Lamp Refinishing

Painted outdoor lamps get severely aged from weather exposure. Using a sand blaster and powder coating system, you can easily restore the lamp to its pristine condition. This Instructable shows how we did it. We made it at TechShop and you can too (learn more at http://techshop.ws).

Tools Required:
• Sand Blaster (we used a Skat Blast system)
• Powder Coater (we used an Eastwood Dual Voltage Powder Coating System)
• Industrial Oven (we used a unit made by Ted’s Fabrication)
• Sink with hot and cold running water
• Safety glasses
• Respirator
• Chemical-resistant gloves
• Small scrub brush or scuff pad
• Oven-safe glove

Materials Required:
• Lamp
• Bare wire (we used 16 AWG copper)
• Cleaning agent (we used TSP)
• Powder Coat Paint (we used Cardinal Paint polyester TGIC powder, T241-BK59)
• (Optional) Spray lubricant (we used Tri-FlowTM)

Step 1: Disassemble the lamp

Before you begin the project, make sure to familiarize yourself with the basic operation of your equipment and the general safety precautions recommended by the equipment manufacturer.

In order to fully restore the lamp to a pristine state, it must be completely disassembled so that each piece of the lamp can be handled separately and all surfaces are fully exposed. Our lamp was held together with threaded knobs and threaded rods. If your lamp has been weather-aged for a number of years (ours had over 20 years of unprotected outdoor exposure), threaded connections will likely be very hard to loosen due to a build-up of corrosion in the threads. If any threaded connector (ie, screw, nut, rod, etc) cannot be readily removed, spray the connector liberally with a penetrating lubricant and let it sit overnight.