looking at an excuse to do it. They may just as well be restoring vintage hot rods. It just happens that the thing munches wood and has no wheels. Given this side of reality, I think it may be worthwhile to get an oliver teal mixed in this new stuff. What was the name again.... Acrylic Urathane? (Yep, S-W makes it too, just I have used more of the others)I also gather from what you said that there are no mixtures of urathanes in this stuff. More of homogenous single urathane (That is my understanding, though I am not a chemist. In the case of the many urethanes (poly) they create a grid with their own chemical structure, thus creating a layered interlocking grid like looking through layers of screen. The "more homongenous"urethanes would be like looking through one piece of screen. We may be getting a bit too technical here though). Do I have it right here? Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

Or the sun would break down the finish? This is impossible with today's urethanes.

Polyurethanes are, by them selves, very succeptable to UV and will break down quickly. Therefore, anything containing these resins must be specially formulated to avoid that... ;)

[Anthony Anderson]

Polyurethanes are, by them selves, very succeptable to UV and will break down quickly. Therefore, anything containing these resins must be specially formulated to avoid that... ;)

Jim, sorry, I was referring to the automotive types of acrylic urethanes. Such as those on your hybrids. I would not advocate putting an interior poly on an exterior project that is exposed to the elements. Thanks, Bill

[Ed Kowaski]

Dev here's a couple of shots to give you an idea how this turned out. I found this coating difficult to photograph, these don't really do it justice. As you can see the coverage on sandcasting is excellent. The second picture is a better indication of the surface texture, The head is not near rough as it appears in the photo.

This is tough stuff. I have not dings or chips. At the shop they have a counter finished with this very coating. It sees terribly rough service as large hunks of metal pass over it. I didn't see a scratch on it much less a chip.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/_riff_/Buffalo01.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/_riff_/Buffalo02.jpg

[Ed Kowaski]

Frank,
See my reply to Dev for a couple of photos.
I'm not aware of any problems with curing on items of mass. As far as physically handling large items these guys do some huge items, think farm implements and such.
This shop has around 12 colors they consider standard. Best price is pick one and tag on to an existing run. Apparently clean up between color changes is lengthy.

Regards

[Bill Simmeth]

Rob:
A Minnie-Moe MobilLift? You suck! And here I was worrying about you dropping a 225 on your toe. :rolleyes:

Ed:
That's a gorgeous finish!

[Rob Will]

[quote=Bill Simmeth]Rob:
A Minnie-Moe MobilLift? You suck! And here I was worrying about you dropping a 225 on your toe. :rolleyes:


LOL:)
I now have to tell the "rest of the story". Why is the MM forklift named Frankie? In a previous life at a local feed store she was frequently operated by a rather foul smelling old gent named Frankie.

Nowdays, as a thinly disguised insult to the operator of the moment, they aquire the name of Frankie while onboard.

"Hey Frankie, put it over here!":D

Rob

[Mike Wilkins]

Try the Hammerite paint available from the big box stores. I just painted a pre-owned Woodfast Lathe with the green paint from them, and it looks like a factory finish. It gives machines an industrial look and the simplicity of using spray cans. I even use it on homemade mobile bases.

[Frank Chaffee]

Hi Doug,
You might want to check into getting it done at a commercial powder coater. I had a 15" Buffalo drill press done about 6 months ago. I tore it down, they stripped, masked and powder coated it for $150 CDN. I thought that was very cheap, lots of masking and plugging on the press.
Doug,
Looks like a good deal to me for that finish!

The finish is a gloss hammertone charcol grey with some silver veining. Looks great. :)
Ed,
Do I see that the silver veining is raised above the surface of the black background? Is this why the powder coat is scratch resistant?
Looks great! Please tell me more.
Since industrial powder coating is usually a three stage etch/wash/rinse, drying/pre-heating oven, electrostatic deposition of dry powder, ~1 hour of curing in 400° oven, then cooling, these people did a great job for you if they did the plugging and masking too. Any water not dried or drained from the part will boil or bleed out during the curing cycle and spoil the finish. Because the powder is electrostatically deposited areas that you do not want powder coated must be covered or machined afterwards. $150 is good for a one-off part.

Now I see that my concern about mass of part was unfounded; the mass really only contributes to cooling time before part can be handled.

Thanks,
Frank

[Joe Scarfo]

Here is a few pics of my early 50's Unisaw Rebuild that is still in progress. I picked up this baby and a 15" Jet Planer (which also needs a rebuild) for $300.

I tore the saw down to each part... Bearings were replaced and all externally visable paintable surfaces were taken to a professional shop for sand blasting and powdercoating. Including the motor. I had it torn down as well. The non external parts were simply sprayed with an industrial red paint.

Only pblm was i didn't have a motor cover yet, so I need to find someone in Green Bay to powder coat it for me.

The knobs and cranks were chromed at a local chrome shop. The pot metal parts were "very" expensive to get done.

For effect, I've also attach my production 2001 Limited Edition...

Drop me PM if you have any more questions...

Yes, that's me pre beard shaving and buzz cut... Given I'm in Green Bay now, I may just grow that stuff back. I had forgotten just cold it can get up here... :-)

Joe

[Joe Scarfo]

It seems I could only load 3 images. I'm adding this reply to toss in another view of the rebuilt Uni...

Tks
Joe

[Joe Scarfo]

Ok.. It seems I've posted pics on this pjct before.. and I can't repost them again.

The old thread seems to be at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=10278

Take care guys.. and drop me a note if anyone has a question.

Joe

[Ed Kowaski]

Frank,
You are correct that the silver veining is raised above the surface of the black background. It's textured like hammer tone paint and appears that the silver collects at the peaks rather then the valleys.

Afraid I don't know if this why this powder coat is so scratch resistant. For my needs any powdercoat would be tough enough, this was a "stock" color and I though looked cool. I didn't question them but I expect any powder coater would have some opinions on the matter. :) I'll ask next time I visit them.

[Frank Chaffee]

Frank,
You are correct that the silver veining is raised above the surface of the black background. It's textured like hammer tone paint and appears that the silver collects at the peaks rather then the valleys.

Afraid I don't know if this why this powder coat is so scratch resistant. For my needs any powdercoat would be tough enough, this was a "stock" color and I though looked cool. I didn't question them but I expect any powder coater would have some opinions on the matter. :) I'll ask next time I visit them.

Ed,
“We”, and I say that because I was not directly involved in it, designed and built a 20,000 ft. sq. powder coat line that used an overhead conveyer to move parts thru it.

I suspect from what you tell us about the heavy castings that are moved thru the facility you used that the parts were not conveyed overhead but are moved into washing/drying/coating/curing stations on railed trolleys.

Kool (I mean hot), place!!!

Wanna know more. Who/where?

Thanks,
Frank

[Ed Kowaski]

Frank,
They don't have a website. The plant is in the Canadian midwest (Saskatoon) If I remember I'll ask for the full tour and take some pics on my next visit.

Ed