Began my Hi-Tek journey tonight

[ghh3rd]

I finally tried coating a batch of boolits with Hi-Tek. I have Candy Apple Red.

I used 4 oven thermometers to test the temperature of the small convection oven. Two thermometers matched my oven temperature of 400, and the other two were 440 and 380... so hopefully I'm actually at 400.

I applied 4 ml of coating over the four lbs of Lee 148 gr TL boolits, and shook and swirled them. My shaking container is an 8 quart tupperware box shaped like a shoebox. Overall they have a nice light coat, but I noticed a few that had some small bare spots, and a couple that didn't get coated on one side. I have a feeling that a smaller, round container will be better for coating.

I let them dry for 30 minutes and used a hair blower on them for a few more minutes, baked them 12 minutes in the oven and they look reddish brown now. I'll try another coating tomorrow and post back, with either the good, bad or ugly.

197593
197594

Randy

[Grmps]

Welcome to HT coating. Before the second coat, do the wipe and smash test to confirm everything is going correctly so far. A square container is OK but your container is 2X larger than needed for that amount of bullets. Square is nice because it helps "mix up" the bullets, but round works just fine also. Don't be to alarmed if the first coat is thin or a little odd collored it is basically you "primer coat" Your second (and third if wanted) will (should ) produce the desired color.

[Gremlin460]

I second everything that Grmps said. Square is better as you can bump swirl the casts.

[Ausglock]

Round works fine...Note to self... must make video of swirling by hand..

[ghh3rd]

Ok, I just baked on the second coat ... it looks more tan/copper than Candy Apple Red, but as long as it works I guess that's Ok. Maybe my oven temp. is actually higher than 400? I baked for 12 minutes. They were more red before being baked.

197643

[Grmps]

Here is a short video on coating http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?204174-simple-Hi-Tek-coating&p=4074376&viewfull=1#post4074376.
I agree candy apple red should be brighter. that looks more like red copper -- see picture below
A brownish color can be caused by overbaking but it doesn't affect shootability. 12 min isn't that long.

try another batch at 10 min, see if they are redder and still pass the smash and rub tests.
candy apple red is a metallic color, Make sure you agitate the coating well immediately before you measure and coat.

If this doesn't fix the issue let us know and we will help you.

[ghh3rd]

I found that this tall round container worked great... so much easier to shake up and down while swirling around and the coating seemed more even.

By the way, I am getting ready to coat a few hundred Lee 158 gr GC boolits. At what point should the gas checks be applied... after the final coat?

197648
Thanks

[Ausglock]

You can coat over gaschecks. no worries..

[Grmps]

Like Trevor said, you can gas check the bullet before the second coat or when you are done coating (you do not want to size the bullets before the first coat) sizing polishes the lead and HT won't adheree properly

[ghh3rd]

Arghhh ... I put three coats of Hi-Tek on the wadcutters and just started sizing them to .358 -- the Hi-Tek coating is chipping off some of them, mostly on the ends.

[Hi-Performance Bullet Coatings]

Arghhh ... I put three coats of Hi-Tek on the wadcutters and just started sizing them to .358 -- the Hi-Tek coating is chipping off some of them, mostly on the ends.

Unless it is flaking off in big pieces i wouldn't worry about it. I would go ahead and shoot them some flaking shouldn't matter espically at wadcutter velocities.
Your probably too thick with that 3rd coat.

[Grmps]

1 coat is all you need for protection/lubrication 2 and 3 coats make them look better.
3 light coats are better than 2 heavy coats
if your coating bullets with lube grooves, the grooves do not need to show coating for the bullet to be safe to shoot.
I like to go lighter on the first coat to help with adhesion
One of the biggest causes of failure in the coating is not letting the coating dry completely before baking. A thick coat will make it very difficult for the coating to dry and this could cause flaking

[ghh3rd]

I finished the second coat on my 158 gr TC boolits and hoped for the best, but... they are a no-go either. The coating scrapes off in the sizer, anywhere from a little to quite a bit. I can scratch my fingernail against the TL grooves on the wadcutters and get some coating off. If I do the same on the 158 gr TC boolits, I can fairly easily chip bits off the edges of the lube grooves. I don't have a successfully coated boolit to compare to but I would imagine that the lands in the barrel would cut the coating rather than make an impression in it.

Thinking out load ...
The wadcutters were a year old, but the 158 gr TC were just cast.
I mixed the 20 gr Hi-Tek powder to 100 ml acetone, about 5 days ago... shook it thoroughly each time and used 1 ml per pound of boolits.
The convection oven is a big question, temperature fluctuates a lot, but it seemed like it hung around the 400 mark during bakes as I watched, but it will be going back to the store for an upgrade.
I thought that I let the coating dry thoroughly each time... at least an hour.
One thing that stands out is that the boolits have never turned out Candy Apple Red -- they are quite brown, which perhaps is a clue about temperature issues?

I really want this to work. I will remelt and try again with a different oven, soon I hope. I think that I may discard the remaining 80 ml of solution before I try again, in case I messed up my measurements, although I believe that I did it right, used a beaker for the acetone and a good scale for the powder.

I really wanted some boolits for the new 686... I don't like shooting bullets.

[dikman]

Keep at it, it really isn't that hard. Just a few things to watch - the boolits must be clean (no trace of lube/cleaner/whatever on them), they should be un-sized (as mentioned earlier) and the first coating should be thin. Always try the smash test after each coat. Within reason I've found the stuff has some temperature tolerance BUT it's important to have a stable, accurate temperature, and only put them in once the oven has reached the correct temperature. I use a PID and the initial heatup of the oven generally overshoots about 16C, that's when I put them in as it drops quickly when I open the door, then takes about 2-3 mins to get back up to temperature. I'm not using a fan oven but can only bake on the centre tray as the others are too close to the elements.

[ioon44]

I finished the second coat on my 158 gr TC boolits and hoped for the best, but... they are a no-go either. The coating scrapes off in the sizer, anywhere from a little to quite a bit. I can scratch my fingernail against the TL grooves on the wadcutters and get some coating off. If I do the same on the 158 gr TC boolits, I can fairly easily chip bits off the edges of the lube grooves. I don't have a successfully coated boolit to compare to but I would imagine that the lands in the barrel would cut the coating rather than make an impression in it.

Thinking out load ...
The wadcutters were a year old, but the 158 gr TC were just cast.
I mixed the 20 gr Hi-Tek powder to 100 ml acetone, about 5 days ago... shook it thoroughly each time and used 1 ml per pound of boolits.
The convection oven is a big question, temperature fluctuates a lot, but it seemed like it hung around the 400 mark during bakes as I watched, but it will be going back to the store for an upgrade.
I thought that I let the coating dry thoroughly each time... at least an hour.
One thing that stands out is that the boolits have never turned out Candy Apple Red -- they are quite brown, which perhaps is a clue about temperature issues?

I really want this to work. I will remelt and try again with a different oven, soon I hope. I think that I may discard the remaining 80 ml of solution before I try again, in case I messed up my measurements, although I believe that I did it right, used a beaker for the acetone and a good scale for the powder.

I really wanted some boolits for the new 686... I don't like shooting bullets.



Sounds like you are on the right track, here are a few thoughts on your post.
How smooth is the finish in your sizer die, might need some polishing.

Did you use 20 gr or 20 grams in your mix ( 20 grams = 308 grains), I have been using 20 grams to 125 ml in the hotter weather. If you used 20 grams you might add 20 ml of Acetone to your solution and retry before you discard it.

As far as drying, I have found that to be sure that is dry I get the coated bullets over 100 deg F for at least 30 min, setting the trays out in full sunshine gets over this temp pretty fast.

I have shot a lot of coated bullets that had some flaking with out any leading, you just have to try some and see how it works.

[ghh3rd]

I used 20 grams to 100 ml acetone. I am going to cast a new batch soon and try again as soon as I can. I am swapping ovens and hope the temperature on the next one is more stable.

I may just go ahead and try some of the current batch, and be prepared for some leading. Their purpose of these 158 gr boolits is to go out of a 3" .357 barrel at full speed :-)... a S&W 686 that I picked up yesterday. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Updates to follow.

By the way, is 2-2.5 lbs of boolits (casting for next batch) large enough to experiment with?

Randy

[fredj338]

I always add a bit more acetone than in the instructions. As noted, seems to be better as a thin coating. If you leave the mixture for several days, add more acetone. It is likely some is evaporating & thickening the mix.

[Shingle]

The flacking is a sign of too thick a coat and the color on first coat is a sign of too high temperature of too long a cook time. I gave up on the reds and settled with gun metal grey. I would go ahead and shoot them Iv shot HY-TEC that was chipping out of 9mm carbines with no leading.Good luck.

[Hi-Performance Bullet Coatings]

I used 20 grams to 100 ml acetone. I am going to cast a new batch soon and try again as soon as I can. I am swapping ovens and hope the temperature on the next one is more stable.

I may just go ahead and try some of the current batch, and be prepared for some leading. Their purpose of these 158 gr boolits is to go out of a 3" .357 barrel at full speed :-)... a S&W 686 that I picked up yesterday. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Updates to follow.

By the way, is 2-2.5 lbs of boolits (casting for next batch) large enough to experiment with?

Randy

2-2.5 lbs is ok, I wouldn't go much smaller. I am sure it can be done, but I have found that having too few bullets in the container during tumbling makes getting even coatings more difficult.

[Grmps]

I've found that covering the bottom of my convection oven with ceramic BBQ briquettes (leaving a little space 1/4 in around the burners) retains heat, increases temperature recovery time and decreases bake time.
the smaller the batch the more critical the measurements. If you run too small a batch in the same coating container, the same ratio of your coating will stick to the container with even less to go on the bullets. Eventually the thickness of coating on the cotainer will stablize as each batch will disolve some and deposit some.

[ghh3rd]

The next attempt will have more acetone, thinner first coat, and lower temperature, and we'll see what happens. I did just cast 3 lbs of 158 gr boolits. I think that I am going to dip these in Felix lube, try the new .357, and then cast another 5 lbs of them and try the Hi-Tek again. I'll update with my results... I'm sure it will be better.

[Grmps]

12 min at 400* is a solid combination. If you are going to re-try the old oven I would try 10 min. If they fail the tests then put them back in for 5 more min and try 11 min on the next batch.
One way to check oven cook time without going through alot of coated bullets is to coat a batch of bullets and thuroughly dry them. then put 5# of uncoated bullets in the tray , take 10 coated ones and scater them around the tray place in oven and bake. if the test coated bullets are dark and pass the tests your baking to long , back off a min. and try again 5 # cold uncoated and 10 coated scatterd around. It they don't pass the tests then try a new batch 5 # cold uncoated and 10 coated scatterd around and add 1 min to the cook time, continue until they pass both tests then add 1 more min for insurance. I be;ieve the average time for a countertop convection oven @ 400 degrees is between 9 and 12 min, mine with the heat sincs go 9 min and I do 10 to make sure.

[Ausglock]

197748

Use spacers on your oven to preheat your tray of bullets before baking. This ensures that they are dry before baking.

[farmerjim]

If you are unsure of your bake temp, put some 400 deg tempilaq on several boolits and put them in with your normal load. The tempilaq will change color when the boolit surface is 400. then just add 5 min to that time. It will also show if you have hot and cold spots in your oven.
Hi-Tec chipping off is almost always due to too thick a first coat.

[ghh3rd]

The final update - I found that I could size most of my 'brown' boolikts without damaging the coating if I didn't use gas checks. Whenever I tried passing a gas check through the Lee .358 sizer one side of the boolit had coating damage... in fact some had severe swaging of lead across most of the side of the boolit when attempting to size with gas checks.

Anyone use a sizer other than Lee with gas checks? Maybe it's something that I'm doing wrong, but it's not rocket science to pop on a gas check, and push a boolit through a sizer base first.

I loaded and fired 50 of the 158gr boolits over 14.5 gr of 2400 and 50 over 13.5 gr and didn't have any leading. That's very encouraging. I was concerned about some that had small craters in the base that didn't get completely filled by coating, but it didn't seem to matter.

Thanks everyone!

Randy

ps I did get a blister on my hand :-)

[ioon44]

I use a Star to size my coated bullets but I seldom use gas checks, I have seated gas checks with the Star with out any problems. I have shot 158 gr bullets with 2 coats of Hi-Tek out of a .357 mag at 1400 fps with out any leading.

The only area that needs coated is the driving band, they just look nicer when the bullet is completely covered.

Have you tried to push the bullet and gas check through your sizer nose first just to see if it still scrapes one side?

[ghh3rd]

I haven't tried it nose first - I'll give that a try.