Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

[Guest]

I just "upgraded" from the HF hobby gun to a Caswell 50Kv gun. I tried it out for the first time tonight with a 3-stage (Xtreme Chrome, Trans Blue and Super Durable Clear) job on a valve cover. It turned out terrible... Ok, so it wasn't THAT bad, but it is definitely not an acceptable outcome. I could not get the powder to stick very well, even the first coat. I had the ground directly onto the valve cover and I tried moving it a couple times. I tried adjusting the Kv from 35 to 40 to 45 and to 50. It helped a little with it at 50Kv on the base coat, but not much. It was so hard to get an even coat of powder, since it wasn't sticking well.

One thing I did notice, is when I make the gun arc to the part (or rack),it has a much smaller arc than the HF gun had. I tried it on 50kv and 35kv with the same results. Could this be a bad gun? Anyone familiar with Caswell's warranty etc.? Sorry for the long read and thanks for any input

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I come from a HF unit and just started using the Caswell gun. I haven't had any problems with powder not sticking so far and hope it stays that way. I normally start with 30kv and adjust as needed. How close are you getting to the substrate? I've noticed that if I take a step back and shoot from 8-12 inches away and just blow a nice cloud around it works much better than trying to get right on top of it.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

Juan]I come from a HF unit and just started using the Caswell gun. I haven't had any problems with powder not sticking so far and hope it stays that way. I normally start with 30kv and adjust as needed. How close are you getting to the substrate? I've noticed that if I take a step back and shoot from 8-12 inches away and just blow a nice cloud around it works much better than trying to get right on top of it.

I tried getting really close and tried it a bit further back as well. Maybe I wasn't quite 8-12" though. I'll give that a try. Anyone else have suggestions?

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

Juan]I come from a HF unit and just started using the Caswell gun. I haven't had any problems with powder not sticking so far and hope it stays that way. I normally start with 30kv and adjust as needed. How close are you getting to the substrate? I've noticed that if I take a step back and shoot from 8-12 inches away and just blow a nice cloud around it works much better than trying to get right on top of it.

I tried getting really close and tried it a bit further back as well. Maybe I wasn't quite 8-12" though. I'll give that a try. Anyone else have suggestions?

Oh yeah... I know you've already mentioned the part is grounded but I would check the ground again. If you're using hooks for grounding make sure they are clean, or whatever else you're attaching the clip to as well as making sure the clip itself is clean. I've had issues in the past with not properly grounding a part and it usually leads to powder not sticking. Hope some of this helps, good luck.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I have that Caswell gun also. Are you sure you are getting a good ground? It could be the ground wire has a problem where it attaches inside the box. If theres no ground the powder will not attract. It'll slide right off so to speak. Do you have a ground rod or a water pipe that goes in the ground near by. If so run a wire from that and attach the gun ground clip to it and run a wire from that also to your part. Hopes this helps.

Harley

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I have that Caswell gun also. Are you sure you are getting a good ground? It could be the ground wire has a problem where it attaches inside the box. If theres no ground the powder will not attract. It'll slide right off so to speak. Do you have a ground rod or a water pipe that goes in the ground near by. If so run a wire from that and attach the gun ground clip to it and run a wire from that also to your part. Hopes this helps.

Harley

Would it be possible to ground into the ground of an electrical socket?

[wiseguyz]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

The unit itself grounds internally through the electrical outlet. Just something to check. Be sure that you are plugged into a properly wired outlet with a ground, not a 2-wire one, and never use a "cheater" ground eliminator.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I have that Caswell gun also. Are you sure you are getting a good ground? It could be the ground wire has a problem where it attaches inside the box. If theres no ground the powder will not attract. It'll slide right off so to speak. Do you have a ground rod or a water pipe that goes in the ground near by. If so run a wire from that and attach the gun ground clip to it and run a wire from that also to your part. Hopes this helps.

Harley

Would it be possible to ground into the ground of an electrical socket?

You could as long as it's a three wire grounded outlet. As wiseguyz said as long as it's not a two wire or a fake third wire outlet. You can get a ground rod from a home improvement store and drive that in the ground. They are relatively cheap.

Harley

[wiseguyz]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I drove a ground rod at the back of my booth and tied one of the steel legs directly to the ground rod. I didn't really notice much of a difference myself, but then again I never had a problem with powder sticking using any of the guns I have. At any rate, it's a good idea since it helps bleed off residual charge to help prevent back-ionization to some extent. You can definitely never have too good a ground.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

Would it be possible to ground into the ground of an electrical socket?

What exactly do you mean by this?

It sounds like he want to directly ground the part to the ground on the electrical outlet, which is essentially what the Caswell powder supply is doing...

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

Juan]

Would it be possible to ground into the ground of an electrical socket?

What exactly do you mean by this?

It sounds like he want to directly ground the part to the ground on the electrical outlet, which is essentially what the Caswell powder supply is doing...

You are correct on my intention, however the only purpose that would serve is to verify that there is not a bad ground internally.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I have a ground rod drove in the ground near where I spray and 4ga. wire ran inside grounding to my part hanging cable.

Harley

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

I have a ground rod drove in the ground near where I spray and 4ga. wire ran inside grounding to my part hanging cable.

Harley

Is your part hanging cable isolated from the rack or booth? I'm basically curious to see if grounding an entire metal rack plus the part "takes away" any ground from the actual process. See what I mean? I wouldn't think it does... but I want to know before I build an entire metal rack and then find out it's not going to work well when I ground it and attach my parts to it.

[Guest]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

Juan]

I have a ground rod drove in the ground near where I spray and 4ga. wire ran inside grounding to my part hanging cable.

Harley

Is your part hanging cable isolated from the rack or booth? I'm basically curious to see if grounding an entire metal rack plus the part "takes away" any ground from the actual process. See what I mean? I wouldn't think it does... but I want to know before I build an entire metal rack and then find out it's not going to work well when I ground it and attach my parts to it.

Actually I don't believe theres such a thing in that way as to much ground. I have a small shop so my part (substrate) hanging cable suspends in front of my exhaust fan. Going from wall to wall. The ground rod out back has the 4ga. wire coming in and attaching to the cable. I then attach my ground clips from my guns to the cable also. The parts hanging from the cable are grounded then through the hooks. One less thing to worry about. Just keep your hooks clean. I believe from reading other threads on here thats pretty much the same as evryone with booths does their grounds also. I know also I think it was in a post from BeeBob that he has a metal rack he hangs parts from ato spray. It is grounded to a ground rod.
Eventually I'll change my shop setup then I'll have to put in a booth. Fingers crossed, hoping to grow.

Harley

[powdersparky]

Re: Powder not sticking well with Caswell 50Kv

How old is your powder?What is the humidity like in your shop?Try sifting your powder with a flour sifter before putting it in the cup.Go on the caswell site and have a look at the Bandit performance modifications to the gun and try them out.(you'll be amazed in the improvement) Have a look at the alligator clip as the wire sometimes comes off. I replaced mine with a slightly larger one that I clip on the top of the swivel hook.How far are you away from your 110 volt receptacle?(NO COILED EXTENSIONS)Take you receptacle apart and have a look at the connections making sure your rec is grounded.