Powder Coating Boolits

[leadman]

Well, I got out the powder coating gun and tried my hand at it. For the first trial batch I use a corrugated tray that had holes in it from the toaster oven. I enlarged the holes slightly so I could put the nose of the 311041 and the Saeco 41mag TC boolit. I covered the tray with aluminum foil and coated the boolits. I had cleaned the boolits before coating but it was obvious it was not enough. These were boolits that had been weighed and sorted so had been handled with bare hands. The excess powder coat ran down the boolits and stuck to the foil. Not a good situation!
For the second attempt I cleaned the boolits with purple soap and a toothbrush after sizing and seating gas checks on some of them. The PC stuck better when sprayed on. I also used an oven type rack from the toaster oven with 1/4" poultry wire secured to it. I opened some holes with a tapered punch for the noses of the 311041. These came out much better and I hope to load these tomorrow and shoot them.
With th 1/4" poultry wire the excess powder coat does not build up around the boolits and is easier to reclaim the excess.
I found a company that has a liquid that the powder can be mixed with and sprayed or brushed like convential paint. I left a message and hope to get a return call tomorrow. If the mix stays liquid in a container for an extended period it might be possible to dip the boolits on a hanger like the one in a previous post here. Sure would save alot of prep work.

[rollmyown]

Anyone interested in doing a youtube video on this process?

Great thread BTW!

[Ken73]

I found a company that has a liquid that the powder can be mixed with and sprayed or brushed like convential paint. I left a message and hope to get a return call tomorrow. If the mix stays liquid in a container for an extended period it might be possible to dip the boolits on a hanger like the one in a previous post here. Sure would save alot of prep work.

This method was attempted already with poor results from what I remember. Might want to read through this thread (and the other) about it. Really defeats the purpose of powder coating as the powder, once heated, melts into a single contiguous coating. If you don't bake it afterwards, then it never melts into that singular entity.

Also, use acetone to clean the boolits. Dunk them in a small cup of it, swirl them around and pick out (preferably with gloved hands!)

[Azshooter2013]

hi all im new, but iv fidhed around for a while, I have been looking to start casting and just finally got my molds, but i usuall buy my cast boolits from a locak guy here in phoenix for real cheap, he told me about powder coating and its a very interesting consept. I read this hole thread and did some research myself and now im ready to load up some powder coated boolits. i powder coated about 100 makarov boolits yesterday and loaded them up today. i hope to go shoot them tomorrow and recover them to see what they look like. i will post pics as soon as i get some.

[rcav8r]

Clean with acetone, for sure. And make sure you have a good ground to the bullets. Cleanness and ground are the keys to powder coat sticking well.

You can also pre-heat your bullets. This is a good way to powdercoat something that isn't conductive (and can withstand the PC temps) and put on 2nd coats also. I don't know if "old" bullets that are no longer shiny clean are less conductive, but maybe that could be something?

Air compressors: considering that most PC is applied at anywhere from 5-10PSI in most cases, just about any air compressor should work, including maybe even a airbrush compressor, although I have not tried one of those. Heck, you might be able to take a page from the airbrushers and use an inflated tire as a air source. Treat it like a air compressor-filter and moisture trap.

[leadman]

I did use acetone to clean the boolits but still had spots that did not adhere correctly. I ended up using the purple soap from Walmart and a toothbrush. These boolits had been handled with bare hands several times before I used them for the pc testing. May not have this problem with boolits that are not handled with bare hands.
I spoke with a representative from the powder coat company about the liquid to powder coating. He said it would work fine for our application when using a larger nozzle in an airbrush. He said the liquid/powder mix probably would not last longer than a week after mixing so it is best to mix only what you are going to use immediately. At $20 a pint it is reasonably priced.
The advantage is one does not need a powder coat gun and have to deal with reclaiming the loose powder from using a pc gun. The boolits would still have to be baked as normal. He said non metallic items that can take the heat can be pc'd this way.

[machanic]

Went by HarborFreight today, feeling the itch for powder coated boolits and the PC gun is on sale $50.99 with two jars of powder the total has $60.97+ tax. Looks like I'll be coating boolits this weekend!

[xyankeeworkshop]

Leadman,

It sounds like your jig is somewhat like the hardware cloth setup I made.

I had previously said that I was worried that coat after coat of powder buildup on the jig was going to eventually be a problem for conductivity in grounding the PC gun. Well, I happened to call a metal vendor of mine who also does PC. He told me that, yes, it's a problem after awhile. But on smaller parts he's taken to skipping the grounding clamp completely and just preheating (extra hot) and hitting the parts quickly with powder before they cool.

I think my next go at this will involve preheating to 400 degrees, getting the boolit-filled jig onto a lazy susan setup asap, and spraying without grounding.

[Bad Water Bill]

For several years I have used powder coating for coloring many small objects. Warm the item slightly and stick it in the powder. Never had to worry about fingerprints, even when using glow color on a well used key. Powder stuck to the item then raised the heat to get a very hard finish.

I do not why It didn't ring a dell before.

[retread]

I have been powder coating as cast bullets for the last month. I have yet to clean them with anything. Some are freshly cast, some have been in a plastic jug for over a year. I handle them with bare hands (though clean). I have yet to have one boolit that the coating did not completely adhere to it. I would be more suspicious of a improper ground.

[savingprivateyang]

retread: That's what I thought at first. Then I did an experiment. I took one that I didn't clean and powder coated it. I then took one that I tumbled in fine sand to roughen the surface and dipped in acetone, and powder coated it. When I smashed both of them to roughly 1/8" thickness, the one that was not clean had powder coat flakes. The one that was extensivly prepaired had almost no flaking. It looked more like the powder coat tore as the lead flexed. That, to me, indicates a better bond with the surface of the boolit.

[rcav8r]

You will probably have to WIPE the bullet with acetone with a cloth. Dipping is not enough. Kinda like trying to wash dirt off by jumping in the river and getting out w/o scrubbing at the dirt. You'll get some off, but not all of it! Roughing the surface is also not necessary.

plastic/viny/nitride gloves are a must when cleaning and handling items to be powdercoated if you want to avoid contamination with skin oils.

[retread]

savingprivateyang: Thanks for the comeback. I'll give some of mine that same torture test. Won't be the first time (or the thousanth) that I been wrong. Always glad to get feedback and learn a little more. Retread

[jabilli]

AZshooter- So you've been poking around the forums a while, then decided to take the plunge and start casting and also actively post in the forum- Awesome! Glad to hear it, I've had a lot of fun casting, and it's generally something any of my shooting buddies are always like "Wow cool, I wish I did that!" Have you been reloading a while? I got into both about the same time- With lots of help from this forum. Me myself, I probably shoot a good, oh, maybe 1 out of 4 bullets I cast/load because I treat shooting kind of a like a social activity- I'll take friends out and have a good time, or, gift out some of what I make (only do this knowing that something could go wrong...I load very conservatively) Something I like to do myself: I wonder if other people in the forum do this as well: When shooting, I insist on being the first to shoot a new batch. Not for the "Well I made them I should have dibs." purpose, but rather the reason of if something goes wrong and it blows up on someone, I'd rather have it happen to me than someone else...Not that I'm unsafe in my ammo making practices...It's just...well. Things happen. Know what I mean?

If you're getting into reloading right now as well, I'm happy to, and I'm sure others are as well, point ya in there direction of sources of good (meaning safe and reliable info from reputable sources) load data and the like...If you'd like.

Again, Welcome!

[RoyEllis]

Mechanic,

My method for holding a tray of boolits for 100% coating is kind of like your picture - basically welded wire mesh snipped and bent to create prongs that grab the boolit nose and hold them base up. The problem has become, over several batches, the wire getting coated to the point it no longer conducts electricity to the boolits. As much of a pain as it was to fabricate the jig, I'm not sure I want to have to keep making them all the time just to get 100% powder coverage.

FYI, acetone soak will remove even cured powder coating within a couple hours. Might be of some help for your jig making/preservation ideas.

[Azshooter2013]

jabilli, hi, iv been reloading for a few years now, but untill reciently have not heard of powder coating lead bullets. i did how ever just start casting my own boolits. Iv tried to stay clear of lead bullits and just use copper plated/jacketed where i could, I dont like getting the lube on my hands(yea its kinda crazy i know), but now i just load what ever i can. i try to go shoot every weekend but i dont allways get to. casting my own bullets is a great money saver for me and i dont have to go trapsing all over looking for bullits. Im hoping to get to shoot the 50 powder coated boolits that i have this weekend. here they are all ready to go.cant wait to try them out. if they dont lead up my barrel, ill be doing alot more.

[retread]

savingprivateyang: Tried your torture test on my boolits. Flattened them down to 1/8" and the coating showed no compromise. I think that general
cleanliness when coating freshly cast boolits seems to work for me. Not doubting others have had troubles but so far my method seems to be working without the additional headaches. With continue to test and post the results.
RETREAD

[rcav8r]

PC is actually pretty flexible stuff. Next time you have the PC gun out, try it on a piece of aluminum foil, as flat and as wrinkle free as you can keep it. After you coat it and cure it, try bending it, mushing it up, and so on. The PC will stay in pretty good condition.

[jabilli]

AZ-
Hey those are looking pretty good! Please let us know how it goes.

Retread-
Haha those kinda remind me of Wiley Coyote all pancaked/squished like that. :-p and , wow, what an odd material :-p Still curious as to how fast one can push a Pb boolit with PC Applied for a job I'm hoping might be a good prospect today, if so, I'll finally have some money to spend on tinkering. :-p

[prickett]

savingprivateyang: Tried your torture test on my boolits. Flattened them down to 1/8" and the coating showed no compromise. I think that general
cleanliness when coating freshly cast boolits seems to work for me. Not doubting others have had troubles but so far my method seems to be working without the additional headaches. With continue to test and post the results.
RETREAD

I guess my thought would be this - I don't really think pounding it flat is real world test (other than for the cool factor ), I'm more interested in whether it stays on for its trip down the barrel. That is a much less demanding deliverable.