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Single-Sixer
I want to try some powder coating on some cast bullets. Can this be done inside? I am talking about the heating phase after the bullets have been coated.
thanks
thanks
Powder coating
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Jim Puke
Hunter
I suppose it could be done inside...but I would not recommend it. The powder coat gives off some fumes as it cooks and it might be harmful to breathe...and it doesn't smell too good, either.
contender
Ruger Guru
Powder coating is EASY to do on cast slugs. I stopped doing the normal lube methods when I learned to PC the bullets I cast.
Step one; Accumulate the following. A #5 recyclable container such as a Country Crock butter tub or Cool whip tub with the lid. Make sure it's clean & dry. A container of black colored air soft pellets. (color is important.) Harbor Freight red powder coat paint. A wide tub to dump stuff in. Some type of collendar/strainer that will allow air soft pellets to fall through. A cheap yard sale or Goodwill toaster oven with a pan inside. Non-stick aluminum foil.
Now, prepping time.
Wrap the pan in non stick foil. Set up the oven in a ventilated area. Set the temp dial at 375-400 degrees. Place a cup or so of airsoft pellets in the tub. Put a tablespoon or so of red paint in the tub. Add about 50-100 bullets. put the lid on.
Now, making sure the lid stays on,, shake that tub of bullets, pellets & paint for about 1-2 minutes.
Open the container & the bullets should have a nice coating of red paint. Pour everything in the collendar & shake off the excess paint. Dump the now coated & separated bullets on the pan. put in the oven for 15-18 minutes.
Presto, powder coated bullets!
Step one; Accumulate the following. A #5 recyclable container such as a Country Crock butter tub or Cool whip tub with the lid. Make sure it's clean & dry. A container of black colored air soft pellets. (color is important.) Harbor Freight red powder coat paint. A wide tub to dump stuff in. Some type of collendar/strainer that will allow air soft pellets to fall through. A cheap yard sale or Goodwill toaster oven with a pan inside. Non-stick aluminum foil.
Now, prepping time.
Wrap the pan in non stick foil. Set up the oven in a ventilated area. Set the temp dial at 375-400 degrees. Place a cup or so of airsoft pellets in the tub. Put a tablespoon or so of red paint in the tub. Add about 50-100 bullets. put the lid on.
Now, making sure the lid stays on,, shake that tub of bullets, pellets & paint for about 1-2 minutes.
Open the container & the bullets should have a nice coating of red paint. Pour everything in the collendar & shake off the excess paint. Dump the now coated & separated bullets on the pan. put in the oven for 15-18 minutes.
Presto, powder coated bullets!
sixshot
Buckeye
Depending on caliber I'm doing 400-500 bullets at a time using an extra tub for my tumbler. Several years ago (maybe 15-16) I bought 3 extra tubs from Hornady when I started moly coating bullets. I just use one of those tubs, dump several hundred bullets in, no pellets, a couple table spoons full of harbor freight red paint & turn it on for 15 minutes. Then I dump them into a collander & shake off the excess paint, shake hard for 10-15 seconds over some newspaper & now you have coated bullets ready to bake. As Tyrone mentioned, coverer your metal tray with non stick aluminum foil & pop as many bullets as you can onto the tray, no need to stand them up, just don't double stack them. Put them in the oven at 400 degress for 10 minutes, remove & let them cool, then size & you're done. If you are doing 44 or 45 caliber bullets its best to do maybe 200 at a time, 9mm's or 38's you can double that.
Dick
Dick
I only cook my PCed bullets indoors. I tumble coat indoors, but spraying can get pretty messy indoors. An exhaust fan/hood is a good investment, because the powder will go everywhere, BTDT. I built a "spray booth" out of a 48" square cardboard box and if I spray indoors, I keep the door open and use 2 fans to direct overspray out, but not 100% successful.
contender
Ruger Guru
I've gotten similar results with the foil. I have a few rolls still to use up, so it'll be a while before I try a different method.
cadillo
Blackhawk
contender said:
If you were to be inclined to size them, would you do that before or after the PC and bake?
sixshot
Buckeye
Size them last, no sense in sizing them twice. Good luck.
Dick
Dick
Jim Puke
Hunter
sixshot said:
X 2
Sizing last works just fine.
Once you get your system worked out, you will never look back. I have completely abandoned conventional lube.
Curses, now what to do with all the Johnson's Paste Wax? :shock: Still trying to accumulate the necessary items for PC. I have the Cool Whip container. Need the colander, black pellets, toaster oven, and the Harbor Freight Red. I figured if Jim Luke could do it, so could I! :mrgreen:
gramps
gramps
contender
Ruger Guru
Don't feel bad gramps,,, I have 10 sticks of Veral's excellent blue lube that I got just before I tried powder coating. Still all wrapped up.
If you get a colander, make sure it has holes big enough to let the pellets fall through as well as excess powder. Don't forget the non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper to put over the pan you dump the bullet on.
If you get a colander, make sure it has holes big enough to let the pellets fall through as well as excess powder. Don't forget the non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper to put over the pan you dump the bullet on.
sixshot
Buckeye
Chief, are you getting too much powder on the bullets or not enough, also are you using a cool whip container or a tumbler? I'll explain it both ways. If you use a cool whip container then the black air soft pellets help for sure, they create static electricity when you shake the conntainer & help bond the paint to the bullets. Give them 30-45 seconds of swirling, then about the same amount up & down & you're done. You only need 1/2" or less of pellets to work. Now, you're going to end up with excess paint on the bullets when you finish so if you use tweezers to pick them out (slow) you will have to tap the tweezers on the side of the container to remove the excess paint, then place them on the non stick foil. They don't have to be stood up, just get them on there.
The best & fastest way is to use a case tumbler, I use a Hornady & can do several hundred bullets at once. If I'm doing 44 caliber slugs I'll do 250-300 at a time, place them in the tumbler, no pellets, a couple heaping tbl. spoons of paint (I use Harbor Freight Red) put the lid on & run it for 15 minutes & then dump the bullets in a collander. Now, shake it hard for 20-30 seconds to remove any excess paint & then just dump as many as you can get on your non stick foil without double stacking them. Its ok if they touch, but don't double stack. Set your toaster oven at 400 degrees & run for 10 minutes, any longer is just wasting power. Remove & allow to cool & you are ready to size.
Dick
The best & fastest way is to use a case tumbler, I use a Hornady & can do several hundred bullets at once. If I'm doing 44 caliber slugs I'll do 250-300 at a time, place them in the tumbler, no pellets, a couple heaping tbl. spoons of paint (I use Harbor Freight Red) put the lid on & run it for 15 minutes & then dump the bullets in a collander. Now, shake it hard for 20-30 seconds to remove any excess paint & then just dump as many as you can get on your non stick foil without double stacking them. Its ok if they touch, but don't double stack. Set your toaster oven at 400 degrees & run for 10 minutes, any longer is just wasting power. Remove & allow to cool & you are ready to size.
Dick
I wasn't getting enough powder on bullets...thanks, I will go get some black Airsoft pellets. I have the Hornady vitrator and tried that but to no avail...I have a stove/oven in the shop for other powder coating but don't like the idea of waste when spraying bullets
cadillo
Blackhawk
Just curious, but does the PC offer any lubricating effect when running the PC'd bullet through a sizing die? I use a Magma lube sizer and often resize and lube a bullet just to lube the sizing die in order to ease the passage of subsequent bullets. In my experience using non PC'd bullets a dry sizing die is not very smooth running.
Not trying to start a fight, but genuinely curious.
Not trying to start a fight, but genuinely curious.
sixshot
Buckeye
I've read your reply several times & not sure how to answer it but I'll try. When sizing powder coated bullets in my Star sizer some bullets go through easy & others can be a real struggle. It can be several things, one is a long bearing surface can cause problems. Another is you have added a couple thousands diameter to the bullet & your sizer die might not like that. What I do with stubborn bullets that are powder coated is give them a shot of Hornady One shot Case Lube, it won't effect the powder or primer, dries in 60 seconds & you're ready to run them through the die, & they will go through MUCH easier, I do it all the time. Actually did it today.
With a regular lubed bullet sometimes you have to re-run a lubed bullet through the sizer to lube the die or, as you mentioned it can get dry & put a real bind on the handle, running a lubed bullet back through from time to time with certain bullets really makes it a lot easier on the handle. Hope this helps.
Dick
With a regular lubed bullet sometimes you have to re-run a lubed bullet through the sizer to lube the die or, as you mentioned it can get dry & put a real bind on the handle, running a lubed bullet back through from time to time with certain bullets really makes it a lot easier on the handle. Hope this helps.
Dick
cadillo
Blackhawk
sixshot said:
Great answer! Thanks! Whenever I have a problem with bringing bullets down more than one thousandth, I do them in two passes rather than just one as it's just easier on both the lube sizer and me. For example when I use the seldom used Mihec version of the 429421, it drops bullets at around .4305 dependent upon alloy and temp, so I size them once at .430 and again at .429 for my guns with .429 throats. The more I try to use brass moulds, the more I fall in love again with my Lyman iron moulds.
Regarding case lube and its effect on powder, you are correct. This subject is way over rated. Based on my study of the writings of some well respected competitive shooters and my subsequent testing of their views, I no longer give it a thought when using Imperial Sizing Wax, which to me appears to be lanolin based, on case mouths etc. The spray lube you cite is in my belief nothing more than lanolin cut with high grade alcohol as a vehicle, and should not affect powder performance if used in moderation.
Thanks again for your well thought out reply.
cadillo
Blackhawk
sixshot said:
Am I assuming correctly that the paint is in powder form as the name suggests? Also, when you separate the bullets from the paint after coating, is the unused separated paint salvageable for the next batch? Also, am I understanding correctly that you are good to go with just one coat and bake?
This is really beginning to look more interesting.
