Silicone baking sheets -Why O why did I wait so long

Long handled forceps is my huckleberry. I have one straight jaw and one with curved jaws. The curved jaws are the ones I use for handling the bullets and I've found lots of uses for the straight jaw pair.

I'll have to look at copper mats.

She gave me a well used Yoshi copper bake and grill sheet. She gets her foil and parchment paper rolls back now. Lays flat, cut to size with scissors, lasts a lifetime. Nothing sticks to it.

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Originally Posted by popper

She gave me a well used Yoshi copper bake and grill sheet. She gets her foil and parchment paper rolls back now. Lays flat, cut to size with scissors, lasts a lifetime. Nothing sticks to it.

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Yup, Grill mats are it! Mine is copper color but they call it teflon. Will never need anything else. Like I said $1.15 per sheet on eBay from our friends in China.

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Originally Posted by Dragonheart

Looked at the video and as I keep saying, people that are using the dump method to work are under-curing the polymer. His 180C is not equal to 400F degrees and as far as I can see that temperature was not verified then there is the timing, most powders manufactures are now saying 12 minutes once the substraight, not air temperature, reaches 400F.

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Many manufacturers also make 400 degree powders that can be run in 350 degree cure cycles. This is mostly for high density substrates. I use a couple of these powders, they do cure all the way thru with a 12 min soak at 350 degrees.

I use them for non gas checked bullets. If I stand up GC boolits on silicone mats the PC flows outwards on the bases. Even with a thin coat it's a struggle to get GCs on. I use a mesh tray set on a baking pan lined with tin foil for my GC boolits so PS flows under the base instead of around the base. The GCs go on alot easier this way

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Originally Posted by Tripplebeards

I use them for non gas checked bullets. If I stand up GC boolits on silicone mats the PC flows outwards on the bases. Even with a thin coat it's a struggle to get GCs on. I use a mesh tray set on a baking pan lined with tin foil for my GC boolits so PS flows under the base instead of around the base. The GCs go on alot easier this way

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I can understand that. Mine have crispy thick bottoms where the PC runs a little. I don't do gas checks and I swage the entire finished bullet so it doesn't matter but I am curious. What kind of mesh? like screen or expanded metal?

It's a $5 mesh pan I bought from Walmart. My 44 and 45 cal dont fall over on it when moving it into the oven. A few of the 35s fell over today and never left road rash from laying down. I use silicone mats for my 255 grain 45 colts

These are lee 240 grain .430 HP’s on my mesh tray....


https://i.imgur.com/56VVY4M.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Dm75NLp.jpg

The only bad part is the excess PC sticks to the mesh and comes off eventually on other boolits being PC’d. The GCs go over it anyways.

Same here...got a 4-pack for like $12

GC first

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Originally Posted by Dragonheart

Parchment paper works well, but it has to be replaced regularly, meaning ongoing expense, time lost traveling time to and from the store, putting miles on your vehicle, fighting through the crowds of parchment paper hoarders, standing in line risking viral infection, when you could have stayed safely in isolation in your garage casting, coating and cooking bullets on your silicone mats.

Parchment doesn't lay flat and stay in place like a silicon mat will. Bullets slide more on parchment and foil than they do on silicone, a dilemma for an old man with shaky hands loading trays into the oven.

Try the mats, you will be happy you did.

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Boy... I'm so happy I got the mats... Just thinking about the parchment paper hoarders ticks me off :-)

Just got my Yoshi copper sheets in - I'm looking forward to trying these out and comparing to the non-stick aluminum foil and the silicone sheets I have been using.

I definitely prefer the silicone sheets. They lay nice and flat, and the powder adheres to the bottom of the bullets better than with parchment. Parchment paper also browns eventually and becomes crumbly.

I use these: Silicone sheets (Amazon link)

Quarter sheets fit my quarter sheet baking pans perfectly. Unfortunately I will now need some more baking pans for my smoker. :-P

Only bad part about the sheets is residual PC that has melted from previous bakes always releases on my current boolit bases. Here are some I just baked with smokes purple mixed with black. You can see blue, yellow, and orange stuck to the bases from previous bakes. Doesn’t hurt anything but it’s annoying.

https://i.imgur.com/9kNVyh8.jpg

I see this transfer of colors more of a problem when using the mini ice cube trays.

Nice lookin color TB!! ♥️

CW

I gotta start doing this. SOOOO much research

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Originally Posted by JimA

Yup, they are underbaking the polymer. It still works fine for our purposes These coatings only have to survive one trip down the barrel. The boolits still pass the hammer test and the coating in intact at the target.

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Just because a PC'd boolit passes a hammer test doesn't mean it's cured enough so that it won't react/get melted by some smokeless powders

I tested some purposely under cured boolits 15 minutes in a preheated convection oven
Bullseye powder
https://i.imgur.com/TKxI30a.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dfIMzno.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/074KfeA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HQRAL7j.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0mTdr7O.jpg

this powder will not burn properly.

It's your choice!!!

You spend all this time reloading what's a few more minutes baking the PC'd boolits to prevent this possibility?

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Originally Posted by Conditor22

Just because a PC'd boolit passes a hammer test doesn't mean it's cured enough so that it won't react/get melted by some smokeless powders

I tested some purposely under cured boolits 15 minutes in a preheated convection oven
Bullseye powder
https://i.imgur.com/TKxI30a.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dfIMzno.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/074KfeA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HQRAL7j.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/0mTdr7O.jpg

this powder will not burn properly.

It's your choice!!!

You spend all this time reloading what's a few more minutes baking the PC'd boolits to prevent this possibility?

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I don't use Bullseye powder so I cannot comment on that. I have recovered bullets with the powders that I use and have never found a boogered up base from powder attacking the coating. You are correct that the bake time increase is minimal so I would certainly recommend anyone using Bullseye powder to bake to the recommended time.

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Originally Posted by Tripplebeards

Only bad part about the sheets is residual PC that has melted from previous bakes always releases on my current boolit bases. Here are some I just baked with smokes purple mixed with black. You can see blue, yellow, and orange stuck to the bases from previous bakes. Doesn’t hurt anything but it’s annoying.

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If the spots/powder build up on the silicon mats are a problem, then why don't you just clean them. It only take a couple of minutes. I guess I should make a post?

Attachment 270057

Bullseye is simply the powder tested. Dont for a minute think its the only one.

Its been said that Improper process yield piss poor results...

CW

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Originally Posted by Dragonheart

If the spots/powder build up on the silicon mats are a problem, then why don't you just clean them. It only take a couple of minutes. I guess I should make a post?

Attachment 270057

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Please do.

Baked my boolits at 23 minutes at 425 degrees. Extra three minutes in the oven till PC started to melt and 425 vs 400 because my oven temp so off. If I use wire racks instead of silicone mats I bake at 455.