Here at Eastwood, we are as much enthusiasts as we are a “Big Corporation”. From testing products at length before releasing them, to working on our own projects, we are always busy! Below is a sneak peak at some projects we are working on currently.
Powder coating seems to be the favorite around the office for restoring those old parts for our projects. Below you will see we were testing our dual voltage powder gun while shooting some parts, including a Ford transmission case and some Honda motorcycle bits. With the right prep and patience, you can achieve professional results with the dual voltage gun!
Now for some tips that may help you achieve better results when powder coating your parts. The first thing that is a good habit to get into is always wear rubber gloves when handling parts you are powder coating. This helps keep the parts from getting any dirt or oils from your hands on the parts. The dirt and oils found in your skin can cause the parts to “out-gas” and create imperfections in the finish that you wouldn’t notice until AFTER baking. Another, is to bake the parts in your oven after cleaning. This will bake out any chemicals or oil residue found in the pores of the metal from handling and cleaning. Pre-heating time can vary depending on the type of metal you are coating, but we suggest around 20-30 minutes for most items. The last good tip, that often can be overlooked is to always sift your powders before putting them in the gun. Even brand new powder can get a little “clumpy” from the condensation in the container or even from the moisture in the air. The powder below was pretty much right off the shelf and still we found some small little clumps that surely would have cause “spitting” when shooting the powder!
You can find us constantly trying to test and improve upon our products. Below you can see we are testing some new sample wheel paints. We check for color matching, ease to spray, cure time, and durability. Every product we design and market goes through these tests before it gets to the catalog!
