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Yes you can powder coat bakelite

Started by persido, March 21, 2014, 01:27:46 PM

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persido

I wanted to know if it could be done and how would it look.  My phones are powder coated at work, but I could not do this there, because we only use the high temp. powder and only a few colors. My friend knows a guy that works in a powder coating shop in Haverhill Ma. that dose the low temp. powder coating.  I brought the shell and the worst handset I had( just in case it was ruined), I wish I had brought him a nice smooth handset, because it came out really nice, keep in mind it looks rough but that is how it was before the powder was applied. The only bad thing is you cant read the Western Electric logo. I will bring him a better handset to do in the same color.

Scot

Phonesrfun

Are you sure it is powdercoating in the traditional sense?  Maybe he is calling it powdercoating.  From my understanding, powdercoating involves not only a high temperature bake, but also the application of the powder via an electrostatic process, which needs a metal object to be painted to accomplish.

-Bill G

TelePlay

I'm not an expert on powder coating but have been keeping an eye on topics and doing some research over the past year or so. This is a paragraph from an industry site for low temperature coating of wood/plastics:

"With specially formulated UV-curable powders the melt and flow can be separated from the curing process and requires minimal heat to cure the powder. After the parts enter an infrared or convection oven where the coating melts and flows for two to ten minutes, the board is exposed to ultraviolet light for just a few seconds for final curing and hardening of the finish. Then the parts cool naturally or in a cooling tunnel before they are unloaded from the coating line."

And "Powder coatings can also be applied to non-metallic substrates such as plastics and medium density fiberboard (MDF)" from their home page.


persido

yes I am sure it was powder coated, They were all surprised when the powder stuck right to the handset, then it was baked @ 350 f for 1/2 hour or so, I don't know the difference between the high temp. powder vs. the low temp. powder.

Scot

TelePlay

For metal parts, I was tempted to try it myself as an alternative to paint and bake until my wife said NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!  >:(

http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-deluxe-powder-coat-kit.html

Scotophor

#5
@persido: Do you know if the handset caps were removed for the powder coating process?

I've been checking into powder coating too, and what I found is that for non-conductive substrates, a conductive coating is typically applied first, to ensure adhesion of the powder using the electrostatic process. I imagine this coating is something like a traditional spray paint. I have seen plastic items treated similarly on the inside for RFI/EMI shielding going back to the 1980s or so.

Bakelite, being a thermosetting plastic rather than a thermoplastic plastic, should be able to withstand traditional powder coat baking procedures, so if the low-temperature "quick-bake" process costs more, you should be able to eliminate that extra expense.

Quote from: persido on March 21, 2014, 02:18:14 PM...it was baked @ 350 f for 1/2 hour or so, I don't know the difference between the high temp. powder vs. the low temp. powder.
That sounds like a typical "regular" powder-coating bake cycle, not a low-temp "quick-bake" cycle. I would be very surprised if the regular bake did any harm to Bakelite.

I don't know how well "soft plastic" (Tenite) or "hard plastic" (CAB/ABS?) thermoplastics will stand up to the new quick-bake process, but they will certainly be destroyed by the traditional bake. So beware of providing mixed-material items; if you give the powder coaters an assembled handset to be coated and tell them it's Bakelite but neglect to mention that it has thermoplastic transmitter and receiver caps, don't be surprised if the caps turn to molten blobs!

Another thing I noticed on one site, is that there are also "thin" powder-coat finishes available. I do not know if these can be used in combination with the conductive coating and/or quick-bake processes for plastics. But if they can, and their cost is not prohibitive, then we can probably significantly reduce the issue of obliterated molded-in markings.
Name: A.J.   Location: LAPNCAXG, EDgewood 6

persido

Scotophor

The caps were not removed, just loosened . I put it together this morning, I will have another handset done and order some blue cords.

Scot

Scotophor

Looks pretty good, about halfway to fabulous!

One downside: now we're going to have to start watching out for ripoff artists to start doing the same thing.  :-\
Name: A.J.   Location: LAPNCAXG, EDgewood 6