Friday, July 18, 2014

I dream of… Sandblasting and Powder Coating

04/2014

I love warm summer nights spent in the yard with friends. And with the warm nights in Michigan being in short supply, that only gives us about a month to get the yard prepared for company. The inside of our house is full of character. I would like the backyard to exhibit the same character. And for our lawn furniture to not shed blue paint on to the butts of our lawn patrons. So here’s for Operation Trick out the Yo-Monster Yard: Ballin’ on a Budget.



The current disarray is slightly embarrassing. So I recently took the sandblasting and power coating class to try and fix up the patio furniture. Sandblasting is relatively straight forward. Make sure the gun is assembled the right way and that the fan is turned on. Powder coating is slightly more involved. You have to have you powder and a means of suspending your project from the grates of Tech Shops massive oven. So for the first trial I brought in something relatively small and test worthy, the umbrella stand. Last year I used outdoor spray paint on the furniture but within days the rust was coming right through because the material was not sandblasted or otherwise stripped of the original paint. However after about an hour and a half in the sandblaster I had not made very much progress. In fact, the sand was literally sticking to the surface of the umbrella stand regardless of at which angle I held the gun. After asking a few members no one could identify the material. This material has since been titled "grandma paint."Resilient and not to be messed with, grandma paint will not be moved.

After this, Shawn suggested using Aircraft Remover, an incredibly effective paint stripper used to remove Acrylics, lacquers, polyurethane and baked enamels within ten to fifteen minutes. You can pick it up at a range of stores from Auto Zone to Walmart. I have many reservations about this product and any other product that says poison in bold on the back and causes potential damage to your body from inhalation and touch such as chemical burns and death. Not to mention, as I prepped to use the aircraft remover a DC pointed out scars near his eyes he acquired using the product. After a week I still wouldn't touch the umbrella stand without gloves on. In short, use caution when handling aircraft remover or like materials. If you're a nervous nelly like myself, you might want to stick to your mineral spirits.

Even the aircraft remover is no match for 'grandma paint.' Respect your elders. Unfortunately, since I did not get to use the powder coating materials on this project I do not have a finished project to show. So instead, here are some nice process photos member Stephen Vincent recently posted on instagram.



Stephen is really good with documenting his process.

Been itching to get into the powder coating booth but can't come up with a proper excuse? Dig that rusted bicycle out of the garage and come play with us. 

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