Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

August, 2009

Hanging Fixture

Q. We recently bought an ITW GEMA powder coat line. We have an 11" X 10.5" X .065" square aliminum sheet that the edges get folded to form a 90 degree edge 1/4" wide. Our customer wants only the back side painted. I would like to make a hanging fixture to put the parts in face to face. We have made some out of steel but when we remove the part from the fixture the paint sticks and leaves a ugly edge. Do you know of any material I can use to make the fixture out of so the paint doesn't stick to the fixture but can still handle the heat of the cure oven.

A. A practical option for your racking dilemma is to install metal "pins" that stand the part off of the metal surface with sharp tips. These pins will allow for adequate ground (necessary for efficient electrical attraction) and serve to hold the parts away from the flat metal of the rack. When substantial metal surfaces are in contact with each other during the application and curing of powder they will become glued together and/or leave large burrs. I understand that you parts are aluminum so your options are limited. With ferrous metal parts the use of a small magnet or several magnets can be placed on the unpainted surfaces to keep parts away from each other. This will keep the large surface areas from being glued together by the coating.

Regards,

Ron Joseph