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Old 11th Jan 2019, 3:38 pm   #9
David G4EBT
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Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK.
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Default Re: Stove Enamelling

Quote:
Originally Posted by yesnaby View Post
Does anyone know of anywhere that does stove enamelling? I have some obsolete grill and oven parts for a cooker that were finished in 'polar white'. Lots of places can do powder coating but I don't think that will withstand the temperatures reached without discolouring.
An internet search will reveal many companies who will do stove enamelling and powder coating, but the price is likely to be prohibitive.

It's worth outlining the differences between the three main processes:

Stove enamelling:

In case there's any doubt, 'stove enamelling' doesn't mean 'enamelling for stoves' - 'stoving' is the term for the curing process in an oven at 120 degrees C (248 F), of paint sprayed onto steel with the same sort of spray gun used to spray a car in a garage. Some stove enamelling paints are two-part, but as with cellulose paint, for safety and environmental reasons, have tended to fall out of favour.

Not sure what temperature it will withstand, but presumably at least 120C, and probably more.

Powder Coating:

The powdered paint is electrostatically charged and sprayed onto the part. The part is then placed in an oven where the powder particles melt to form a continuous hard wearing film. The oven is more expensive than a stove enamelling oven because it has to heat the component to a higher temperature - about 200 degrees Celsius (392F). The spray guns are quite different from a paint spraying gun and cost thousands of pounds.

Used extensively for alloy car wheels.

Again, I don't know what upper temperature limit it will withstand, but presumably at least 200C.

Vitreous Enamel:

The key ingredient of vitreous enamel (also called 'porcelain enamel'), is finely ground glass called frit. It's applied by a spray gun, then fired in an oven at between 750 and 850 °C (1,380 and 1,560 °F) to fuse the powdered glass. The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous finish. Typical uses are for such things as AGA style cookers, and it was used extensively on gas and electric cooker hobs, splash-backs , doors and side panels, and cast iron baths. Though durable and able to withstand heat, it's main disadvantage, being glass, is that it chips easily if struck by a hard object and can't be satisfactorily repaired. It's a process that's been known about for thousands of years, often used for jewellery.

Hope that's of interest.
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