# So I got a Toaster Oven for Valentine's Day



## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Time to cook some Gun-Koted Aluminum.


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Haven't you usually anodized your work in the past? Does the gunkote offer something that ano doesn't


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Clean it.
Spray it.
Bake it.
Fast, quick, easy. Not as tough as Ano. 
Not supposed to interfere with heat transfer.
Just something new to try. I like it overall. If you don't want to screw with Ano this is a good way to go. :thumbsup:


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## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Looking good ODT.
What color did you use?
I was looking at all the different gun kote options, and there was ALOT.
Is that the Electron Mount?


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

I got aToblerone and 2 kids waking us up at 6am ....yey

Your light looks fantastic:thumbsup: . Note to self, i need to take better photo's of my lights. 

I remember the last time I baked parts in my wifes oven. If my memory serves me correctly I didn't get sex for a month as punishment Are there many fumes given off?......could I get away with using my wife's oven in the kitchen again?

As a side note, looking at your driver, have you cut most of it off?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Lol Brad I got similar treatment when I used the dishwasher to make some motor parts nice and clean .

My valentine pressy is a dead website and no one answering the phone at the hosting co :madman: 


Looks good OT how durable is it on a scratch scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is ano


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

brad72 said:


> Are there many fumes given off?......could I get away with using my wife's oven in the kitchen again?


Brad the stuff stinks like crazy as you are spraying the part but as soon as it warms up in the oven the smells go away.

odtexas, you've done a good job getting it between the fins. I have Gun Koted a few bike parts and like it a lot but I haven't done a light with it yet due to the fact that you can't simply touch up any chips of scratches without putting your light back in an oven.

Great way to get Alu bike parts in the sales as it's are usualy the colour no one wants that gets reduced in price.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

savagemann said:


> Looking good ODT.
> What color did you use?
> I was looking at all the different gun kote options, and there was ALOT.
> Is that the Electron Mount?


That was the gloss black. Stuff is a little pricey though. Ano much cheaper, but alot more work.
That's the Electron Mount. Took the top mount off and put the nut inside the light body with a little JB Weld.



brad72 said:


> I got aToblerone and 2 kids waking us up at 6am ....yey
> 
> Your light looks fantastic . Note to self, i need to take better photo's of my lights.
> 
> ...


You can cut the driver down to a little less than 20mm easily. Just use diagonal wire cutters.









There is some smell, but no worse than me coming in covered in cutting oil and aluminum bits. Reading gun forums some guy's commented on a lingering smell in the oven. So to stay in good graces of the wife, I opted for the toaster oven. 
Have cooked 3 batches and there is no trace of stink in the oven. 
While cooking it does smell like hot paint. 
I was more worried about the casserole coming out tasting like paint. 
I don't think there will be lingering fumes/particles in the oven, however I think the wife would taste hot paint on everything baked until she forgot about me abusing her oven.








For peace in the house I think the toaster oven is a great investment.:thumbsup:



troutie-mtb said:


> Lol Brad I got similar treatment when I used the dishwasher to make some motor parts nice and clean .
> 
> My valentine pressy is a dead website and no one answering the phone at the hosting co
> 
> Looks good OT how durable is it on a scratch scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is ano


Did the dishwasher thing as well. Hence the pre-planning with the toaster oven.

Ano being a 10 I would put Gunkote about a 7 or 8.

Yeti- It will scratch off, but it can be touched up by dabbing and hitting the fresh area with a heat gun.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Have more Gunkote, but am going to try  this next.


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## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

odtexas said:


> Yeti- It will scratch off, but it can be touched up by dabbing and hitting the fresh area with a heat gun.


Compared to standard type 2 anodizing or type 3?


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

At home, in the garage, with a battery charger Type III.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

odtexas said:


> Time to cook some Gun-Koted Aluminum


Great! Did you use GUN-KOTE™ OVEN CURE, GUN FINISH? Unfortunately for me, they don't send outside of US.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

That's the one Itess.:thumbsup:

Some of the weapons guys are just baking regular paint. Will see how that turns out in the near future.

This guy advertises  Ceracote  in Germany.

The specialized coatings are on the pricey side.


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## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

Ouch, $40 
I was hoping for something a bit cheaper. I just got a quote for $105 Type 3 hard anodizing in black for 12 quantity 5.25"x3.75"x1" 6061 assemblies.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

odtexas said:


> That's the one Itess.:thumbsup:
> 
> Some of the weapons guys are just baking regular paint. Will see how that turns out in the near future.
> 
> ...


Ceracote's "Thermal barrier" bothers me. I am not sure that's a good thnig for our purpose...


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## bravellir (Nov 24, 2008)

they have one that is suposed to improve heat dissipation
http://www.nicindustries.com/heat_dissipation.php


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

bravellir said:


> they have one that is suposed to improve heat dissipation
> http://www.nicindustries.com/heat_dissipation.php





NIC Industries said:


> If you would like to shop online please contact us at 1-866-774-7628 to receive login information.


Very convenient...


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

mmlvmm  used cerakote on his 7-up build. 
I had had about 20 lights powder coated. They were used all summer here in Texas without any heat issues, and the powder coating is much thicker than the Gunkote/cerakote.  
No worries though. We are all concerned about heat so do what you like. I just personally believe that we worry a little more about heat than we need.:thumbsup:

Forgot to mention that the light is 
1-1/2" OD x 1.000" ID x .250" Wall 6061 tube extrusion
from  SpeedyMetals 
Cut on/with the Table Saw.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

odtexas said:


> Forgot to mention that the light is
> 1-1/2" OD x 1.000" ID x .250" Wall 6061 tube extrusion
> from  SpeedyMetals
> Cut on/with the Table Saw.


Oh, yeah, you really taught and inspired me to use a table saw as a milling/lathe :thumbsup:










This is for not finished yet fixed lighting project 

I am inclined to try Rustoleum.


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

Itess said:


> I am inclined to try Rustoleum.


I've tried Rustoleum with etch primer first and it was huge waste of time (unless you want to spend hours achieving a nice beat up/ chipped look). Didn't bake it though, I'd be sleeping outside if I tried that


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Nice job on the extrusion there. Looks really good.
Any issue with that smaller table saw bogging down?
Which is it and what blade are you using?

I did all my under cabinet lighting in the kitchen using "extra" leds and some 3 ft sections of 3/4 inch aluminum angle. Using a hyperboost and a AC/DC converter from Radio Shack. 

I think the trick is in baking the Rustoleum. The AR15 article went with textured maybe just for the finished/grippy look. I have used the textured Rustoleum around the house and it puts out a thick layer. 

They do have some "Fine" textured paints. Probably try that and regular Rustoleum first.

I scratch and dent my Ano lights as is. Not too worried about a perfect finish. I do like the Gunkote. Stuff is just way expensive and if Rustoleum works as/nearly well.............


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

odtexas said:


> Nice job on the extrusion there. Looks really good.
> Any issue with that smaller table saw bogging down?
> Which is it and what blade are you using?


This saw Table saw FET
with the stock blade "Tungsten carbide tipped Ø 80 x 1.6 x 10mm. 24 teeth. Use on aluminium, hard wood, laminates, plastics.". There's a union for connecting to a vacuum.



> I did all my under cabinet lighting in the kitchen using "extra" leds and some 3 ft sections of 3/4 inch aluminum angle. Using a hyperboost and a AC/DC converter from Radio Shack.


 There're good AC drivers from DX like this one.


> I think the trick is in baking the Rustoleum. The AR15 article went with textured maybe just for the finished/grippy look. I have used the textured Rustoleum around the house and it puts out a thick layer.
> 
> They do have some "Fine" textured paints. Probably try that and regular Rustoleum first.
> 
> I scratch and dent my Ano lights as is. Not too worried about a perfect finish. I do like the Gunkote. Stuff is just way expensive and if Rustoleum works as/nearly well.............


GunKote is not available to me. At least as spray, I don't want to buy an airbrush.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Lights done with both Rustoleum Fine Texture paint and Gunkote. 









Light bodies cleaned with Dawn dish soap to remove oils. Then dipped in rubbing alcohol and wiped dry. Next light bodies are heated to 150 degrees F and sprayed with the paint/coating product.
Let dry for 30 minutes and then bake in oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
Rustoluem Left, Gun-Kote Right.









Brass brush used to test scratch resistance of both products after baking and cooling.









The Rustoleum resisted better against scratching.


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## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

Would have thought something called gun kote would be a little more durable?


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

Itess said:


> This is for not finished yet fixed lighting project


BTW, I finished it. It's offtopic here, but anyway 



Thanks *odtexas* for testing Rustoleum, I am now buying 2 toaster ovens: one for my kitchen and one for my basement


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

No worries.
I prefer a little chaos in my threads..:thumbsup: 
With the amount of $$$ you will save on the buying the Rustoleum instead of the Gun-kote you can afford two toaster ovens.

Remember that it can be touched up with a small dab of paint and hitting that fresh area with a heat gun..


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## Andy13 (Nov 21, 2006)

Is this a poor mans powder coat? Does the baking make the paint that much more resistant to scratches? I am considering this as different colors would be available. Does it matter what rustoleum paint you use as long as it is for metal? Does it affect cooling of the light body at all? Lots of questions I know, thanks in advance,
Andy


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

I would guess that nearly any coating will reduce thermal efficiency a bit. 
I think that it is a minimal enough decrease that it won't matter. 
Not sure what the baking is for. Many of the gun forums suggest that the baking hardens the coating. YMMV.
The BBQ grill Rustoleum does not very well. I tried it since it was "High Temp" paint.
Something about the textured Rustoluem is tougher and more scracth resistant.
I used the fine texture version. 
I think the regular texture version might look a little rough or spattered on small lights.
Poor mans powder coat might be a way to sum it up. 
Much thinner coating than the powder coat, but that probably allows for better heat dissipation.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

odtexas said:


> No worries.
> I prefer a little chaos in my threads..:thumbsup:
> With the amount of $$$ you will save on the buying the Rustoleum instead of the Gun-kote you can afford two toaster ovens.
> 
> Remember that it can be touched up with a small dab of paint and hitting that fresh area with a heat gun..


I was unable to find exactly this rustoleum paint in Germany, so I decided to try another ones that I would be able to buy. I am also thinking on some kind of measuring of impact of painting on heat transfer. I am not sure how scientific that will be as I have only one infrared thermometer from DX...

To bring a little more mess in this thread  I wanna show my offtopic lighting projects, which often use table saw for finning: color led lamp, wall led lamp, ceiling lamp.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

Rustoleum Hard Hat is tough as nails. I've painted stuff with it, needed to remove it later and had trouble glassbeading it off.


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