Powder Coating Costs

[cutting$burning]

Hi Everybody
I hope this is in the right index. I live near the Salt Lake City area and have been painting my own stuff but have decided to go to powder coating as it is obviously superior. At first I looked in to getting my own equipment and do it myself but cannot jusitify the cost. I recently called several powder coating services for prices and was shocked. Prices ranged from $71.00 to $50.00 per piece based on a 16" to 18" diameter size wall art as seen on this forum with a flat black or satin black finish. As you well know this would double or triple the price of the finished item. I was very polite and explained that I wasn't talking about bringing in one piece at a time and expecting them to stop what they're doing and paint my stuff but making an appointment and a average of 30 or more pieces at a time to make it worth their time and mine. I see items all the time on the internet or magazines that are powder coated with a total cost under $50.00 or less. I am very confused and bewildered, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Again I hope this is in the right index and if not I appoligize in advance. Thanks D

[CNCCAJUN]

Hi Everybody
I hope this is in the right index. I live near the Salt Lake City area and have been painting my own stuff but have decided to go to powder coating as it is obviously superior. At first I looked in to getting my own equipment and do it myself but cannot jusitify the cost. I recently called several powder coating services for prices and was shocked. Prices ranged from $71.00 to $50.00 per piece based on a 16" to 18" diameter size wall art as seen on this forum with a flat black or satin black finish. As you well know this would double or triple the price of the finished item. I was very polite and explained that I wasn't talking about bringing in one piece at a time and expecting them to stop what they're doing and paint my stuff but making an appointment and a average of 30 or more pieces at a time to make it worth their time and mine. I see items all the time on the internet or magazines that are powder coated with a total cost under $50.00 or less. I am very confused and bewildered, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Again I hope this is in the right index and if not I appoligize in advance. Thanks D

I agree, have tried the powder coat route . . .way too high in my area . . .

Steve

[_Ogre]

i have the cheapest powder coat gun from eastwood.com
http://www.eastwood.com/powder-gun-promo-kit.html

and a 36'' oven that a neighbor had sitting on the curb
i've done 5 wheels and many misc brackets for my truck in there
5 years and 25,000 miles and not one chip in the powder coat

i have $129 in the gun (now $149) and maybe $200 in all my powder coat supplies



oven with ''spray booth'' on top



15x8 steel rim for truk in the oven
i gutted the eyes off the range top and run the oven on a 20 amp, 240 circuit, same circuit as my compressor
i used a ir thermometer for a while, now i use the 'oven on' light to check temps and start timers



i powder coated the wheels right on the door. i have a turntable under the wheel

[acourtjester]

Like Ogre I do my own powder coating I built an oven from two 55 gal drums shortened and welded the cut end together. I covered the outside with 4? fiberglass bats and an outer metal cover. I have a trolley I hang parts from that I roll into the oven for cooking. I have a thermal sensor hooked to a PID to control the temps. This triggers a SSR for the power to the burners that heat the oven. These are 2 large stove top burners rated at 2300 Watts it can go way over 500 degrees so it works fine. I bought my gun from Caswellplating.com I thin k they are about $200. now.

[cutting$burning]

Hey thanks Steve and Ogre for replying, and for the pictures. I had looked at the eastman kits while researching prices ect. and they are very reasonable, also using a household oven is inexpensive. The thing that I kept running into was there was always one more step to the procedure and with that step of course more money. First everything I read said that I had to sandblast. Again this can be home made to reduce the cost but it is a cost. I currently use apple cider vinegar to remove millscale, do I have to sandblast to powder coat or just get the metal clean? Then there is the washing phase, still a little confused about the phosphate, is it a wash or a coating? Then there is the wash, rinse, phosphate, rinse, wash with what? Do you use this method or can it be skipped if the metal is clean? Also when you place the item in the oven can it touch the oven walls or rack? Am I making this too complicated? Sorry to be a pain and sound stupid but I guess I am stupid when it comes to powder coating. Again thanks for the reply and if you have time could you answer some of these questions. D

[tnbndr]

Then there is the wash, rinse, phosphate, rinse, wash with what? Do you use this method or can it be skipped if the metal is clean?

Now you know why they charge $50 per piece to powder coat. I have lots of stuff powder coated. I offer the customer the choice and explain the benefits. It's their choice to spend the extra money.
To be honest if you are just doing wall art used inside, spray can is fine, it is not exposed to the elements.

[_Ogre]

i blast everything i have powder coated, back to eastwood i use their blast-in-a-bucket
usually sand and grind first and then hit it with the sand blaster
http://www.eastwood.com/blast-out-of-a- ... e-gun.html



it's nothing you'd want to blast a whole body with, but it removes rust well, mill scall takes some work
when i painted the frame on 58 truk i degreased, sanded, ground and then blasted all the nooks and crannies with this

and as stated; painting is easier

[Gamelord]

For small hobby type art stuff, this cabinet may be perfect for you. It is inexpensive and compact.

http://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-b ... 42202.html

I have the larger cabinet below and used it for quite a while. Had to replace the gun because nozzles were about impossible to find. it comes with a bunch but a new gun is cheap and actually works a little better. Make sure your air is very clean or it will clog the sand. Also make sure the hose-clamps are tight on the gloves or they will pop off which is a major pain.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capa ... 68893.html

I recently upgraded to a larger cabinet. The reason was because I sometimes cut larger pieces and needed a bigger cabinet and the foot pedal is much nicer - as well as the lighting.

I use the Black Beauty blasting media and love it. Works very fast and lasts quite a long time. Search around on the internet and you can find it pretty cheap (around a buck a pound).

I have a couple pot blasters and they are great for very large parts but make a tremendous mess and I hate to use them. The sand is also a one-time use at best which can get pricy. A Blast cabinet is not very expensive (as far as tools go) and worth every penny for cleaning up parts and/or getting them ready for powdercoating.

With the eastwood powder kit, the blast cabinet above and a craigs-list used stove that has a working oven, wood or cardboard coating booth......you should be able to get into powder coating for under 500.00 bucks and turn out some very nice looking projects.

Once you get everything set up, the only limit you would have is the size of your oven.

[cutting$burning]

Hey Thanks Guys
I just wanted to say thanks to you guys for replying to my questions and for your time and knowlege. I really do appreciate that you took time to answer and for sharing, this has helped alot and i'm glad I decided to post my questions. I'm still not sure if I'll go the powder coat route (probably will) but at least i'm alot more informed and knowing is half the battle. Again thanks to CNCCAJUN,Ogre,acourtjester,tnbndr,and Gamelord for the pics, links and replies. D

[yeomansjon]

Wow, I can't believe the prices you guys are seeing from local shops. I bring all my work to a local powder shop that is very well known throughout New England and does fantastic work. We established pricing of $8 per small item (size roughly equivalent to 9" diameter or smaller) $15 for medium (between 9 and 20 inch diameters or so), and $30 for large items (20 to 36) and then anything larger than that we quote by sq.ft on a case by case basis. The catch with me probably is that I do everything flat black. This shop does a shade of black so often that they just put my stuff in with everything else and it works well. If I wanted something Red, or Blue, etc, then it would probably become more expensive, but for the majority of what I do flat black is perfect.

[I Lean]

A little late on the reply here, but try Full Blown Powdercoating in Sandy. They've treated me very fairly on stuff I've taken to them. Single pieces are naturally more money, but in quantity they get a lot better.

[exceptional]

Acourtjester, I have looked at the powder coating gun HV powder coating system for $200, from Caswellplating.com. Is that the one you were talking about and if so.... how is it working for you? My Eastwood gun is falling completely apart and spraying powder all over the place. I have to replace it. Used it about 8 - 9 months, I guess it is finished. Thanks for your help and great looking oven by the way.

[gamble]

I got my harbor freight gun off craigslist new for $20 with black powder. Otherwise it's $70. Great for starting and learning. Just got the eastwood dual voltage but don't have much time with it.
And I have a little toaster oven for $9 from a resale shop. My initial investment was $30 For my small stuff it works great.

[cutting$burning]

Hi Everybody,
I thought I would share an update to the original post. First thanks to everyone for replying, any and all feedback is welcome, A couple of months after the original post I sent 3 wall art pieces to a powder coat shop so that he phisically had them in his hand to price them and if he wanted go ahead and powder coat them to give him a better idea on price. I sent one of each of what I would roughly call small (12"x12") medium (18"x18") and large (22"x18"). He went ahead and painted them and gave me prices. The quality of the powder coating was excellent and the prices were even better. The small was $4.50, the medium was $6.50 and the large $7.50 plus a $1.50 service charge so all 3 were $20.00. I'm going to assume the sevice charge was packaging them, as they were well packaged and protected. He said he didn't care if I brought 1 or 100 pieces the price was the same. At these prices I don't see how I could do it myself any cheaper. The only bad news is he is 70 miles away for a 140 mile round trip, the good news is there is a local fab shop that I cut parts for that uses his services (how I found about him) for handrailing ect. that will deliver and pick-up for me when they are going. Also there is a metal supply store on the way so it could be drop of wall art, pick-up steel on the way home. Just thought I would share this as it paid off to keep searching for powder coating services. Someday I may still pursue my own powder coating system but for now it's on the very back burner. Thanks D

[gamble]

WTF that is DIRT cheap. most places here would charge $40 each
were the parts sandblasted and prepped already? I think that's a large factor of costs. And if you do candy colors or not

[I Lean]

Hi Everybody,
I thought I would share an update to the original post. First thanks to everyone for replying, any and all feedback is welcome, A couple of months after the original post I sent 3 wall art pieces to a powder coat shop so that he phisically had them in his hand to price them and if he wanted go ahead and powder coat them to give him a better idea on price. I sent one of each of what I would roughly call small (12"x12") medium (18"x18") and large (22"x18"). He went ahead and painted them and gave me prices. The quality of the powder coating was excellent and the prices were even better. The small was $4.50, the medium was $6.50 and the large $7.50 plus a $1.50 service charge so all 3 were $20.00. I'm going to assume the sevice charge was packaging them, as they were well packaged and protected. He said he didn't care if I brought 1 or 100 pieces the price was the same. At these prices I don't see how I could do it myself any cheaper. The only bad news is he is 70 miles away for a 140 mile round trip, the good news is there is a local fab shop that I cut parts for that uses his services (how I found about him) for handrailing ect. that will deliver and pick-up for me when they are going. Also there is a metal supply store on the way so it could be drop of wall art, pick-up steel on the way home. Just thought I would share this as it paid off to keep searching for powder coating services. Someday I may still pursue my own powder coating system but for now it's on the very back burner. Thanks D

Care to share who/where that is?

[acourtjester]

HI
Yes that it.
the gun I have works fine in fact there are mod to the gun you can do to make it better on youtube.
This mainly is to help the powder distribute in the supply jar and then out the gun tip. I am not a big user but it has done what I want it to do.

[exceptional]

I just checked with a powder coating company yesterday that quoted a 4' x 3' powder coat at $48.00 and half that to clear coat.

Acourtjester: Thanks for the feedback. I am looking for a new one as I stated earlier and less then $300. Not sure what quality or life expectancy I can get for that but I'm looking. Thanks again.

[cutting$burning]

A little late on the reply here, but try Full Blown Powdercoating in Sandy. They've treated me very fairly on stuff I've taken to them. Single pieces are naturally more money, but in quantity they get a lot better.

Hey Thanks Ilean I haven't checked theses guys out but I will

Care to share who/where that is?

It is Utah Advanced Powder Coating in Lindon, They are on the web but if you need address or number let me know.

WTF that is DIRT cheap. most places here would charge $40 each
were the parts sandblasted and prepped already? I think that's a large factor of costs. And if you do candy colors or not

The price included sandblasting and prep, I don't know their prep method but the fab shop that recomended them said the sandblasting alone would smooth the cut edges and allow for a better adhesion which is where I was having trouble keeping the paint on the sharp cut edges, which makes sense to me. The pieces I sent had been soaked in cider vinegar to remove millscale, and any and all dross removed so they were clean but not prepped in any way. Also they were powder coated with flat or satin black so pretty basic colors. Thanks D

[Gamelord]

cutting$burning, where are you located at, if you don't mind me asking.

[I Lean]

cutting$burning, where are you located at, if you don't mind me asking.

I live near the Salt Lake City area

You're welcome.

[cutting$burning]

quote="Gamelord"]

cutting$burning, where are you located at, if you don't mind me asking.

I'm outside of Coalville, it's 45 miles east of SLC on I-80

[You're welcome.

Good one Ilean

[Gamelord]

North Salt Lake here. I know where Coalville is. Next time I am down that way we will have to hook up for lunch.

[East German]

Hallo,

I bring my parts in a neighboring town in a small company.
You are sandblasted primed and finish powder.

A few examples of what it costs!

I find the price is o.k.

Regards Peter

[I Lean]

North Salt Lake here. I know where Coalville is. Next time I am down that way we will have to hook up for lunch.

I'm kinda surprised, but there are several of us in this area! I'm in Magna, West end of the SL valley.