Powder Coating Area

The Powder Coating Area within our Metal Shop at Pikes Peak Makerspace consists mostly of Level 2 equipment.

Additional training is required to use our Level 2 equipment.

 Powder Coating Area  hand tools should be marked with pink tape or paint or powder coating.

All our Powder Coating Equipment combined occupies about 90 square feet (6'x18'). It is a small but important part of the 5,500 square foot building that we lease.

Powder Coating Area

 Powder Coating Area  (6 February 2022) 

Safety First

Members must know the following information:

In case of emergency, call 911.

Our physical location is:

735 East Pikes Peak Avenue

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

• 
  IN CASE OF
  EMERGENCY
  sign

PPM Fire Escape Plan

Fire Escape Plan maps are posted throughout the Makerspace.

There are 7 fire extinguishers on the fire escape plan map.

Review the PPM Fire Escape Plan for locations.

• 
  PPM Emergency
  Evacuation Plan.pdf
• 
  PPM Fire
  Prevention Plan.pdf
• 
  PPM Fire Escape
  Plan

First Aid

There is a FIRST AID Supply Cabinet in our Kitchen Area.

FIRST AID Kits are available in four areas: the Kitchen, Metal Shop, Wood Shop and CNC Room.

• 
  FIRST AID
  Supply Cabinet
• 
  FIRST AID
  Kit

Eye Wash Stations

Emergency Eye & Face Wash Stations are mounted in four areas: the Kitchen, Wood Shop, CNC Room and Vented Room.

• 
  Emergency
  Eye & Face Wash
  Station

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Wear protective equipment in all Wood and Metal Shop Areas.

Wear gloves when using Isopropyl Alcohol and other cleaners.

Gloves should not be worn when using powered equipment (saws, jointers, drills, or other equipment). Leather gloves can be worn for handling materials, but not when operating machinery.

• 
  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Hazardous Chemicals

All hazardous chemicals must be stored in the yellow hazardous chemical storage cabinet located in the Vented Room.

Review the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) information of unknown products before use.

SDS information is available via this spreadsheet.

Do not bring dangerous chemicals to the makerspace.

Spray paint, stains, and other approved items must be stored in the hazardous chemical storage cabinet in the Vented Room.

Please DO NOT paint indoors.

• 
  Flammables Cabinet
  in the Vented Room

Other Hazards

Avoid placing uncovered (extension) cords, hoses, cables, or wires across the floors of our shops.

Impairment

The use of PPM equipment requires you to be alert, attentive, and focused.

Do not use any PPM work area, or any PPM tools, if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Classes and Training

Area Captain -- Trevor Banks

Additional Powder Coating Captains wanted

To help out in the  Powder Coating Area  contact the Area Captain on Slack.

Classes

Pikes Peak Makerspace announces its Upcoming events, including classes, on Meetup

Training

Max part size to powder coat is 36"x45"x91"

Part prep

• Remove anything off the part that can’t handle 400°F
• Part must be clean and degreased to prevent contamination of media
• Sandblasting part first gives more grip for the powder to stick to and last longer
• If the part has been sandblasted, bake the part in the oven at 180°F until the part reaches temp to degas and discharge part. Then allow to cool.
• Tape anything off with high temp tape (PET, Kapton, Fiberglass) that you don’t want to be powered coated
• Once the part is cleaned and discharged do not touch part with your hands

Powder coat gun prep

• Make sure the gun is completely clean by blowing off any powder off and in the gun with air compressor
• Completely clean out all powder from the powder bottle if using a different color
• Only fill bottle 2in, NO MORE. The bottle needs air circulation to work properly.
• Set gun to high voltage for most things for the first coat and use low voltage for very small parts or second coats
• Set gun PSI to 3-5 PSI

Powder coating

• Place part on rack or hang from rack using stainless steel hooks or wire
• Connect ground wire to rack or wire
• Check ground by moving powder coat gun close to part (1-2in) and push power button to see if there electricity aches to the part. If not adjust ground until you have a strong arch.
• Hold button and spray powder 6-8in away in a circular motion around part until the part is evenly coated.
• Start coating the parts that are deep and have 90deg angles (low voltage may help if it’s not sticking) then coat the rest at high voltage
• Check evenness with led light
• If air from the gun is blowing powder off part PSI is too high
• If the powder is not sticking, the part may have not been cleaned well enough or not discharged enough
• If you mess up or want to restart you can blow off the powder and restart

Baking part

• Preheat oven to the temperature specified for the powder
• Place part in the oven being careful not to knock off any powder from part
• Measure the temp of the part until its at the specified temp for the powder being used (using IR thermometer)
• Once the part has reached temp bake the part for the specified time for the powder being used
• Carefully remove the part from the oven and allow it to cool down before handling
• To add a second coat, coat part hot at 180°F with good ground and on low voltage and rebake

Please see https://wiki.pikespeakmakerspace.org/index.php/Powder_Coating for step by step powder coating procedures.

Max part size to powder coat is 36"x45"x91"

Tips

Links to other sites (external links):

Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit

For Additional Help

Use the PPM Slack channel #metal-shop

List of all PPM Slack channels

Note that we have a Slack channel (#job-board) for members to post, discuss, or accept job opportunities either within PPM or from the community.

Equipment Lists

Powder Coating Equipment

Picture	Item	Manufacturer	Model Number
	media blaster cabinet	Harbor Freight	link
Powder coating paint booth	powder coating paint booth		N/A
	powder coating paint gun, dual voltage	Eastwood
Huge oven for powder coating	huge (36"x45"91") powder coating oven with PID controller	Trevor Banks	N/A
Picture	Item	Manufacturer	Model Number

Hand Tools

Picture	Item	Manufacturer	Model Number
	IR thermometer
	small clamp
Picture	Item	Manufacturer	Model Number

 Powder Coating Area  hand tools should be marked with pink tape or paint or powder coating.

Return all tools to their proper location after use. This rule applies to all areas of our Makerspace.

Wish List

Pikes Peak Makerspace is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so we can provide a receipt for any donations you make.

Benefits and Policies

PPM members enjoy discounts at the following local merchants:

(bring proof of PPM membership)

Website	Benefit	Address
Woodcraft of Colorado Springs	10% discount	4438 Austin Bluffs Parkway
CO Lumber Specialties	10% discount	3636 Stone Avenue
GENERAL AIR	10% discount	3031 N Nevada Ave.
ACE Hardware Uintah Gardens	10% discount	1830 W Uintah Street

Powder Coating Powders

Color	Item	Safety Data Sheet	Curing Procedure	Supplier	Date
Sassy Pink	PSS 3063	Link	20 Minutes at 350°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Neon Green	PSS 1221		10 Minutes at 400°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Space Dust	PPB 10713		10 Minutes at 400°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Ink Black	PSS 0106		10 Minutes at 400°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Flatter Black	ESS 4441		10 Minutes at 400°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Super Grip Black	PTB 6419		10 Minutes at 350°F	PRISMATIC POWDERS	02/10/22
Black	MATTE BLACK, Item 93306		400°F for 15-20 mins after flowout	Harbor Freight
Clear	SOFT (SATIN) CLEAR, PPS-1334		10 MIN AT 400° F	PRISMATIC POWDERS
White	GLOSS WHITE, PSS-5690		10 MIN AT 400° F	PRISMATIC POWDERS
Yellow	Mirror Yellow, # 10292		400° F for 20 mins after flowout	Eastwood Company
Gray	?
Gray	?
Color	Item	Safety Data Sheet	Curing Procedure	Supplier	Date

• 
  Powder coating
  powder storage
  bottles

Donate for "General Supplies" via PayPal: bit.ly/ppmstuff

Or, leave donations in a black payment box, or use a QR code.

Red Tags

Scrap and Trash

Trash day is TUESDAY (Extra pickups can be called from Waste Connections for around $75)

Recycling day is MONDAY (96 gallon tote should be placed out back by the dumpster)

Single Stream Recycling provided by Waste Connections. Paper, cardboard, cans, glass, and one time use plastics.

Empty interior trash cans into our dumpster at the back (south side) of the building.

Always leave the space better than you found it.

Member Showcase

• 
  Powder coated
  hood latch with spring
  by Trevor Banks
• 
  Powder coated
  bracket and pulley
  by Trevor Banks
• 
  Powder coated
  valve cover washers
  by Trevor Banks

See Also

Links to other PPM Wiki pages (internal links):

Sandblasting Cabinet

Metal Shop

Shed

Curated Links

Links to other sites (external links):

How to Powder Coat -- Eastwood

Other Fun Stuff

Links to other sites (external links):

What is a PID Controller? -- Wikipedia

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Contact Us if you cannot find your answer here on our Wiki or if you notice any outdated information.