New metal prep

[bikerdad46]

I am new here and to PCing (haven't even bought my gun yet). I was talking to gentleman the other day about some solar heaters he had in the back of his truck that he builds. And Powder coating came up and he said he would love to find some one to PC for him. I told him that I was thinking about starting to PC myself and he said great. That maybe I could start up and do PCing for him.
The metal will be in the neighborhood of 16 gauge sheet metal (steel) PC flat black.
My question is. Will I need to sandblast the parts or use a dip to prep the metal for PCing? Which would be the faster prep.
How much coverage do you get out of a pound of powder?

I am going to start PCing no matter what. But the deal with this gentleman will dictate which gun I buy. If I make the deal, (sort of a production line) I will probably buy something like the Hypersmooth. If not I will buy something the hotcoat dual volt gun. I am limited on space (12 X 20) and budget. I can build nearly anything with my hands. So a lot of my equipment I will build myself.
The oven I haven't decided on yet (electric or propane) or the size. I have got to get with him and see what size the panels will be, before I build the oven.
Any and All advice will be helpfull
Thanks
Ray "bikerdad46"

[o1racing03]

Each manufacturer will have specs on each of their powders, in these specs will be a number for theoretical coverage by s/f per lb. taking into consideration how much is lost during spraying. Some are differant than others. You need to measure every si or sf of coatable area on the part. I'm up in the air on which prep is better for you as I dont do any dipping only media blast. Someone else here who dips or spray will chime in with that advice. Good luck and welcome to the addiction.

[SCOTTRODS]

Each manufacturer will have specs on each of their powders, in these specs will be a number for theoretical coverage by s/f per lb. taking into consideration how much is lost during spraying. Some are differant than others. You need to measure every si or sf of coatable area on the part. I'm up in the air on which prep is better for you as I dont do any dipping only media blast. Someone else here who dips or spray will chime in with that advice. Good luck and welcome to the addiction.

Using Marc's explanation and expanding a little.... Follow the part in red aboave, by adding a comfortable margin of error,.... say 10-20% in powder. to cover the low efficiency expectations of the transfer of powder. Your efficiency may not be good enough to use just 10-20%,.... you may need to raise that number significantly, but this is just a starting point. You will have to use the gun, and maybe estimate your transfer efficiency to arrive at a reasonable percentage of loss expectation.

[bikerdad46]

Each manufacturer will have specs on each of their powders, in these specs will be a number for theoretical coverage by s/f per lb. taking into consideration how much is lost during spraying. Some are differant than others. You need to measure every si or sf of coatable area on the part. I'm up in the air on which prep is better for you as I dont do any dipping only media blast. Someone else here who dips or spray will chime in with that advice. Good luck and welcome to the addiction.

What about Galvanized sheet metal. Can you just clean it (all new metal) with denatured alcohol and powder and cure?

[SCOTTRODS]

What about Galvanized sheet metal. Can you just clean it (all new metal) with denatured alcohol and powder and cure?

Umm..... You got to many threads going with the same direction.... LOL

I answered this stuff over on one of the other threads though. It's not a big deal.

[bikerdad46]

Umm..... You got to many threads going with the same direction.... LOL

I answered this stuff over on one of the other threads though. It's not a big deal.

Hello SCOTTRODS
Thanks for your reply on the other thread. I am thinking of going with the HF gun and doing the mod for the hopper. I have read the thread on the mod to the Caswell & HF guns.

Thanks again
Ray "bikerdad46"