Reclaiming powder is a discussion that is argued quite often in the powder coating hobby. In industry you will see items being coated at scale. There will be conveyor belts running large batches of parts that are sprayed with powder and then run through an oven. This is the quickest way to coat and bake parts but there tends to be a lot of powder wasted that is sprayed and doesn’t stick to the items. In industry they’ve figured how to catch this left over powder and reuse it or sell it to powder suppliers to be sold off to the public. In the end some of the poor quality powders have given reclaimed powder a bad reputation. Below are a few tips to help with reclaiming powder.
- Keep a Clean Work space– Cleanliness is of the utmost importance when reclaiming powder. Make sure that the area around where you’re spraying is ultra cleana nd there isn’t any dirt, dust, or old paint/powder. This will help save you time when saving the powder.
- Sift Your Powder- If you’re going to try reusing leftover powder make sure that you get a funnel with a fine mesh screen to sift the powder through. This will reduce any dirt or impurities getting into your sprayable powder. If the powder seems to be damp or clump you may not be able to reclaim the powder.
- Check the Powder Closely- Take a close look to make sure that your sifted powder doesn’t have any residue from other colors or is clumping before you pour it into your powder gun.
In the end we only suggest reclaiming powder for the extremely thrifty or if you want to use the powder on non-critical parts. For the low cost that we offer fresh, virgin powder the extra insurance is worth it. Check out our full line of powder coating supplies HERE.