Does powder coat randomly go bad?

[LAKEMASTER]

Neither my white nor red HF powders work. They are the same powders I've used the last1.5 years....

The powder leaves a thick layer on the tubs/ containers. Im using but nothing on the lead.....


Does all PC do this?

[runfiverun]

I don't know about all, but right on the H/F packaging they only give a 6 month shelf life after the package is open.
I think it sucks up some moisture and it loses it's positive [or is it negative] charge.

[LAKEMASTER]

This kinda makes me dislike pc...

Maybe ill pursue my Nu finish coating a little more...

[gpidaho]

I've got powder that's at least three years old (Cardinal) and I've seen no problems with it. It's kept in the house and it is pretty arid here in SW Idaho so it may store better here than some other areas of the country. Gp

[LAKEMASTER]

I might buy a lb of smokes powder...

I have no reason to buy. HF powder now,im saving no $ this way

[gpidaho]

HF powder is, I suppose, as fine a quality as the rest of their products. lol Gp

[runfiverun]

I started mixing the H/F powder into the powder I got from Randy before he stopped selling it.
the other types of powder, coat smoother, have a smaller particle size, and have a more consistent thickness.
they also cost a little bit more.

[gpidaho]

I think for the smoothest coat that clear PC is by far the best. I add just a pinch of green or blue so it's easy to see they've been coated at a glance. You will get a very pretty coat that way. My clear powder is Eastwood. I highly recommend it. Gp

[bangerjim]

I have HF powders that are well over 3 years old and still work great, but I live in the desert SW with VERY low humidity. High humidity could cause the powder to attract differently over time???

Banger

[MyFlatline]

Some of my HF powder is 3 + years old also, still works fine here in soggy Florida...

[Smoke4320]

Keep containers tightly sealed and as little air as possible. Moisture in storage is a killer for pc

[OS OK]

Mine is several years old too...I keep it in a zip-lock bag inside another zip-lock bag and squeeze the air out as best I can each time I close them.

[HABCAN]

Smoke's powder kept in his original double packaging, and ^^^^ what OS OK said................works for me for over a year now.

[jcwit]

HF powder is, I suppose, as fine a quality as the rest of their products. lol Gp

A profound blanket statemant to say the least! LOL

[LAKEMASTER]

I'm going to buy a vibratory tumbler this weekend and see if i can get it to stick...

I'm interested in switching to this method.

[P Flados]

The HF red I bought is still going strong afer more than a year.

I have occasional issues with it not wanting to stick.

Then again, I deal with a lot of humidity issues. It really seems to gets worse when I bring cool boolits out of the house into the warm humid air of my garage where I do powder coat. I think just a hint of condensation on boolits kills the static build up needed for coating.

When needed, I have had 100% percent success when I stop, put the boolits into a container, heat them to about 130 - 150 °F and then try again. Warm / extra dry boolits always coat fast and easy for me.

[TreeKiller]

If the powder gets to about 125F in the container it will not stick to the boolits. I had some pink that I though was betting damp last winter so I put it in a dehydrator and it would not stick. Talked to a friend that works in a PC plant and this is what he told me. Got some more pink from him and it works like it used to.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Humidity, in electronics, basically can preclude needing a static electricity strap; It's GOOD at neutralizing electrical charges. So I would expect it to be good at messing up powder coating...

[LAKEMASTER]

Tumbler made a huge difference.

Coating went from ( not @ all ) to 75% after 5 minutes in the tumbler.

At Least im going in the right direction.

[Bama]

Smoke's powder kept in his original double packaging, and ^^^^ what OS OK said................works for me for over a year now.

+1 What he said!