Well, I do'd it...

[gweimer]

Some of you may recall that I had plans to start a small powder coating shop a year ago or so.  Well, I ended up putting it off for a while.  I didn't actually have enough garage left to do any sort of spraying, plus my HOA would probably frown upon that.

However, I just bought a lower end powder coating system.  I can pick up an electric oven for curing easily enough (my drummer just GAVE one away to someone last week), so all I need is a place to set up and work on the process.  My plan is to figure out the process, do some prototyping for my own benefit, and see how things look.  If I can get the process down, and find a good market, my plan is to move into a rental space (cheap) and buy something a little more commercial, like a Caswell system.

[sniper]

just when i dreamt about powder coating my brass covered hand rest i got from Greatdealz black. excellent timing Gary.

[gweimer]

just when i dreamt about powder coating my brass covered hand rest i got from Greatdealz black. excellent timing Gary.

Hope you're not in a hurry.  Once I get things a little together, I'll post here.  I'm hoping to have some samples to send out.

[Dave W]

I wondered whatever happened to your plans. Good to know you haven't given up on the idea.

[OldManC]

If we keep going this way we'll have the resources to build a whole line of basses completely in (Outpost) house! I hope it works out better than you even planned for.

[sniper]

Hope you're not in a hurry.  Once I get things a little together, I'll post here.  I'm hoping to have some samples to send out.

Actually I need it for the Colby Bass the Doctor is building. I sent a brass covered one to him but ask him to hold off mounting it 1) because I am jnot sure of exactly where I want it and 2) because it is not black. I believe a powder paint job would cure the last problem as good if not better than a black chrome job.

Chroming is an option but finding a place to do it has proven rather difficult. There is a nice chrome shop in Des Moines that does work reasonably on smnall items but not black chrome. There was a powder coating place in Ozark when I lived there but alas I have moved.

[gweimer]

I wondered whatever happened to your plans. Good to know you haven't given up on the idea.

My singer from the indie pop band says that if I get this right, she has a ready market of artistic types that will pay for the service right out of the chute.  If you recall, my plan is to stay small, and do smaller items, rather than the typical car and motorcycle parts.

Outpost Bass Co. - - - -  that does have a certain ring to it.

I'll keep everyone updated.

[gweimer]

Chroming is an option but finding a place to do it has proven rather difficult. There is a nice chrome shop in Des Moines that does work reasonably on smnall items but not black chrome. There was a powder coating place in Ozark when I lived there but alas I have moved.

There's my business case for doing this, in a nutshell.  From going through the process manuals I downloaded last year, powder coating should be a suitable substitute for chrome.  Also, what were any of those shops going to charge?  What was their set-up fee?

[sniper]

i was quoted 35$ for a small item to be chromed (the bridge cover qualified as a small item) but any buffing would be charged extra and it has to be buffed before chroming as the plating will not fill in defects in the surface. that quote was three years ago. i was also quoted 15-20$ for powder coating and that was two years ago. the item had to have a metallic surface as the powder was laid on with an electrostatic charge passing through the item to be coated and had to have a way of hanging it (a hole somewhere).

the hardness of the paint varied and it was recommended a semi hard covering so as not to flake from vibrations.

[gweimer]

Well, I'm reviving this with a little update.  I can't set up my own shop, but I may have found a guy that I can contract work to.  He did a small piece for me, and we talked a little about my contracting small jobs for him.  This is probably something that a lot of you guys can also do locally, but given a quantity of small parts, I could arrange for a batch run.  Obviously, it depends on color, size and quantity, but I'm at least in discussion.  Selling and outsourcing the work might be a good compromise for me.

[drbassman]

You are right, it all depends on volume.  Hope it works out for you!

[gweimer]

I did my first test run.  I like the quality of the guy who did these for me.

[exiledarchangel]

Those look really nice. All kinds of metals can be power-coated, even crappy/cheapo stuff?

[gweimer]

Those look really nice. All kinds of metals can be power-coated, even crappy/cheapo stuff?

As long as it holds up to a 400 deg oven.

[jumbodbassman]

minimum piece order???