Pulsar Decal Pro Questions

[Fastocker]

One more bit of advise . . . if you don't already have one, get a paper cutter . . . something similar to this:

http://www.staples.com/X-Acto-Heavy-Duty-12-inch-Plastic-Paper-Trimmer/product_818674?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:818674&KPID=818674

The foils (especially the clear carrier foil) are sometimes 'challenging' to cut straight due to static cling and such.  The paper cutter really made the job go smoother for me.

[irmcdermott]

Well, got my kit. Got my new laminator. Grabbed an old lid and practiced a couple of times using the test graphics provided. Both times got really great results. Had to leave town for a week for work, but as soon as I get home I should have a 1590DD enclosure waiting on my doorstep to powder coat black and give it a whirl (after a couple more practice runs). Thanks again for all of your help. This is going to be a lot of fun.

[Haberdasher]

cool.  this thread has got me thinking about dusting off my kit.  I think I'm going to try the light silver or white pigment on a military green box from mammoth (sparkplug build).

good luck ian, keep us updated on your progress.

[irmcdermott]

so I emailed Frank at Pulsar just asking him what he suggests for powder coating, and he said that it for sure will work and told me to....

"Keep in mind that when you powder-coat your base color (if you put a base color down) remember to 1/2 cure that color. Then add your graphics, apply the clear powder-coat and then do a full-cure. Done!"

I'm still fairly new to PC, so is a 1/2 cure just same temp at 1/2 the time? Or is it full time at half temp? Can someone help me understand it? I still plan on testing the waters with no clear coat, but was just asking him so I new what the manufacturer recommends. Thanks guys.

[Fastocker]

Not sure why he recommended a partial cure of the base coat -- on the boxes that I've clearcoated, I sprayed the base color and fully cured, then applied the graphics . . . then the clear powder coat.  Normally a partial cure is simply pulling the item out of the oven just after the powder has begun to flow but has not fully cured.

Might be a good idea to do a test sample with a piece of scrap metal.  Like I mentioned, I found red colors to be 'bleeders' when clear is applied (white graphic turned pink) but a few other colors didn't bleed at all.

[irmcdermott]

Not sure why he recommended a partial cure of the base coat -- on the boxes that I've clearcoated, I sprayed the base color and fully cured, then applied the graphics . . . then the clear powder coat.  Normally a partial cure is simply pulling the item out of the oven just after the powder has begun to flow but has not fully cured.

Might be a good idea to do a test sample with a piece of scrap metal.  Like I mentioned, I found red colors to be 'bleeders' when clear is applied (white graphic turned pink) but a few other colors didn't bleed at all.

Awesome. I'll use an old lid I have laying around to test it out, should I decide I want to clear coat.

[jimmybjj]

Not sure why he recommended a partial cure of the base coat -- on the boxes that I've clearcoated, I sprayed the base color and fully cured, then applied the graphics . . . then the clear powder coat. 

This is one of those things were not everyone agrees. "The idea here is that the basecoat will soften as it is reheated during the clearcoat cure cycle & promote better "crosslinking" between the base coat & clear coat. I personally fully cure basecoats before applying clear & have not experienced any issues with crosslinking."

"Crosslinking" is the bond created between 2 coats of powder during the cure cycle. Without it, there is nothing holding the 2 layers together & they will separate from eachother at some point, causing coating failure. This failure is called delamination.

I'm not sure if this is the reasoning pulsar recommends it.

Might be a good idea to do a test sample with a piece of scrap metal.  Like I mentioned, I found red colors to be 'bleeders' when clear is applied (white graphic turned pink) but a few other colors didn't bleed at all.

+1 on the samples. I've had them turn pink with gloss black base and true flat clear.

Awesome. I'll use an old lid I have laying around to test it out, should I decide I want to clear coat.

aluminum beer bottles work well to.

[irmcdermott]

awesome. every time i've done a layout in Inkscape with red box, white graphics, I hate it so I doubt I'll ever do that.

thanks for all of that information, Jim. super helpful. I'll test on any scraps I can find, maybe go buy some PBR to test on too

[Fastocker]

Other Jim made some good points.  I clearcoated over the graphics on this pedal:

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=4256.msg37721#msg37721

No bleeding . . . but it did slightly fade out the white graphic a bit, i.e., it wasn't as bright white as the bare graphic.  But no bleed through from the purple wave base coat.  You also have to consider the cure temp. of the powders you're using -- spraying a 400° clear over a base coat that has a 340° cure temp will likely make the base coat reflow.
 
For the powdercoating end of things I've been able to glean some very useful info from this website:

http://www.powder365.com/forum/index.php

If you hang out there for a bit you'll come to recognize the guys that are helpful with various real world techniques and troubleshooting and such.

[jimmybjj]

http://www.powder365.com/forum/index.php

If you hang out there for a bit you'll come to recognize the guys that are helpful with various real world techniques and troubleshooting and such.

+1 that's where i go to when i have a question, which is alot Super knowledgeable guys.