Powder Coat PITA

[marek313]

I know many people here powder coat and so do I. It works great and its super clean but I hate sitting there pulling my boolits one by one out of my tumble container and standing those up on the tray. It takes forever and it really kills my shoulders and back at this point. I know people do full baskets and just separate later on but I like how nice my boolits look when I take my time and do those individually. Every boolit is nice and smooth with solid clean coat. It just takes so **** long to do it.

So now I have about a 1000 of 9mm and another 1000 of 45s that need PC but I'm dragging my feet to go down to my basement and PC those. I'm trying to talk myself into going down there tonight after work but its going to be hard [smilie=b:

But they come out looking so **** sexy :drinks:

[Pumpkinheaver]

That is the worst part of the PC process for sure.

[FredBuddy]

I find that raising my work surface just a few inches

decreases the amount I have to bend over

Every little bit helps.

[ioon44]

That is the main reason I quit PC and went with HI-Tek, the more I done the more my hands cramped.

[zymguy]

i put them in one of those black plastic trays that 9mm come in. fast to drop them in then just flip it on the tray, i wear nitrie gloves when i do it.

[marek313]

I have to find easier way to do this. Results are great but its very time consuming as you all know.
210328
210329

[runfiverun]

I dump them from the shake container into a little pan to separate the powder and BB's.
then from that into another container I pick them out of and stand up.
I hold the container down lower and move the bullets up onto the tray from there.
it is about work ergonomics.

boring is one thing boring and painful is something else.

[Guesser]

I've been sizing and loobing my cast bullets for more than 50 years and at 72 years of age I determined that I do not, repeat, do not find nor feel a need to reinvent my particular wheel. It looks nice as a finished product but so far I haven't seen a color that will induce me to go to the extreme of PCing; either as in powder coating or politically correcting........

[hanleyfan]

I enjoy powder coating to the point I cast so I could powder coat, for me its relaxing and since I am retired time is of no importance. After powder coating for 3 years there is no way I am ever going back to the greasy lube process which I hated with a passion.

[4719dave]

Take a plastic strainer drill out the holes so the bb fall through onto a cookie sheet or something to catch extra powder and bb .

[sandman228]

I started out that way standing up each bullet one at a time ,I don't have the time or patience for that . now I shake the bullets up in a cool whip bowl then I dump into 2 small buckets with one stacked in the other the inner bucket has several small holes drilled in the bottom of it I swirl it around till the excess powder is in the outer bucket then I pull the inner bucket out and gently dump it onto toaster oven tray covered in nonstick foil .then I gently shake the tray back and forth till theres no bullets stacked on top of each other then put in oven and bake . I don't use airsoft bb's , never have . when they come out of oven I shake the tray and or bump it on the bench to shake everything loose then dump into a bucket of water with a strainer in it then pick up the strainer out of bucket and dump the bullets onto a dry towel and break apart any that are sticking together , theres usually a few but not many

[Grmps]

I do something similar
I swirl with BB's
Dump into a colander with holes large enough for the BB's and powder to drop into a round cake pan
**make sure you shake all the excess powder off**
I dump them into a wire basket, shake the basket to even out the boolits then bake.
I get no wire marks and almost no sticking.
(different powders will stick together more than others) these can easily be separated by hand and any stubborn on a light tap with a small leather mallet (4 oz I use for casting) will easilly seperate them with occasional minor marks

thread on this
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?341128-%26%23128020%3B-Mesh-trays-led-me-to-change-PC-method

[marek313]

I tried using wire basket but I had many stuck really bad together and to the wire basket as well. Its probably because I like pretty thick layer of PC on my boolits so when they touch for any reason they are really stuck together to the point that some clumps went straight to smelting pile. I know many have good success with wire baskets though so maybe I need to ease up on PC when I do it.

I can cast for hours which I love. Boring? Maybe for some but i dont mind. I really wouldnt mind PCing neither but its killing my back and my shoulder really bad. Sucks getting old. I know I'm only 42 and many here are way older then me but I'm still going to complain anyway :violin:

[W.R.Buchanan]

We all have challenges in life. Mine is not having enough money to retire, so I get to work until I die.

I did have fun back when I could, and I still have a pretty good time most of the time.

Sure could use a Lottery Win. :veryconfu

Randy

[MyFlatline]

It's all just part of the process. My work table is almost 48" high, I stand , then sit in a bar stool, then go P, cause I'm getting to that age and do some more. That is my time. Being self employed, some of y'all understand, there ain't much "my time". I want to do it at a leisurely pace, with a cold one close by...

[bangerjim]

Sorry to hear you have physical limitations that hinder you PC experience. Fortunately I can pic-n-set all day long with no problems. ESPC is easier because I can about dump raw boolits on the foil. Align them in rows with a ruler and spray the powder on easily and quickly.

Pic-n-set is about the only way to do it if you want excellent coverage without grooves adn lay marks that can throw the boolit out of balance.

Good luck with boolit coating whichever method(s) you employ.

[Bzcraig]

I just do a couple hundred at a time and not psyche myself out by thinking about the 2k. I don't mind it taking a few sittings to get it done instead of a painful marathon.

[OS OK]

210388

Dump the bowl onto a cookie sheet in a pile in the middle, PC, BB's and casts all together...
Grab the sheet on the narrow end and pull it back and forth on the bench top several times...
All the casts will roll out sideways to each other...as they roll out in the PC, any dings or blemishes will re-coat themselves especially on the drive bands where it matters most.
Now you can tweezer them or grab them with gloved hand and stack them quick.

They will point in two directions...after picking all the convenient ones just flip the sheet around 180* and pick the remainder.

[Walter Laich]

the link in post #18 is the one I started

using it I find the PC process goes very quickly. While one is cooking (baking?) I can do three more so they're ready to go

I made my own wire trays from a wire pizza rack I found at wally world--pop rivets to hold it together.

once they come out of the oven I dump them on a wooden tray I made (like woodworking, too) and roll them back and forth to separate any that might be stuck together.

now I find I'm casting so I can PC . . . and I really like casting, too

[243winxb]

http://www.bullseyeforum.net/t5354-powder-coat-bullet-accuracy Accuracy test.

I'm with Guesser to old to change. (73)

[dverna]

I've been sizing and loobing my cast bullets for more than 50 years and at 72 years of age I determined that I do not, repeat, do not find nor feel a need to reinvent my particular wheel. It looks nice as a finished product but so far I haven't seen a color that will induce me to go to the extreme of PCing; either as in powder coating or politically correcting........

Yep...I feel the same way. Yet, for something like 9mm or .40 that are prone to lead, it may be worth it for some. And it could be useful for some rifle applications.

But like you, I have not found a need to even try it. Nothing is faster than the old Star and for smaller quantities there is BLL and push through dies.

I might do it when the granddaughter is old enough to shoot. Pretty might matter to her.

[Motor]

I don't bake in my house. Doesn't it stink up the entire house? I don't think the fumes are very healthy either.

BTW: I feel your pain but PC is just to good for me to EVER go back to lube.

Motor

[sparky45]

I've been sizing and loobing my cast bullets for more than 50 years and at 72 years of age I determined that I do not, repeat, do not find nor feel a need to reinvent my particular wheel. It looks nice as a finished product but so far I haven't seen a color that will induce me to go to the extreme of PCing; either as in powder coating or politically correcting........

I'm 72 and PC EVERYTHING I shoot; from 380 to 458 . I have a Lubesizer and I used it until I became one of the enlightened. Obviously PC'n isn't for everyone, but it's right for me.

[Motor]

I'm 72 and PC EVERYTHING I shoot; from 380 to 458 . I have a Lubesizer and I used it until I became one of the enlightened. Obviously PC'n isn't for everyone, but it's right for me.

I think it also has to do with what you used to lube with. I used to tumble lube. Everything that came into contact from ammo boxes to reloading dies had A-Lox stuck on it. There was so much of it in some of my seating dies that it would effect seating depth !!!

After trying PC and seeing how well it worked I dissembled all of my dies and cleaned all of the "pig snot" out of them and will never go back. All of my equipment including my guns stay as clean as if I was shooting J-word bullets. Plus as mentioned in other threads I'm casting one alloy and that is 12BHN (It can vary a little, I won't reject up to 14BHN) made with lead and Linotype. This alloy with PC is working for all of my needs from mouse farts to 500 S&W mag without gas checks in pistol. I am just getting ready to test super sonic rifle loads without gas checks. I've been shooting the sub-sonic rifle without gas checks even with the A-Lox.

This post is not a negative post about A-Lox as far as it's performance goes. It worked fine although some loads required a harder alloy. It's just the mess this type of lubing leaves behind and of course the smoke which really isn't bad if shooting out doors. Unless the wind is in your face.

I can see if you were using a lube system that only lubed the grooves the benefits of PC may not be enough to get you to change. I get it. :)

Motor

[farmerjim]

I was a grain inspector for 25 years. For each sample you handle 1,000 kernels of grain individually with a pair of forceps. I am still good with forceps and can stand them up good and fast. I PC andHi-Tek.
Hi-Tek is faster, PC is easier. I like both.

[fredj338]

One of the guys here showed us a fast & neat way by using factory ammo trays. It is faster to drop bullets in nose first & then invert a tray over 2-3 of them & flip them onto their bases. Perfectly standing bullets, way faster than picking them out & standing them up. I can get 100 per my wire baskets, 4 baskets at a time in the pizza oven. Beats standing them up & spraying.

[marek313]

Thank you for all your great suggestions. Keep them coming.
I dont see myself switching now from PC to anything else because I do like my PCed boolits. I might have to give wire basket another try. Since I normally do everything in my man cave (basement) which is freezing cold now I'm trying to figure out if I can move this operation to my recliner upstairs. Makes things little more complicated because I bake in the basement next to open window with a fan because there is little bit of smell coming off when you bake PC. That means that I would have to walk downstairs but as long as its only 9s and 45s i should be fine since they wont fall over the place like my Lee 312-155 normally would. Either way I'm sticking with PC. Works great so if its not broken ..... you know .... :mrgreen:

[David2011]

For me the ergonomics have to be right or I find placing the coated boolits on the baking sheet to be tiring and painful. The more I have to lift my arms, the worse it is, getting a deep burn between my shoulders. I like to get the freshly coated boolits and the baking tray as low as possible, just above the level of my legs. I move the boolits from the "dump" tray to the baking tray and stand them up with a pair of Harbor Freight hemostats with a minimum of motion and a minimum of raising my hands and arms. I can go several hours with good ergonomics; poop out in an hour or two if not.

[marek313]

For me the ergonomics have to be right or I find placing the coated boolits on the baking sheet to be tiring and painful. The more I have to lift my arms, the worse it is, getting a deep burn between my shoulders. I like to get the freshly coated boolits and the baking tray as low as possible, just above the level of my legs. I move the boolits from the "dump" tray to the baking tray and stand them up with a pair of Harbor Freight hemostats with a minimum of motion and a minimum of raising my hands and arms. I can go several hours with good ergonomics; poop out in an hour or two if not.

Oh man i feel like we are exactly in the same boat. That deep burn kills me to the point where I'm on the floor rolling around because as you all know I had to finish that batch right ? :veryconfu
So last night I took all my stuff upstairs and parked it in front of my recliner on a small stool which is just above my knees in hight when I'm sitting down. I did 3 trays (over 500 boolits) and even sized half of those before it got too late and I had to wrap things up. But guess what? NO PAIN AT ALL :awesome:
I could have kept going all night probably. I always knew good ergonomics are important but this was really night and day difference.
I have bad disks in my neck and lower back so certain motions cause that deep burn David was talking about after many repetitions. Every now and then I find motions that trigger that burn so I have to find alternative and sometimes creative ways of getting things done.
I'm happy I found painless way of PCing now lets see what my wife says when I shake, shake, shake .... shake those boolits .... in front of the TV next to her. I can tell you my daughter was not a fan and complained but she was quickly over ruled. My wife will be a different story though as i know she'll put up a fight but thats what I love about her. Our relationship is anything but boring lol. Even when we fight its never that serious and always end the same way at the end of the day. Its either make up sex or angry sex so hey its a win - win for me :drinks:

[David2011]

That's awesome news. Glad it helped.

David

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Give me tumble lube, or give me death!:guntootsmiley: Maybe some day I will get bored enough to try it.
But what ever works for you!

[fastdadio]

For picking out the boolits, I use a pair of spring loaded pliers. Very easy to use, like these;
https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-3504-5-Inch-Precision-Needle/dp/B000NPR2KI/ref=sr_1_1/131-7056939-1398306?ie=UTF8&qid=1514770923&sr=8-1&keywords=spring+loaded+needle+nose+pliers

[CASTER OF LEAD]

I dump them from the shake container into a little pan to separate the powder and BB's.
then from that into another container I pick them out of and stand up.
I hold the container down lower and move the bullets up onto the tray from there.
it is about work ergonomics.

boring is one thing boring and painful is something else.

I have to agree with your sentiments fiver. Took me a bit of trial and painful error to get my set up worker friendly. - CASTER