Question: Clear powder coat over engraved item

Mike_Morgan

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Does anybody have any experience with engraving an article, then having it be clear powder coated?

My concerns are, is there a particular "blacking" that will hold up to the heat of the oven, and does it look good when finished?

I realize the powder coating will fill in the incised lines.

Any advice? Thanks in advance!
 

John B.

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Does anybody have any experience with engraving an article, then having it be clear powder coated?

My concerns are, is there a particular "blacking" that will hold up to the heat of the oven, and does it look good when finished?

Hello Mike,
I can answer half of your question. There is an ink called "Resistal" that will even stand up to the heat of hot blue tanks.
It is hard to get and requires Haz. Mat. shipping. Maybe a Internet search will bring up a supplier as I have lost the information.
Do not shake or open the can right after shipping as it foams up. The manufacturer is New England (something-something) & Metals.
Best of luck with your clear powder coat idea. Please post your results.
 

Brian Marshall

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There are clear "ceramic" coatings that are "electroplated" onto metals (from Italy, I believe), as well as what are called metal dyes used by sculptors.

These are NOT patinas.


All are on my "list", but I just haven't had the time to really investigate or test them out myself.


Brian
 

Mike_Morgan

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Brian and John, thanks for the answers! I have tried to locate the Resistal and have had no luck (The New England Graphics and Metals website seems to bo gone) . Also ceramic coatings won't happen... the owner of the drum I'm going to engrave is a powder coater, and he's pretty set in his ways, he will be coating it in clear powder coat. I just hope the blacking I end up using holds up to the temperatures, or I fear it will be a real mess.

Can anybody else offer any input? Has anybody here powder coated over engraving?
 
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Thierry Duguet

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I would think that people who engrave motorcycle parts would have done it you should try to contact them directly.
 

John B.

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Mike,
Sorry to hear the the Resistal folks are Kaput. It was kinda a PITA product anyway what with the HAz. Mat. shipping and the foaming problem.
I wonder if engine block paint would work and if it is available in black???
If it can stand up to the heat of a hot engine it should be good for the powder coating temp don't you think. ??
 

Mike_Morgan

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John and Sam, Thanks for the input! I think I'm going to make some test plates with stove paint and engine block paint and see what works best... those are great ideas!
 

Mike_Morgan

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Be sure to let us know how yours experiments work out Mike!

The project is a pretty monumental task for a beginner like myself, so if it ends up in a satisfactory way, I'll post a LOT of pictures... If it ends poorly, I'll bury it behind the shed and pretend I never did it.;)
 

Marrinan

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Mike, You have been calling yourself a "beginner" for ten years on this site and I think you were on the Fine Embellishment site before that. Our beards are about the same length and color. Yours is a tad fuller and the top of our heads look about the same. I think you might have passed the beginner title some time ago. At least your work looks that way. We learn until they throw the dirt in on us. Fred
 

Mike_Morgan

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Mike, You have been calling yourself a "beginner" for ten years on this site and I think you were on the Fine Embellishment site before that. Our beards are about the same length and color. Yours is a tad fuller and the top of our heads look about the same. I think you might have passed the beginner title some time ago. At least your work looks that way. We learn until they throw the dirt in on us. Fred

There might be an imposter of me out there... I started engraving in March of this year.
 

Roger Bleile

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There is another engraver named Mike Morgan. There is a picture of a Marlin rifle he engraved on the cover of Tom Turpin's last book, Modern Custom Guns. There is nothing about Morgan within the book. I have seen pictures of Morgan's Marlin in several publications. I've never seen anything else by him, nor have I ever found how to contact him.
 

Mike_Morgan

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There is another engraver named Mike Morgan. There is a picture of a Marlin rifle he engraved on the cover of Tom Turpin's last book, Modern Custom Guns. There is nothing about Morgan within the book. I have seen pictures of Morgan's Marlin in several publications. I've never seen anything else by him, nor have I ever found how to contact him.

Rest assured, I am not the same Mike Morgan!
 

John B.

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The other Mike attended the FEGA show years ago and displayed. He was a friend of Bob Swartley. I do believe he passed away some few years ago.

Sam is right.
The other Mike Morgan was also involved in the machine shop industry incidentally.
I first met him in 1982 at his house in Burbank, CA.
At the time I went to visit his then wife Cathleen (Katy) about some scrimshaw she did for a mutual friend. Katy was a world class scrimshaw artist and her work was published in the then bible of scrimshaw " The Scrimshaw Connection" by the the late, great knifemaker and scrimshaw artist Bob Engnath.
At that time Mike Morgan was just getting interested in engraving and it was Bob Swartley that brought out his talent at a much later date.
 
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