ceramic powder coating

M

manassas dragon

Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
158
tried using a duracoat product called dura bake-sprayed on ,then baked for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
doesn't seem to stay on acceptably. talked to a local ceramic powder co. and was told they bake their product for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. two questions- 400 degrees enuf to impact the tempering and
and does ceramic powder coating seem durable?

anybody have experience with this stuff. i don't know,maybe i should just forget it and sand back down to bare metal.

pls feel free to comment.

thanx,guys
 
The guy I know that does CeraKoting as a business tells me he sandblasts all surfaces to 100-120 grit, sprays the Cerakote on and bakes at 300. Resulting finish is VERY durable. Maybe you're using a different product?
 
the product i tried was a duracoat product called durabake. i used 1200 gritsprayed on several very fine coats
and baked at 350 for fifteen minutes or so. i'm attempting to get a coating approximating what becker uses on their
very fine inife line.
 
I do a lot of powder coating on hundreds of custom parts I make for another hobby.

Powder coat is tough as nails. Just make sure there are no sharp corners on your knife. What temperature was your tempered at? If it was 400* or under you should be fine.
 
just talked to brad stallsmith at peter's heat treating and he told me that 400 degrees for 45 minutes
shouild have no affect on blade hardness.
now if someone will comment on the effectiveness of ceramic powder coating, i will know the direction
to take this project.

when you don't know what your doing, every step is a new adventure. i am learning a little as i go.

thanx,peeps
 
manassas dragon said:
just talked to brad stallsmith at peter's heat treating and he told me that 400 degrees for 45 minutes
shouild have no affect on blade hardness.
now if someone will comment on the effectiveness of ceramic powder coating, i will know the direction
to take this project.

when you don't know what your doing, every step is a new adventure. i am learning a little as i go.

thanx,peeps
Click to expand...


Depends on what steel your knife is. For example, 5160. Pretty sure 400 is a bit higher than 5160 is normally tempered at, so you'd definitely be softening that blade some.
 
Proper ceramic powder coating is extremely tough. I have not heard any consistant positive reports about the DIY stuff from people who tried it. I definitely say let the pro's do it. The guy who does my coated blades charges less than it would cost me to buy a DIY kit and prep the blades myself, anyway.

I may be wrong in some details, but if I remember right this is how the pro who does mine explained it to me: The pros prep the steel (or anything else that will conduct electricity) by media blasting and the ceramic powder is held to the steel by an electrical charge, then they cure it. The home kits are essentially spray paint with some ceramic stuff in it.
 
james terrio said:
The home kits are essentially spray paint with some ceramic stuff in it.
Click to expand...


Actually the Powder Coat machines you get from a place like http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/index.html use the same powder the commercial places use.

You prep the metal.

Connect the part to the machine and spray the powder through the gun, as it gets an electrical charge which is then attracted to the charged metal the powder particles stick to the part. Once the part is covered completely you then bake in the oven. It will turn shiny and glossy as the powder melts and then it will begin to cure and harden. Once it is done baking and then cools the part is read to use.

It is tough as nails. I use it on stuff like this. I have used it on tactical knives and it looks just great. Then enemy is sharp corners that is where it will chip. Once the part is cured you literally have to take it to a belt 120 grit to get it off.


StraponWokbutwithrail003.jpg
 
AVigil said:
Actually the Powder Coat machines you get from a place like http://www.caswellplating.com/powder/index.html use the same powder the commercial places use.
Click to expand...
That looks interesting. It's almost surely not the same junk as the "squirt it on and bake in your wife's oven" kinda stuff.

FWIW I have had zero problems with sharp corners (square spines or any other surface) chipping off on my coated knives. Beat 'em on a stump, whack 'em on the vise, go after it with a chisel. You straight out, no bullshit, have to take it to the belt-sander to remove it.

EDIT: PC of all kinds is butt-uggggly in my opinion. Let's just get that out of the way, shall we? But it works.
 
Last edited:
James... Where do you get your supplies for the Powder coating?
Buying the steel next week (5160) to do a run of Combat blades and need a quality product to protect the blades.
 
I do not do my own powder-coating. I employ a local guy who does PC for a living, and does it right. Check your local yellow pages for hot-rod/snowmobile/4X4 shops etc, that's how I found my PC guy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top