Easy Bake Oven

[surlypud]

I'm interested in painting my own frames. Rody's blog has been an invaluable source of excellent information. The use of Cerakote really intrigues me and I would love to use this material to finish my frames. The biggest hurdle (other than my utter lack of painting skills) would seem to be acquiring or building an oven to cure the finish. My question is this, for those of you that powder, paint and otherwise oven cure your finished frames, how do you deal with the flammable vapors generated in the oven? I'm assuming that the hot oven elements would readily ignite acetone and other solvents used in the process. Do folks vent their ovens? Purge them with nitrogen? Or just don't worry about it because in practice nobody has ever had a fire flashing the solvents in an oven?

Thanks,
Chris

[Rody]

Chris,

The type of finishes you choose to utilize will drive your ultimate equipment decision.

Liquid paint and ceramic coatings can be successfully processed in a bake box with an external heat source (outside the vapor area).

Powder coating typically requires a higher temperature oven (up to 450 degrees for some powders) with an electric element.

A good start to understanding what is required with frame finishes can be found here...

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...oth-22595.html (how is this not a sticky????)

Most flammable vapors are present during the application process, thus the need for an explosion proof exhaust fan and isolated paint booth. Proportionally, a small percentage of material remains to fume off during the curing process, but it does exist and should be a point of concern.

For liquid and ceramics, a simple bake box with external heat source can be used. I constructed a simple box that utilizes two heat gun ports that allow me to regulate the desired temperature between 100 - 400 degrees, a range that is sufficient to cure both products.

I have located my bake box in a paint prep room, adjacent to the paint booth. When in use, the paint booth exhaust fan is active and the access door to the shop is closed, isolating from stray ignition sources. The exhaust fan is OSHA rated for the required air replacement for the booth plus the prep area, so it moves a LOT of air, directing any residual flammable vapor through the filter wall and exhaust. Though simple, my set up has passed ISO (Insurance Services Office ) inspection for compliance with their safety standards.

So...that's a start, other questions?

rody

[Jonathan]

Chris,

A good start to understanding what is required with frame finishes can be found here...

http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...oth-22595.html (how is this not a sticky????)

rody

It's been moved to the best thread forum. Thanks for pointing that out.

[surlypud]

I had not come across that thread before. Some really great information there. Not the least of which is the cost! I guess I need to decide how much creative control is worth to me.

[Rody]

Chris,

The decision is purely centered around your business plan it's future direction.

Creative control comes with a price, for both you and the customer base. By controlling your finishes in house, can you offer a distinct advantage? Based on the inherent costs, what is the payback on investment and will your current business model sustain the capital outlay.

Not sexy, but passion only gets you to the bench, good business planning keeps you there.

rody

[surlypud]

Rody,

Good reminder about the business plan, thanks. I'm trying to calculate potential cost of using cerakote now.

You had mentioned you used a pair of heat guns in a wooden box to do your curing. How do you have them set up? Are they baffled so as to more evenly distribute the hot air around the box?

[Rody]

One gun at each end of the box, one internal and one external thermometer to manage temperature. The box is only large enough for a single frame, so there is not enough space to worry about baffles.

I have three perpendicular rods that I hang bars, cranks, stems, etc... off of for curing.