Satin Clear Powdercoating

[MarkC]

Hello,

My first post on this great site here, and so i'll get right to it:

I've got no experience at all with powdercoating, and I just wanted to run something by you all.

I am about to forge up some pretty neat handrails for a contractor friend of mine who is building a couple swanky townhomes. They are interior handrails on staircases leading up to roof decks.

After seeing some of my stuff during forging, he really seems to like the rough, pre-finished look... He even said to me how cool those little black specks were. When I told him the little black specks were scale, and they weren't a good thing, it went right over his head.

So I've got a guy who wants hammer marks, and likes the rough look of some fire scale specks left behind after wire brushing. I also intend to add some hot-brushed brass highlights.

Now my 2 questions.

#1, is satin clear powdercoat going to leave the surface too shiny? I am deathly afraid it will leave too much of a sheen, like clearcoat sometimes does

#2, ...you comments and concerns about applying satin clear powdercoat over light fire scale as well as the brass accents? The handrails are interior and will never be exposed to large temperature variations, so I'm not sure that the scale would ever pop off.

Sorry for the longwindedness... wanted to make sure I presented all the facts of the case. And now the verdict!!

Thanks,

Mark

[unkle spike]

You could take a small sample to the powder coater to test, wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, that way there are no suprises when the customer gets the finished work.

My thought is that the scale would "eventually" pop off, leaving an uncoated surface exposed to the elements.

[CBrann]

Maybe not a powder coat, maybe try a spray urethane in flat or low sheen, or some other type of spray sealer. I use oil based urethane for indoor and outdoor stuff.

I have never powder coated anything though. I think that wire brushing is a good idea to remove scale. It is hard to balance the surface you want and the surface that looks really great.

Good Luck and put up pics of finished product,
Cliff

[bigfootnampa]

Mark;

I don't know that I have ever seen a CLEAR powder coat but generally the powder coats are slightly textured and have a very soft look. So they might work for you. I'd suggest just using clear satin "Breakthrough" or some similar finish. If your customer doesn't mind recoating every few years just one or two coats will keep the build low and retain nearly all of that rustic look he likes. Three or four coats creates a very tough finish (as example, I like to put on at least six coats for countertops which will have heavy scrubbing and daily use). My favorite look is to brass the surface by brushing at black heat, leaving any scale that survives this process and then coat a couple of layers with clear satin "Breakthrough" that has a bit of black or near-black (brown/black) pigment added to give a smoky antiqued look similar to antique bronze patinas. For more protection you can clear coat over this.

A powdercoat just seems overkill for an interior project... to me anyway.

[tzonoqua]

How ornate is your design? Does it actually need to be powdercoated? Although powdercoating companies will tell you that the coating reaches all recesses, it may not, and often does not. I would talk directly with your powdercoater and get their advice, it's handy to get to know them if you are going to be a repeat customer. Sometimes these firms are really only used to doing industrial work where the finish is not so important, and sometimes need reminding that ornamental work requires that little extra attention to detail. (This advice applies to galvanizing also)

Before powder coating the process should involve an acid dip to degrease and clean the surface and usually the advice is to clean off any loose bits on the surface. You should remove any loose scale, even if it might look 'neat'. A handrail is going to be used all the time and the scale may eventually come off leaving untreated metal underneath.

Experiment with different finishes on test pieces, that way you have a guarantee about how it will turn out, you can agree the finish with your client and you will both be happy that your work will be protected.

[SGropp]

The only stuff I've had powdercoated was sandblasted first [ by the powdercoat shop ]. This was more expensive than the actual powdercoating. This was to get the metal completely clean and to give it some ''tooth''.

Contrary to what they might say ,the prep and the powdercoating do not get into joints and cracks. It's basically a straight line process and will not protect the areas most liable to rust.

I think it's an overrated process, particularly for forged work.

[phil shelton]

to do powdercoating right you need to blast and then ecth with a converson prosess phosphating being one of these, all of whitch will remove the look you are after. you could just clean with a wax and grease remover and then coat .your powder finish is not going to be as durable without the proper pretreatment but probley tougher than anything you can spray from a can.
their are serval clear powercoateing avaible from very glossey to satin depending on the brand of powder from very slick to ruff surface texture are avable you should talk with a local coater.you may want to use an oil finish.

[arftist]

Skip the powdercoat. Powdercoat is way overrated anyhow, and extremely expensive. As mentioned above, any good powder coater is going to insist on sand-blasting the piece first. If you want it as natural as possible, just wax it. Plain butchers wax and some elbow grease. Tell the homeowners to wax it again if it ever starts to rust.

[Mark Emig]

I use powdercoating on a lot of stuff, in an appropriate way. I have all stuff powdercoated TWICE when being done. I pay 15 bucks a linear foot on railings-I can't paint it for that much myself with prep and all figured in. You do need to remove all fire and mill scale-when they bake it, the scale can pop off and leave a bare spot. If I have an ornate design with "water traps", I have the tough to get at spots painted with a 1200 degree paint before they powder coat it-which is included in the price. As for the wax finishes, in my experience, I have never found a client who will remember to wax the piece-they let it rust, then call and complain. I have had test pieces powder coated to see how they look. Any good powder coating facility will do that to get your business,mostly at no charge(at least the people I have tried anyway). Also, the guys I use don't require sand blasting-if they can do other sheet metal and machined/fabricated stuff without sand blasting why should a railing need it (other than to remove scale that is).
Mark Emig

[tzonoqua]

the company I use has a really good website explaining the processes involved in galvanizing and powdercoating- with links to pdf's which describe the details. might be useful as a reference.

Process - Powdercoat - - Highland - Galvanizers and Powdercoaters