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Help with powder coating IR lamps

my brother and I starting to powder coat motorcycle parts, and we only have one question: does the wavelength of the IR lamp matter? he has one that is used for cars, but I'm told that it is the wrong wavelength. for powder coating you need a medium wavelength, and that any other will not cure the powder correctly. I thought that heat cures it, not light, am I mistaken?

Zack

Zack Alderfer
- Pennsylvania
2000

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You are both right and wrong at the same time. Virtually any IR source will cure your coat. For given coatings,different IR sources can make a significant difference in the speed and/or the quality of the product. There was a very good article in Metal Finishing a couple of years ago on this subject.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2000

IR as far as I was aware is not for curing, rather for the molten flow process which allows the powder to separate and 'liquify'. Then you use an oven to 'bake' the powder, and as your brother was talking about, there is a UV powder that requires a UV light source to cure the powder while it is in molten form. The short IR wavelength will work, but it is harder to use because a shorter wave length is more powerful than a medium length. Get a medium is what I've heard. The short can darken the substance your coating. Just like a microwave.

Tyler Ransom
- Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA
2004