Powder Coating SS

james terrio

james terrio

Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
22,618
In my quest to durably blacken a couple HT'ed 440C blades, I decided to give a local powder-coater a try. He just called to let me know he finished them last night, but wasn't happy about a bit of orange peel he saw on the surface of the powder coat, so he's going to re-blast them and do it again today.

Any thoughts on what causes that? Is it just something that happens sometimes, maybe if the gun is dirty? (he did mention he was going to double-check his nozzle)

Is there something I should do before taking them to PC? He sandblasts as part of his standard prep so there shouldn't be any grease or anything on them right? I ask here because I googled and got "info" ranging from "SS is no big deal, blast and coat like anything else" to "don't even bother powdercoating stainless, it sucks" :confused:
 
I'd be interested in finding out how he's blasting the powder coat off (media, blaster etc) and how much effort it is for him. I have to grind it off, most media just bounces off. Have never had trouble with SS powder coating. I think any surface aberrations are likely due to how it was applied. After blasting I wipe the blade with acetone or alcohol and wear gloves.
 
Now that I think of it, he said "strip it off" and redo it. I'll ask when I talk to him later.
 
You mean like oil in the lines from the compressor? I hate that :mad:
 
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