What type of paint did you use on these?
In the pics, it
almost looks like powder coated, but not quite.
Have you ever done any powder coating? Is it worth it for a hobbyist to try to do that at home? Or just too much mess and hassle?
When are you gonna post a link so we can start placing orders?
I used an etch primer for aluminum and rustoleum matte black spray paint. The primer is important, especially with aluminum. Rustoleum is oil based so, the way it flows being that it takes longer to dry gives it that sort of powder coat look. The primer on the other hand, dries quickly so it tends to hold more of whatever orange peel texture it sprays as.
We have a company that powder coats a LOT of parts we build. With powder coating, parts should be both acid cleaned and sand blasted or sanded at least. I just sand any painted parts before I assemble/weld them with an RO sander, or the whole piece before I even cut it. For me, powder coating at home is not really practical. It takes a 400F oven and a relatively clean environment.
At one point, I was doing a lot of welding/fabricating here at home on the side beside my reg job. My reputation grew quickly and I was coming home to parts at my front door with sticky notes stuck allover. A lot of which were parts for the pro racing industry so schedules were tight. Bright light was coming from my back yard into the wee hours sometimes and often times I was awake 20+ hrs/day.
My sons are grown now so I have more time. I have offered to weld things for other regular forum members free of charge if they need something. They just either ship me what they want welded, or pay for the materials/consumables. Within reason of course and I now only work in aluminum.
Here is a powder coated part. This is what I typically build every day for almost 30 years. Other than powder coat, I work with anodized parts. Mostly brushed or polished (read mirror) finish. This part is powder coated black with an additional clear coat. It s a special marine powder for obvious reasons.