Can you powdercoat a wooden arcade cabinet?

[Mark Thomas]

Hey folks I'm currently sanding down an old cabinet I'm working on. Once im all done I wanted to get a company to powdercoat it and get a really nice professional looking finish. Has anyone else here powder coated a wooden
Cabinet? And if so how did it come out?

Many thanks looking forward to hearing back from
You all.

[jennifer]

     Powder Coating wont work on wood, Its adhered the the surface [metal] with a positive/neg charge then baked.
There are a few other options available however, Paint being the most common.  Vinyl, a nice replaceable surface [sega did this], but over time time,
heat/cold contractions will loosen the edges.... And laminate, this on requires some foresite in the fact your T mouldings may not cover the edge if
you dont allow for the thickness, and its kind of spendy to do it right/nice.... Jennifer likes the paint method [spray, automotive] best.

[ark_ader]

     Powder Coating wont work on wood, Its adhered the the surface [metal] with a positive/neg charge then baked.
There are a few other options available however, Paint being the most common.  Vinyl, a nice replaceable surface [sega did this], but over time time,
heat/cold contractions will loosen the edges.... And laminate, this on requires some foresite in the fact your T mouldings may not cover the edge if
you dont allow for the thickness, and its kind of spendy to do it right/nice.... Jennifer likes the paint method [spray, automotive] best.

We have a furniture restorer/finisher that does what I think you are after.  He sprays thin emulsion on wood several times that it looks powder coated (as a comparison). 

He did our dining table and chairs and they look totally cool, nice and smooth, brilliant white.  Good idea on the arcade cab.  I might go that route with the weecade #3

Looks a bit like this but thicker.

[Mark Thomas]

Thank you i wasn't aware you couldn't powder coat wood so I think the spray option sounds the best. I'm just after a nice jet black colour so it looks like a new cab again. How did you find the finish came out Jennifer and is there any special kind of preparation I need to do prior to getting it sprayed? So far I'm just sanding down with some paper.

[jennifer]

    I prefer stripper, thinner to neutralize, then a fine paper to clean it up.This way your not sanding waves across the surface.[ Or use a long block ]
A sealer, fix dings with bondo [?] spray a good sealer, Making sure that it compatable with the paint youll be using.... Most games that were black
were a flat/semi flat , gloss will show imperfections and always look dirty.

[GregD]

You can powdercoat wood.   I just read a few websites about it.   I wasn't aware that you could.

[jennifer]

       That is interesting, Seems the moisture content on mdf will conduct the charge....

[Mark Thomas]

So you can powder coat? I'm based on UK and got a reply from a powder coat company that i had emailed the other day basically saying that they can't do wood. Have you got some company links GregD?

[Franco B]

If I was to build another cab I would definitely use laminate for a hard wearing pro finish.

If it is something you would consider then there is some info in [this] thread which may be of use to you along with some UK suppliers.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks for that info FancoB I would definitely laminate if the cab wasn't such an awkward shape. Once this cab is done I do have plans for an Xbox can so I will consider this option as I do think they look great when laminated by someone who knows what they are doing.

Iv heard back from another company who I had emailed they also stated that they can not powdercoat wood but said they could use 2 pack paint.

When I asked what this was they replied:

2 pack is car paint which give a good finish hard, this but  a long job as needs primer and wet flatin a few times to get a good finish. The wood keeps soaking in the paint in so a few coats are needed.

Have any of you guys used this stuff? It sounds very promising.