Keycap finishing

[Melvang]

Just a thought here.  I would bet that a lot of you guys have painted keycaps but has anyone looked into getting them powder coated?  It is an EXTREMELY durable finish.  I can hear in now though "You can't powder coat plastic".  Well I am here to tell you that yes it very much so can be done.  I do believe there is two different ways that this is accomplished.  The two methods to my knowledge is low temp powder and the other is a powder that cures under UV light.  From what i have dug ip on the internet, the low temp powder still won't work foe the majority of plastic key caps because even the low temp powder requires a bake temp in the neighborhood of 250 degrees.  So i believe that would be to high of a temp  for the ABS plastic keycaps.
The UV version though i believe would still work just fine.  Here is a link to a company that does the UV based powder coat.

Just a little food for thought.

Melvang

[MKULTRA]

Just a thought here.  I would bet that a lot of you guys have painted keycaps but has anyone looked into getting them powder coated?  It is an EXTREMELY durable finish.  I can hear in now though "You can't powder coat plastic".  Well I am here to tell you that yes it very much so can be done.  I do believe there is two different ways that this is accomplished.  The two methods to my knowledge is low temp powder and the other is a powder that cures under UV light.  From what i have dug ip on the internet, the low temp powder still won't work foe the majority of plastic key caps because even the low temp powder requires a bake temp in the neighborhood of 250 degrees.  So i believe that would be to high of a temp  for the ABS plastic keycaps.
The UV version though i believe would still work just fine.  Here is a link to a company that does the UV based powder coat.

Just a little food for thought.

Melvang

So try it.  What are you asking us for?

[Melvang]

I apologize for the way my post sounds.  I was looking through the keycaps section and saw that a good number have painted keycaps via either spray paint or automotive paint.  However some of the posters mentioned worries about the durability of the finish with either rubbing off, chipping, or scratching but I didn't see anyone post anything about power coating the keys. 

I know that power coating plastics and other non metal parts is still a fairly new process and just wanted to inform you guys that it can be done, as I hadn't seen anyone mention it.

Melvang

[funkymeeba]

I'd say give it a shot, and post pictures! I'm quite sure nobody here ever got upset about learning new methods for decorating a keyboard.

[Melvang]

I would love to however the only keyboard that I would consider doing it to is my Das Keyboard and it is the only one that I actually have that still works.

[funkymeeba]

It seems like it might be a good thing to try, though. Have you thought about this with PBT at all? If so, I have a bunch of spare blank white PBT caps sitting on the table next to me. I might be able to donate some, if you would like.

[Melvang]

Looking for a place at least somewhat local to me that does it.  Called one place and the lady on the phone said "Sir, you can't powder coat plastic."  My response was "Ma'am if you are unaware that plastic can in fact be powder coated then I would assume that your facility does not have this capability.  Thank you for your time and good-bye.

Melvang

[rootwyrm]

Uh.
Maybe try some research?

Let's see.. electrostatic spray method only requires a temperature of 180C to 250C for something like 30-40 minutes. And what's the melting point of 1mm ABS filament again? Oh right. Around 200C for less than 60 seconds.

So no. You can't powder coat keycaps after the fact. Well you could. But I'm not sure how you're going to use the results.

As part of the manufacturing process? Maybe. But also, probably not, because powder coating is a high temperature process. And as we all know, plastic is fun because it melts pretty damned easily. You'd pretty much have to apply the powder coat to the plastic while it's still in the mold.

[thegnu]

Uh.
Maybe try some research?

and from http://ls1tech.com/forums/paint-body-work/1500147-how-powder-coat-plastic.html:

>you have to use a special low temp powder!

and

>It has been done many times, theirs a guy on here and a few other forums that does it. Ive seen hisbwork and hes does a great job

and

>I've seen online search results for places that do it. It can be done but I have no clue as to the process.

so you could probably do some research too, and it might help bridge the gap.

EDIT: that's not what that tongue smiley was supposed to look like.

EDIT2: though i meant to add that probably the type of usable plastics is limited.  here's another link:

http://www.wrightcoating.com/specialty-coatings/plastics/powder-coating

EDIT3: and another place that does it http://www.innovocsolutions.com

[laffindude]

UV cured coating is already being used on some caps. They're most commonly seen on the backlit caps, and they still chip and wear like every other coating eventually.

[Melvang]

Any links on results for powder coating keycaps there laffindude?  Not doubting you just wanted to see some of the results.

[laffindude]

Look at Shine2. UV coating doesn't necessarily have to be applied as a powder. You can probably get a more even coat if it is in liquid form.