Ready to try powder coating again- looking for the best powder

[ghh3rd]

I gave powder coating a try a long time ago using the BB method and found it cumbersome. I bought a small amount of Hi-Tek and although my boolits passed the smash test some of the coating was scraped off during sizing, which didn’t happen with my powder coated boolits.

Since my original attempt to powder coat I’ve seen much simpler methods like not using BB’s at all and just dumping all of the boolits into a tray in a pile and baking them without worrying about separating them. This method seems surprisingly successfully at getting evenly coated boolits and appeals to me .

I’ve seen some videos by Elvis Ammo and he seems to really really crank out tons of nicely coated boolits with the dump in a pile and bake method, but i haven’t been able to find out what powder he uses.

I want to give PC another try, and wondered what everyone has found the best powder is. I was using Harbor Freight red “back in the day”, but i’m sure there is better out there now.

Randy

[Outback32]

I like Eastwood I got Ford light blue and mirror red. That was before I knew of this forum. There's a vendor in here smokes powder. He's suppose to have good powder also. You can't go wrong with Eastwood or smoke

[Outback32]

Although I stand mine up on end I don't just dump them in a tray.

[jcren]

Smoke's powders are excellent. I also stand mine, but as long as you remove the excess powder I don't think you will have a problem.

[glockfan]

eastwood ford light blue. it cover the boolit very even in one coat. adhere very well with the S&B method.

[Walter Laich]

another vote for Smoke's

I've taken to mixing colors mostly to see what it does.

Would say darker colors keep the lead from showing through. The bullet is coated but some folks like them not to show the thin spots = darker ones are much better in doing this

[Boolit_Head]

PM Smoke and don't look back. [smilie=s:

[mdi]

Harbor Freight red worked pretty good for me, but not their black. I checked out the Coatings and Alternative sub forum and purchased some Smoke's powders. Works quite well...

[ghh3rd]

Any smokes color seem to cover better than others?

[fredj338]

I also go with Smoke's powders. I trust when he says they will shake & bake. I can't figure out how you guys that dump in a tray keep them from sticking together??? I use the cartridge box jig method & stand them up, pretty fast.

[ghh3rd]

How do you pick them up without rubbing the powder of them?

[Pawpaw757]

I wear nitrile (sp?) gloves and dump them in a tray made from 1/4" hardware cloth. After baking, I pull out the tray and give it a good shake to break apart any that are stuck. Haven't seen any negative results yet.

[ghh3rd]

Nitrile gloves I’ll like a good idea… I remember trying a very large pair of tweezers that I had once and everywhere I touched the bullets lost some of the powder.

[MyFlatline]

I debated about voicing my thoughts but here goes. If you want fast and easy, buy jacketed bullets. If you want minimal effort, use tumble lube, if you don't mind a little more effort, then powder coating is great. It does not do it by itself. Most folks started with HF red, then graduated to the better powders but keep in mind, even the better powders involve some effort. If you dump a glob of bullets on a pan and bake, you will have a glob of baked PC'd bullets. You get out of what you put in. This is a participation process..

Please do not think I am bashing but see so many posters that think there is no effort involved.

[Grmps]

Any smokes color seem to cover better than others?

signal blue, Carolina blue, traffic red.
Ask smoke, he will tell you what's working best right now.

[Jruby38]

I have shake and dumped thousands of boolets on a parchment paper and bake on a cheep toaster oven. Some way overthink it.

[MyFlatline]

I have shake and dumped thousands of boolets on a parchment paper and bake on a cheep toaster oven. Some way overthink it.

Thank you for the kind words

[murf205]

Another vote for Smokes powder. I've tried H F powder and it is nowhere near as good. I'm a shake and bake coater and I use a pair if needle nose pliers to remove the boolits and set them base first onto non stick aluminum foil and roast them at 400 degrees for about 20 min and take them out and let them cool over time. It IS more time consuming but it is what we do! These are Smokes powder in Carolina Blue. I use a push through sizer after they sit for about a week. Just my routine, YMMV

[ghh3rd]

I want fast and easy for my plinking pistol rounds that i shoot by the hundreds . I labor meticulously over my rifle or handgun rounds that I shoot for accuracy at long distances.

Once, when I ran out of my supply of Lee 310 grain bullets for my 44 Magnum, I ran a small experiment. I took all my culls… those that were ‘ugly’ and destined to be remelted and loaded them. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did.

If you go to YouTube and watch a couple of Elvis Ammo’s videos, he uses the shake and dump method, and his bullets look pretty darn good.… Goodnuf for me.

Thanks

[ghh3rd]

Hey Murph those are some beautiful boolits! Thanks for sharing your process with me. Now that I’ve got more of my family interested in shooting, I’m looking for a quick and easy way to make lots of bullets. I’m sure at times I’ll be taking extra time to stand them up and put them on parchment paper or non stick foil when I want a batch of perfect boolits for me to do my best with at the range.

When I tried powder coating a long time ago, I stood them up but experienced some powder flashing on the bases. Of course, back then I was using harbor freight red and maybe the higher quality powder helps with that. Have you had any issues with that happening?

[Silverboolit]

I switched from HF red, which I believe is epoxy based, to a polyester based gloss black. Man are they purty. Still stand them on end one at a time. The polyester based paint only requires 350 degrees for about 15 minutes to cure. Very happy with the outcome on the pistol boolits. I don't have the patience for rifle boolits. I tried that once and decided that it wasn't for me.

[ghh3rd]

I’m not sure what you mean… what would the extra patients be necessary for regarding rifle boolits?

[Beagle333]

Because it's much harder to move a tray of standing rifle boolits. I have to tumble or spray the rifle boolits and them move them one at a time to a waiting tray that is already in the oven and stand them on it. I can load my pistol trays outside the oven and then move it, but it's a game of dominos if I try to move the tall skinnies.

[Lloyd Smale]

all ive used is smokes powders. Never seen a reason to try something else. Ive used black and brown. both work fine. Brown seems to give a bit more consistent coverage.

[MyFlatline]

Because it's much harder to move a tray of standing rifle boolits. I have to tumble or spray the rifle boolits and them move them one at a time to a waiting tray that is already in the oven and stand them on it. I can load my pistol trays outside the oven and then move it, but it's a game of dominos if I try to move the tall skinnies.

Now I know I have been told I am fooling but here is a simple way to do the rifle bullets, it even protects the gas check base..

https://i.imgur.com/Jj4xqpK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OqxD4yr.jpg

[Beagle333]

I have seen a fella or two before that made a tray like that and it worked great. I'm just a little lazy for that. ;-) But yes, a dedicated boolit holder for each one is definitely a good idea.
There are no wrong ideas about powdercoating. Everybody does it differently. Most get slightly different results. It's up to the person to decide if it's something they can't live with, before it's a wrong idea. Nobody is full of anything here but different ideas. :coffeecom

[popper]

Beagle - just try it on a hot plate. Cheap gloss ceramic tile on H.P. and stand the boolits on the tile. No moving needed.

[ghh3rd]

Thanks for sharing that MyFlatline. It really is a labor of love, and a lot of our creations are like artwork. I find the more time and attention I pay to each boolits details, the slower I shoot them, which is a good thing.

[Beagle333]

I'll have to test that out Popper. Thanks!

[MyFlatline]

Thanks for sharing that MyFlatline. It really is a labor of love, and a lot of our creations are like artwork. I find the more time and attention I pay to each boolits details, the slower I shoot them, which is a good thing.

Not me, I want to shoot em up and make more and try and make them better than the last one's. I enjoy the casting and coating almost as much as the shooting.

[evoevil]

I like Eastwood and Smokes is good also. I use a bunch of PPG. Never tried the cheap stuff

[ghh3rd]

Hey myflatline, do you shoot at Hernando Sportsman Club?

[MyFlatline]

Hey myflatline, do you shoot at Hernando Sportsman Club?

No, we have a private range up in Levy county, can only get to 150 yards tho.

[fastdadio]

Because it's much harder to move a tray of standing rifle boolits. I have to tumble or spray the rifle boolits and them move them one at a time to a waiting tray that is already in the oven and stand them on it. I can load my pistol trays outside the oven and then move it, but it's a game of dominos if I try to move the tall skinnies.

For the rifle boolits, I fold a double layer of non-stick aluminum foil into a tight accordion pattern which makes long shallow troughs. The double layer of foil is to make it more rigid. Then simply lay the coated boolits in the valleys beak to butt and bake. No juggling, no sticking, and they come out fine.

[murf205]

Hey Murph those are some beautiful boolits! Thanks for sharing your process with me. Now that I’ve got more of my family interested in shooting, I’m looking for a quick and easy way to make lots of bullets. I’m sure at times I’ll be taking extra time to stand them up and put them on parchment paper or non stick foil when I want a batch of perfect boolits for me to do my best with at the range.

When I tried powder coating a long time ago, I stood them up but experienced some powder flashing on the bases. Of course, back then I was using harbor freight red and maybe the higher quality powder helps with that. Have you had any issues with that happening?
I have not had any issues on the bases of powder coated boolits, but remember this- boolits are going to get their behinds roasted by hot powder gasses anyway. If you are referring to some excess powder collecting on the very bottom of the base, I would think that the powder is not sufficiently adhered to the boolit if that is happening. I use a plastic butter tub with the number "5" in a triangle(very important) to shake my boolits and add a few tablespoons of 6mm airsoft BB's (WalMart sprtng goods dept) to help with the coating process. You only need about 3 teaspoons of Smokes powder for 40 or so boolits. Non stick aluminum foil is a definite advantage and Smokes powder will make the whole gig easier. Believe that, because I tried the Harbor Freight stuff and there is no comparison!

[murf205]

Because it's much harder to move a tray of standing rifle boolits. I have to tumble or spray the rifle boolits and them move them one at a time to a waiting tray that is already in the oven and stand them on it. I can load my pistol trays outside the oven and then move it, but it's a game of dominos if I try to move the tall skinnies.

Beagle, that give me a whole new perspective for the poor engineers who are responsible for moving a huge missile to the launch pad!!

[Gunslinger1911]

I came back to PC for my 50 Beowulf (possible issues with lube in gas tube).
Tried Smokes clear (not so big on colored boolets - call me old fashioned lol).
Best covering I have ever tried, 10 sec swirl in the bb's, all slugs look like powered sugar donuts, stick well when standing up with needle nose pliers, come out looking like shiny lead slugs. Was pretty humid one day - didn't seem to matter at all.