Tool box overhaul

[Cornbread]

If you have checked the new price for quality tooboxes lately, you know some cost as much as cars! I`ve got an old Mac box that is sound, but cosmetically rough.

Call me crazy, but I`m wondering if it would be worth it to have a paint shop blast and paint it. Cost for this may be prohibitive, but I hate to just sand it and spray it.

Anybody ever "restored" a tool box?

 

[bdcardinal]

my toolbox was almost $8000. i have a MATCO double bay. it isnt painted, its powdercoated. i plan on keeping this thing a long time. its full too, which means i need another one.

 

[Donald]

If it was just the outside it might not be that much work, but if one had to do each drawer, then a lof of work.

 

[Chris142]

I wish I could afford a nice Matco, Snap-On, Mac or Cornwell box.

I've got the large one Harbor Freight sells. My only gripe is that the paint is rough so It's impossible to clean it.

 

[1sttruck]

Just sand and primer spots, and pretend it's a project that you'll finish some day. Function is what a toolbox good, not cosmetics, and if you think otherwise there will be plenty of people willing to trade you for a prettier toolbox.

I have a smaller SnapOn that I bought in the early 70s, a box that I could never afford now.

 

[Merkava_4]

There is nothing wrong with refinishing a tool box. MAC has always had a beautiful shade of red with a hint of orange in it. If you have an older MAC box with the extruded aluminium handles, they come off real easy for painting the drawers. Make sure they match the original MAC colour exactly.

The guys at the body shop would probably enjoy painting a tool box.

 

[porcupine73]

Hi cornbread. I'd say restore if it's cost effective. An alternative might be Harbor Freight. Yes it's China made but I'm impresseed. I recently bought a ~42" toolbox, top box, and side box from Harbor Freight for about $900. It's pretty heavy duty at least for what I need. The same thing at Sears is about 4x the cost.

 

[AcuraTech]

I dont know how long they have been doing it, but all modern professional quality toolboxes are powder coated, not just painted. So that is one thing to consider.

When they built our shop, they wanted a uniform look, so they went with built in toolboxes from a company named Lista. By built in toolboxes I mean they are permanent, all the same size and color.

Reason I mention that is that the owner of our store is a miser, so instead of having the toolboxes powder coated as they should have been, they were just painted. They are only about 3 years old, but on alot of them, especially horizontal surfaces, the paint is wearing off completely. They are a pain in the #@$%! to clean, since it is basically like a flat paint.

Point of all this is that powdercoat > paint any day. Easier to clean, holds up much better, looks better. Something to think about.

 

[Cornbread]

Thanks for the insight everyone!

I had not considered powdercoat, but I can see the advantages. I have a small SnapOn top box about 35 years old. The original paint is quite dinged from years of just bumping it with tools. Bet the powdercoat is more durable.

I guess any shop that could paint a box could probably powdercoat it. Final decision I`m sure will depend upon cost.

 

[9c1]

Powder coating is just that -- a plastic powder that is deposited and held on the object using static electricity -- then it is baked at temperatures up to 300* F. Not just any paint shop can do it. One needs the spraying equipment – it is NOT the same as spraying paint, and an oven large enough to hold whatever you are coating.

That said, a wide variety of colors and finishes are available from a place that specializes in powder coating. The finish is quite durable if properly applied – far exceeding paint. Don’t even think about removing powder coat once applied. It is very difficult to remove.

 

[Merkava_4]

With powder coating, you would have to disassemble the box down to practically nothing to remove ALL of the paint. The reason for this is because if you didn't, what paint was still left on there would melt in the oven.

Not an option. Because the blast media would get in between the double walls of the sheet metal construction and stay there forever.

And besides that, you may only need to refinish the outside of the box and the drawer fronts; not the entire inside of the box.

Another reason not to powder coat: A powder coat shop only has the basic colours available; I highly doubt they would be able to get the correct shade of powder to match the MAC's red.

Powder coating is a very durable finish, but is only applicable for assemblies that are not spot welded together and can be fully disassembled.

 

[NYEngineer]

If it were me, I would disassemble all the drawer pulls and tracks, scuff everything up, Knock out the dents and have a bodyshop shoot it with a nice, hard urethane. Once it's done, put some stickers and pinstripes on it and it'll be the bomb.

 

[JMK]

I have give a big plus for the powder coated boxes. I had a large Snap-on box (full) in storage out at my mothers house. Remember the big floods in the ohio valley in '04? Yep my box was underwater for a period of about a week. Then it sat there full of mud for about another 2 months (couldn't get to it) Well I lost alot of electronics in it (meters, scan tools) but when I was done cleaning everything and got to finally cleaning the box it looked like to just came off the truck. So powercoating is the way to go.

 

[Donald]

But correct me if I am wrong, but don't you need to spray on the powder coating and then bake it in an oven? How many local places have an oven big enough for a large tool box? I can see manufacturers having all of this stuff but not local auto body shops.

 

[JMK]

Quote:

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But correct me if I am wrong, but don't you need to spray on the powder coating and then bake it in an oven? How many local places have an oven big enough for a large tool box? I can see manufacturers having all of this stuff but not local auto body shops.

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Yes real powder coating does need cured. Do some looking around, there is a place near me that can accommodate a full frame inside their curing booth. It might not be economical to ship it to have it done but I think it would be the best way.