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Powder Coating

WayneJ

Member
Has anyone powder coated interior parts? I am planning to paint all the visible interior parts not covered with upholstery but thought powder coat might be a good option.
 
Panel ...

I powder coated the panel with a satin finish, color to match the exposed metal parts of the interior. I wanted durability and cleanability. It provides exactly that. :)
 
I also powder coated my instrument panel with a beautiful satin black finish. However...you may want to reconsider powdercoating any interior parts that provide structural integrity to the airframe. The powder coating process requires heating the metal part to temperatures that may compromise the heat treat the of aluminum, thereby reducing the physical properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, shear strength, ductility, and resistance to stress cracking.
 
Powdercoated the panel. Our facility had a limited number of color choices so you may want to get samples of the interior fabrics to make sure of getting a non-clashing panel color. As you probably know, females have a better eye for complementary colors and this kind of advice-seeking adds to her "ownership" of the build. Always a good thing.

Jim
RV-12
 
However...you may want to reconsider powdercoating any interior parts that provide structural integrity to the airframe. The powder coating process requires heating the metal part to temperatures that may compromise the heat treat the of aluminum, thereby reducing the physical properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, shear strength, ductility, and resistance to stress cracking.

This is important advice - powder coating significantly affects structure of metal and this is an imprtant consideration if part is structural.
 
I spent the afternoon with a powder coater. The companies that I work with can generally get any of the colors on RAL color chart. A quick google search will find the chart. They can also match colors but I expect the cost might be too much for the small quantities we would generally need.
 
I learned the powder cure temperature is 400F for 20-22 minutes. Could that damage 6061-T6 or 2024-T3? I'm concerned about both distortion and metallurgical damage.
 
400 degrees doesn't hurt aluminum parts. I have a cheap HF powdercoat gun and it works marvelously ($38 with a coupon). I just redid the yokes in my C150.

400 degrees in the oven for 5-10 minutes is all it usually takes.
 
Powder coating

I've been doing powder coating for a while, just because I wanted to learn about it. Depending on the powder you shoot, it's usually 375 for 11-20 min in an oven, yes there are some structural concerns but if your not doing something structural, it's no big deal. If you end up doing it yourself, look at pre-heating it and wiping it down with MEK before you spray it and cook it. Do lots of research before you do it. It's a great surface and super hard to ruin. Just be aware that if you have something super precision, the powder coating can be quite thick! I'm not doing much of it anymore because of my job requirements but I'm always happy to answer questions! If you wanted a high performance coating, Valspar makes a rather unflattering coating for utility pipes that would literally rub the runway off before it dented the coating!
Best,
Brian
 
Thanks for adding fact to our regular hanger talk...

As a slight side note...an interesting article related to the strength of powder coated aluminum.

http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=mech_fac

Jump to the end to see that powder coating did not affect 2024 or 6061, especially at lower temp single bake..... I read somewhere you need to heat at 350F for 5 hours to get to T6.

That's ok though. There are plenty other misconceptions to keep the fires burning. Lets talk lean of peak....
 
Jump to the end to see that powder coating did not affect 2024 or 6061, especially at lower temp single bake..... I read somewhere you need to heat at 350F for 5 hours to get to T6.

That's ok though. There are plenty other misconceptions to keep the fires burning. Lets talk lean of peak....

Or, talk about primer :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
I put heat shrink tubing on my flap handle. Color is red to match seat inserts. Heat shrink is very durable and doesn't chip like paint when inside seatbelt buckles get thrown into void between the seats...
 
Concerned if the heat affected the bearing.

This is the reason that it is supplied un-powder coated and intended to be painted by traditional methods.
At the very least, all of the lube grease will have been baked out of it, potentially making a mess of the powder coat finish.
 
I am having two RV-12 panels powder coated this week. We have had one done in the past, and it looks great, two coat flat grey. The company told me I would be happier with the 2-coat process, first for color and 2nd for removing the shine. The first one really looks good and held up well. We are trying the flap handle on one also--will report results. The plant manager seems to think it will do fine and he has over 40 years experience, so worth a shot.

Bob
 
If powder-coating or covering the panel with vinyl overlay be sure to heed the plan's instructions and file the panel edges to permit the extra clearances required to accommodate the extra film thickness -- you are forewarned! :D
 
Paint scheme/ rv12 drawings

I have searched and I can?t find the 3-D modeling thread where as I can infill it with a paint program with the paint colors
Any help is appreciated
 
Just a follow-up on powder coating the flap handle on a 12: It came out great, no mess on the handle, and it didn't remove all the grease from the bearing. Can't say how much, because I didn't really pay attention before. Doesn't appear to hove done any harm, but be sure to plug the handle end as saming that stuff out would be a problem.

Bob
 
Powder

I had my baffles powder coated and am very happy with the result. Local shop did the coating for minimum charge and there were a ton of pieces. I think it was around 200 dollars...
 
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