Teflon coating of metal - possible/practical for home shop?
 

Teflon (or generically fluoropolymer or non-stick) coatings have an
appeal for certain jobs (like the inside of snowblowers and lawnmowers)
where manufacturers have chosen not to put them. I've always assumed
that the process is beyond small-shop capabilities, and gone in with
paint and wax when the rust and sticking of stuff that should slide out
is too bad. Is there some system that could work in a small shop, and is
accessible to mere humans without DuPont licenses and/or giant
heat-treating ovens?

Or particular (easily available) paints that do a better job of
approximating the effect, without being members of that family...?

On Thu, 05 May 2005 03:17:39 GMT, Ecnerwal
wrote:

Teflon (or generically fluoropolymer or non-stick) coatings have an
appeal for certain jobs (like the inside of snowblowers and lawnmowers)
where manufacturers have chosen not to put them. I've always assumed
that the process is beyond small-shop capabilities, and gone in with
paint and wax when the rust and sticking of stuff that should slide out
is too bad. Is there some system that could work in a small shop, and is
accessible to mere humans without DuPont licenses and/or giant
heat-treating ovens?

Or particular (easily available) paints that do a better job of
approximating the effect, without being members of that family...?

There are commercial outfits that do it. The only time I tried it, I
coated the screws of an extruder. The coating lasted about 10 seconds
in use. I didn't expect it to last, but was hoping for long enough to
run an experiment.

Something that did work was PolyOnd. That's Teflon bits embedded in a
nickel matrix. Of course, the conditions in an extruder are extreme
for a coating. Not as bad as the cutting edge of a tool, but lots of
rubbing at 200+ C for 24/7 operation.

Pete Keillor

I've applied and used Teflon (At work) for years, the reality is that you
can spray it at home and bake it in your own oven. The biggest problem is
putting the coating on to thick and having it blister, Teflon is a nice but
it just won't last through abuse. If I really wanted to protect something
I'd be looking at Nylon powder coating, or Nylon/Teflon coating. Teflon
scratches to easy and will never last. You can apply Teflon at home if you
have a nice clean shop, sand blaster, and oven. Otherwise find a local shop
and work something out, if your not in a hurry things can be done very
reasonable. I'd be willing to pass on the name of the company in the Sarnia
(Ontario) / Port Huron MI if you like.

We use the "slip-plate" type of graphite paint (sold at farm implement
dealers for grain elevators & such) on the underside of our snowmobile
chassis' to shed snow & ice... and I've used it on the business end of
lawnmowers & snowblowers. http://www.slipplate.com/
It works well, but is kind of messy if you rub up against it...
hopefully not an issue under mower decks or inside snowblower chutes! LOL
David


"Ecnerwal" wrote in message
...
Teflon (or generically fluoropolymer or non-stick) coatings have an
appeal for certain jobs (like the inside of snowblowers and lawnmowers)
where manufacturers have chosen not to put them. I've always assumed
that the process is beyond small-shop capabilities, and gone in with
paint and wax when the rust and sticking of stuff that should slide out
is too bad. Is there some system that could work in a small shop, and is
accessible to mere humans without DuPont licenses and/or giant
heat-treating ovens?

Or particular (easily available) paints that do a better job of
approximating the effect, without being members of that family...?

David Courtney wrote:
We use the "slip-plate" type of graphite paint (sold at farm
implement
dealers for grain elevators & such) on the underside of our
snowmobile
chassis' to shed snow & ice... and I've used it on the business end
of
lawnmowers & snowblowers. http://www.slipplate.com/
It works well, but is kind of messy if you rub up against it...
hopefully not an issue under mower decks or inside snowblower chutes!
LOL
David


I'd have to second that for Slip Plate paint. My dad tried a lot of
stuff on his snow plow blade, Slip Plate worked the best to keep the
snow from sticking. Applied it over a coat of Rustoleum, then masked
off the black face and painted narrow diagonal yellow stripes on it. I
never thought of using it under a mower deck, I'll have to try that.
We used to get it from TSC, I'm sure other ag equipment dealers would
probably have it.

Stan

On Thu, 05 May 2005 03:17:39 GMT, Ecnerwal
wrote:

Teflon (or generically fluoropolymer or non-stick) coatings have an
appeal for certain jobs (like the inside of snowblowers and lawnmowers)
where manufacturers have chosen not to put them. I've always assumed
that the process is beyond small-shop capabilities, and gone in with
paint and wax when the rust and sticking of stuff that should slide out
is too bad. Is there some system that could work in a small shop, and is
accessible to mere humans without DuPont licenses and/or giant
heat-treating ovens?

Or particular (easily available) paints that do a better job of
approximating the effect, without being members of that family...?
For the mower, if you have room, screw some 1/4 " UHMW in the wear
areas. Besides being pretty slick, it is VERY resistant to abrasion.
It has to be mechanically fixed in place, with bolts and plates or
deeply countersunk holes, etc. But it will last longer than the mower
deck above it. I know this really doesn't help with the coating
problem the way you hope to solve it but teflon isn't durable enough
for your application. Even teflon sheet would not work well for this.
It's too soft and would just be pulled off the bolts.
ERS

Ecnerwal wrote:

Teflon (or generically fluoropolymer or non-stick) coatings have an
appeal for certain jobs (like the inside of snowblowers and lawnmowers)
where manufacturers have chosen not to put them. I've always assumed
that the process is beyond small-shop capabilities, and gone in with
paint and wax when the rust and sticking of stuff that should slide out
is too bad. Is there some system that could work in a small shop, and is
accessible to mere humans without DuPont licenses and/or giant
heat-treating ovens?

Or particular (easily available) paints that do a better job of
approximating the effect, without being members of that family...?


To do it right, you have to clean like a suminagun, sandblast, zinc
phosphate (or similar) to make a good surface for adhesion, coat evenly
and bake evenly. Even then, it won't hold up all that well. Any
hydroxide type solution including many soaps will start the peeling
process. PTFE coating basically sucks.

Another option better for home application may be found at
http://www.sandstromproducts.com/solventsfl.htm. We've used their 9A
product over the years as a corrosion protectant. It also seems to act
as a reduced stick surface. I once had some sample parts shot-peened
and many people assumed the surface was PTFE as it felt "slippery".

A LOT of people (including the military) use this on gun parts.

Koz

wrote:
David Courtney wrote:

We use the "slip-plate" type of graphite paint (sold at farm

implement

dealers for grain elevators & such) on the underside of our

snowmobile

chassis' to shed snow & ice... and I've used it on the business end

of

lawnmowers & snowblowers. http://www.slipplate.com/
It works well, but is kind of messy if you rub up against it...
hopefully not an issue under mower decks or inside snowblower chutes!

LOL

David



I'd have to second that for Slip Plate paint. My dad tried a lot of
stuff on his snow plow blade, Slip Plate worked the best to keep the
snow from sticking. Applied it over a coat of Rustoleum, then masked
off the black face and painted narrow diagonal yellow stripes on it. I
never thought of using it under a mower deck, I'll have to try that.
We used to get it from TSC, I'm sure other ag equipment dealers would
probably have it.

Stan

We did some repairs on a local municipal snow plow truck a couple of
months ago. I was suprised to see the blade area is just a frame with a
large sheet of 1/2" uhmw providing the surface for deflecting the snow.
Of course the blade is steel, but the open frame and plastic must
reduce the weight and make repairs much easier.

I have a need for a very abrasion-resistant coating on aluminum that will
resist sticking of wet sugars under high compression. If a very high
abrasion-resistance isn't available, then a re-coatable system would be
acceptable, so long as I don't have to remove any base metal (more than a
few tenths) to do it.

Any ideas? And are any of them home-shop do-able? (I'm willing to invest a
couple of $K in hardware and chemicals, if so)

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in message
...
I have a need for a very abrasion-resistant coating on aluminum that will
resist sticking of wet sugars under high compression. If a very high
abrasion-resistance isn't available, then a re-coatable system would be
acceptable, so long as I don't have to remove any base metal (more than a
few tenths) to do it.

Any ideas? And are any of them home-shop do-able? (I'm willing to invest
a couple of $K in hardware and chemicals, if so)

LLoyd

abrasion with what? if it's something soft like sugar cane, would anodizing
work? it's not very abrasion-resistant by hard things.

Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
I have a need for a very abrasion-resistant coating on aluminum that will
resist sticking of wet sugars under high compression. If a very high
abrasion-resistance isn't available, then a re-coatable system would be
acceptable, so long as I don't have to remove any base metal (more than a
few tenths) to do it.

Any ideas? And are any of them home-shop do-able? (I'm willing to invest a
couple of $K in hardware and chemicals, if so)

LLoyd


teflon impregnated hard anodize

seem to recall it is commercially available.

On Thu, 05 May 2005 19:52:09 GMT, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
wrote:

I have a need for a very abrasion-resistant coating on aluminum that will
resist sticking of wet sugars under high compression. If a very high
abrasion-resistance isn't available, then a re-coatable system would be
acceptable, so long as I don't have to remove any base metal (more than a
few tenths) to do it.

Any ideas? And are any of them home-shop do-able? (I'm willing to invest a
couple of $K in hardware and chemicals, if so)

LLoyd

Hard coat anodize. Get it as thick as you can, about .005". This
coating will be half way into the surface so that a .005" thick
coating will only add .0025" to the surface. Hard coat is a ceramic
coating and is very abrasion resistant. Not so resistant to alkaline
solutions. I don't know what ph your sugar solution is. Wouldn't it
just be easier to buy bags of sugar for your moonshine? Instead of
squeezing it out of cane?
ERS

"Charles Spitzer" wrote in message
...

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in
message ...
I have a need for a very abrasion-resistant coating on aluminum that will
resist sticking of wet sugars under high compression. If a very high
abrasion-resistance isn't available, then a re-coatable system would be
acceptable, so long as I don't have to remove any base metal (more than a
few tenths) to do it.

abrasion with what? if it's something soft like sugar cane, would
anodizing work? it's not very abrasion-resistant by hard things.

I'm not squeezing cane. I'm compressing powdered compositions that contain,
among other abrasive things, silica.

LLoyd

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in message
.. .
I'm not squeezing cane. I'm compressing powdered compositions that
contain, among other abrasive things, silica.

I should've added that it's a process similar to sintering with the
attendant VERY high pressures... tons per square inch. The sugars tend to
migrate to the surface under plastic flow, and stick to the forming dies.

The system already works, but requires frequent cleaning (which is a chore).

LS

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" wrote in message
.. .

I should've added that it's a process similar to sintering...
The sugars tend to migrate to the surface under plastic flow

Hmmm... sugar-based sintering? For edible bearings, perhaps vacuum
impregnated with coconut oil?

=:P