Powdercoated my own parts... pics inside

My dad and I went in together and bought eastwoods hotcoat kit like 2 years ago... we just now got around to using it. I wanted to clean up my engine bay a little for the Fun Ford Weekend event in Norwalk this weekend and figured it'd be a good place to start. I went with their mirror chrome powder. They recommended recoating it with their 95% gloss to protect the metal in the chrome finish as they said it would tarnish and oxidize. Well, the mirror chrome came out AWESOME! BUT, when I cleared it it came out more like silver paint than chrome. I was upset with that, but it still looks a thousand times better than it did. It will be way easier to clean too. I may try and just use the mirror chrome on a piece and not clear it to see what happens. if it stays nice I may redo these parts. I powdercoated the valve covers, thermostat neck, both acccessory brackets, idler pulley bolt, powersteering pulley, and the coil bracket. Here are some pics...

Before the clearcoat was applied...




After and on the car




Final new engine pic... its a little more "blingy" now


Also, I finally got around to installing my summitt rad and all I can say is that it works. I was stuck in traffic in 80*+ temps and it never went above 180*!!! Best of all, I used NO zip ties. I had a drain plug welded in as well as two aluminum brackets to hold the electric fan on, it only cost me $35! I still want to get rid if the stock overflow bottle, but I just didn't have the time or money to do it right now.

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I couldn't remember exactly what I paid for it, but here is the exact kit I have and it now retails for $129.99

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=250&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=250

In addition to the kit, I also had to buy an old electric oven we found for like $50 in the newspaper, a kitchen timer, an oven thermometer, the required wire and breakers to hook the oven up (its 220 power), an air regulator, a moisture/oil filter, air line and quick disconnects, 2 cheap tarps (to collect the unused powder in... it can be reused), oven mits, 3 cookie trays, eastwoods pre-paint prep (acetone & nail polish remover work here too), brake cleaner, air craft paint stripper, mirror chrome and 95% clear gloss powder ($12.99 each). The aluminum parts I simply simple green'd, then brake cleaned, then powerwashed them, then I pre-baked them as recommended by eastwood for 35 minutes at 450* to draw out some of the contaminents that are present in the pours of the aluminum, I then re-cleaned it with brake cleaner and finally I used their pre-paint prep which is basically acetone in a spray can. I then repeated the baking and cleaning process to ensure I got all of the contaminants out. As for the valve covers and PS pulley, I first hit them with a scotch bright pad and then used the paint stripper on them. I then used a wire brush to get the paint off and powerwashed them as well. I then cleaned them with simple green, brake cleaner, and finally their pre-paint prep.

That was the hardest part of the entire process. To apply the powdercoating, I made a little "blind" out of some old plywood I had laying around and I layed my tarps out where they would catch nearly all of the unused powder. I then hung the parts off and old scale we had in the shop with the wire supplied with the kit. I preheated the oven to 350* for this type of coating (oven temps and curing time vary by what powder you are using). As the oven preheated I hooked up the ground wire to the part, put on a mask, and began. You use it by holding a "trigger" in one hand and the gun in the other. Press the trigger and it charges the powder, then depress the gun and the powder starts to come out. Carefully go all around the part and make sure you have a nice even coat (a bright flood light helps here). Once its coated I set the parts with the non-coated side down on my cookie sheets and placed them in th oven. You leave them in there undesturbed for 5 minutes and check for "flow out" which is the point where the powder completely melts. Once this occurs you then cure it for how ever long it recommends. For these parts, I was to leave it at 375* for 20 minutes. Once the time was up, I removed the parts and let them cool. Once cool I recoated them with the clear and repeated the process.

Once the parts are coated in their final coat, they can be immediately put back into service once cool. It was a very LONG process. Granted, I had never done this before, but not including all of the pre-paint cleaning of the parts, it still took me almost 8 hours to do these parts. If I had a larger oven and could do more than a few parts at a time it'd make it quicker.

I hope that helps if you are still reading this!!!

N8Miller- at this time I'd rather not do anyone elses stuff right now because mine didn't come out perfect. But maybe after I do more and perfect it I might concider it. I have to get quicker at it though.

P.S.- We put the oven in my uncles large garage. Its not in our house or anything... you don't want to do that as it gives off potentially toxic fumes. Honestly the smell wasn't bad, but I did have a headache after working with it in a closed garage all night.