87_TX_T-Type
Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2016
So I haven't had a chance to contribute much to the forum thus far, but I was hoping to add a little something since everyone has been so helpful. (By the way, this is my first attempt at powder coating, so this is NOT the end-all-be-all guide - just my experience.)
While replacing the fuel injectors and ditching the EGR this weekend, I decided to do a little deep cleaning of the nooks and crannies. It seemed a shame to go through all that effort without trying to rejuvenate the intake plenum.
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So after weighing my options, I decided to give powder coating a try. I already have a compressor, so I made a trip to Harbor Freight to purchase their powder coating rig (about $60 with coupon), and black powder paint ($6). I also needed an oven to cure the paint, and since the general consensus is NOT to use an oven you cook in, I also purchased a decent size Oster toaster oven for $40 on sale at Target.
After giving the piece a thorough scrubbing with engine degreaser and a brass brush, everything looked pretty good albeit it became evident that it had likely been painted before with a silver/aluminum paint. (Which makes sense, given that the valve covers have been custom painted the color of the car.) So I hit it again with some 180 grit sandpaper to get as much of the paint off.
I also took the sandpaper to the top ridges in a circular motion to get the shine back a bit.
Once it was "clean" I put it in the oven at 400* for about 10 minutes to burn off anything chemical or grease wise on the surface.
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After letting it cool down, I put on the rubber gloves and wiped down the entire surface again with mineral spirits and a microfiber cloth before masking all the threaded and mating surfaces with painters tape. Masking was actually pretty easy considering the aluminum edges provided a sharp enough surface that the exacto knife wasn't needed to do much trimming.
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Then came the actual powder coating... sorry no pictures of the actual process since my hands were full, but it went remarkably quickly. Probably only took a minute or two to coat the entire thing. Then into the oven at 400* it went.
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After about five minutes the surface turned from the dull gray to shiny black. I quickly peeled up the tape on the top fins fearing that that the paint might cure/harden over and around them. (In hindsight the other taped places that I let fully cure in the oven were just as easy to remove, so maybe it was unnecessary to do the fins early on.)
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Here is the final product after removing all the tape.
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Honestly, I'm very happy with the results. For the same amount of money I could have purchased a powder coated one, but at least this way I can do more powder coating in the future.
While replacing the fuel injectors and ditching the EGR this weekend, I decided to do a little deep cleaning of the nooks and crannies. It seemed a shame to go through all that effort without trying to rejuvenate the intake plenum.
View media item 277
So after weighing my options, I decided to give powder coating a try. I already have a compressor, so I made a trip to Harbor Freight to purchase their powder coating rig (about $60 with coupon), and black powder paint ($6). I also needed an oven to cure the paint, and since the general consensus is NOT to use an oven you cook in, I also purchased a decent size Oster toaster oven for $40 on sale at Target.
After giving the piece a thorough scrubbing with engine degreaser and a brass brush, everything looked pretty good albeit it became evident that it had likely been painted before with a silver/aluminum paint. (Which makes sense, given that the valve covers have been custom painted the color of the car.) So I hit it again with some 180 grit sandpaper to get as much of the paint off.
I also took the sandpaper to the top ridges in a circular motion to get the shine back a bit.
Once it was "clean" I put it in the oven at 400* for about 10 minutes to burn off anything chemical or grease wise on the surface.
View media item 284
After letting it cool down, I put on the rubber gloves and wiped down the entire surface again with mineral spirits and a microfiber cloth before masking all the threaded and mating surfaces with painters tape. Masking was actually pretty easy considering the aluminum edges provided a sharp enough surface that the exacto knife wasn't needed to do much trimming.
View media item 285
Then came the actual powder coating... sorry no pictures of the actual process since my hands were full, but it went remarkably quickly. Probably only took a minute or two to coat the entire thing. Then into the oven at 400* it went.
View media item 286
After about five minutes the surface turned from the dull gray to shiny black. I quickly peeled up the tape on the top fins fearing that that the paint might cure/harden over and around them. (In hindsight the other taped places that I let fully cure in the oven were just as easy to remove, so maybe it was unnecessary to do the fins early on.)
View media item 287
Here is the final product after removing all the tape.
View media item 288
Honestly, I'm very happy with the results. For the same amount of money I could have purchased a powder coated one, but at least this way I can do more powder coating in the future.
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