Frequently Asked Questions.

Q. Why do I have fisheyes, bubbles, or some other issues in my finished product?

A. Usually some form of surface contamination or outgassing is the cause of flaws in powdercoating. Proper substrate prep is vital to our line of work. Make sure you are putting powder on clean bare metal whenever possible.

Q. I purchased something but it was on backorder. Will I still be charged?

A. Yes, we will charge you for the complete order at the time it is placed. If an item is backordered we will ship it when it becomes available. If you cancel the backorder we will, of course, refund the amount of the purchase that was backordered.

Q. How long will powder last before it goes bad?

A. While we rotate stock to avoid keeping powder longer than 6 months, most powders have at least a one year shelf life. Some powders like high-temp will have a shorter span, but as long as the powder is kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment it will last for at least 1 year.

Q. I can't seem to get powder to stick to the panel, why?

A. The number one reason we see people having issues with adhesion to the part is your ground. You should have a grounding rod with 2 leads coming off of it. One lead will go to the part/rack, and the other will connect to the back of our control box. DO NOT RUN A WIRE DIRECTLY FROM THE BOX TO YOUR PART! To help with second coats, lower your KV on the second coat.

Q. What gun do I have, is it the manual gun II,III, or VIII?

A. Please look at the end of your gun, with any electrodes removed, and refer to this picture --> Gun Guide

Q. Why is my paint not the same color that is on the website?

A. There are many answers on this one; screen resolution, angle of the light, type of light you are looking at the part, the mil thickness of your part, etc. The pictures are there to give a general idea of the color, and we sell sample panels so you can compare the part to the product.

Q. I see you sell 'sample panels', what are they?

A. Our sample panels are business-card sized pieces of aluminum that we have hand sprayed with each color. This allows you to see EXACTLY what the color looks like when applied to metal.

Q. Can I mix different powders? Will putting flake in my powder make it spray different? Can powder be cured at a lower temperature than that package recommends? Can I apply to wood? etc etc.....?

A. We get all sorts of questions daily from different people with new ideas how to use our powders in a different way. The simple answer is: Try it! Powder coating is still a fairly new industry, and there are so many questions of what can be done yet. Powder coating is more of an art than a science, a lot is truly trial and error.