I’ve been quoting projects like crazy, lately, and I find myself writing the same notes over and over. That usually means it’s time for a blog post. General public customers, this one’s for you: here’s everything your blasting & coating shop can’t do.
My note: “Pickup and delivery by customer or others.” This means that Kaser is not going to deliver your parts to you. We’re happy to help load you up with a forklift, if necessary, but we don’t have vehicles and drivers at our disposal to drop things off at your house.
My note: “No disassembly or assembly included in quote.” If you have a large part that requires disassembly before coating, make sure it’s done before you bring it in. We don’t have the manpower to do it ourselves, and we don’t want to take responsibility for any damage that could occur. Most of our general public projects are focused on restoration, which means they’re old, rusty pieces that don’t come apart easily. Disassembly on these types of parts often involves hammers, chisels, torches, and grinders. There’s too much risk, time, and equipment involved for us to do it for you.
My note: “All non-metal parts must be removed.” If this can’t be done, it means your part probably isn’t a good candidate for blasting and powder coating. We blast using an aggressive steel grit, powered at 120 psi. Non-metal elements will be destroyed in the process. Additionally, powder coating cures at 400 degrees – non-metal elements won’t survive that, either.
My note: “Please remove oils and greases.” This does not mean that you have to spend a week cleaning your suspension components with a toothbrush until they’re perfect. But please wipe them down as much as you can. Blast media gets stuck in grease, and grease, in turn, contaminates the blast media. The more cleaning you do before dropping the part off, the less we’ll have to do ourselves, and the closer we can stay to the price we quoted you.
A question I hear a lot is, “How disassembled do you need my car/trailer to be?” The answer is “very.” Anything that isn’t metal (lights, glass, wiring, hubs, axles, ball joints, anything with seals) needs to be removed. If you’re looking to blast a tiny bit of rust off of the wheel well of your 2012 pickup, we’re not the shop for you. We specialize in fully restoring old vehicles, and we like them gutted: all seats out, flooring and carpeting removed, no engine, no fuel cell (it’s a fire hazard).
Another common question is whether we’re able to blast chrome parts. The short answer is no. Chrome is a metal plating that’s fused to the substrate, meaning the plating is literally part of the wheel or bumper. In order to remove it, we’d have to start by blasting at the edges – as the plating peeled up, we’d pry off a small section with pliers, and repeat: blast, pry, blast, pry, blast, pry. It takes forever, and you’re better off buying a new part. Unfortunately, chrome is also too smooth for good powder adhesion; it’s unlikely that any powder coating we applied would not survive the ride home.
If you have questions about your project that weren’t answered here, please reach out to me.
