Powder Coating a blaster

[erv]

I haven't posted much so far,
now I've subscribed for a RACprops blaster, I start thinking about the finish I could get with my tools in the shop.

I read that the cast is made out of pewter (probably similar to zamac ?). It's a low melting point alloy, but would it survive to powder coating ?
It's so durable compared to paint.

I have some semi gloss powder that flows well at around 200°C / 390°F.
too high for the alloy Richard uses ?

[joberg]

I'm sure Rich or Propjonnyb can answer those questions better than me.
Rich's is not similar to zamac (orange & apple comparaison).
And yes, it has a tendency to melt at fairly "low" temps. Even polishing the pieces should be done by hand only...

[racprops]

Interesting idea.

The pewter I use is poured at 550 degrees, but I wonder it it might soften at those temps.

I would be willing to send you a part to test on.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[erv]

thanks a lot rich, much appreciated. If you have a part that went wrong in the cast or that is worn out, I'm happy to test powder coating on it then share the results here.
The temps between PC flow and pouring are pretty close though, not sure it will work. We will see !

[racprops]

I have a old grip frame that would look great in Black..

Send me a address to mail it to.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

Rich's alloy is a low temp pewter alloy at 550 degrees and is not the same as zamac, powder coatings usually are up around 300 to 390 and are similar to an hot enamel process , I would suspect exposure to a direct heat source would effect the pewter detrimentally as it's not stable when exposed to a heat source of any duration, it might be possible to powder coat the molds and then pour the pewter ( still a difficult method) , but I think it's almost impossible to powder coat an existing cast piece , especially a large piece like an upper receiver , gun frame or barrel as you would have to expose the cast piece to a high heat source to rapidly bring it to temperature, to melt the powder coating.

I'd be interested in seeing the results of any attempt made.

[TM]

Yes, you need to be careful about the base metal. I used to use a great powder coater, now out of business. I had him powder coat some sheet metal fabrication I picked up. Turned out that it was soldered together. The solder melted in the oven and piece fell apart.

Tony
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If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes. . .