Powder Coating Boolits

[joemoe]

Hi all! I'm new to bullet casting and powder coating world, wondering if I need to do additional lubing before running the powder coated bullet through the sizing die?

Nope I just size them and shoot them after PC.

[Maximumbob54]

Just got my sample bags of powder in the mail yesterday. I need to pick up the lacquer thinner this afternoon.

Couple of questions though.

Is there a known brand of thinner that works better than another?

I've read to use either a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio but how are we doing this? It seems one person had already melted a Lee dipper. Can I just use a kitchen spoon that won't be used in the kitchen ever again? I would assume that would work if I level off the powder.

And I am assuming it is 3/4 thinner to 1 powder, correct?

[jmort]

Repeat of post 1185. See link for info

Dolomite Supafly wrote over at .300 Blackout forum "Lacquer Thinner not Acetone." He is using Powder By the Pound. He stated that:

"The Harbor Freight powder seems to be a little more finicky than the Powder By The Pound powder. They also sell 2 ounce bags of it for like $3 to try out and 2 ounces goes quite a ways. I bought the 400 degree polyester TGIC powder. There may be better powders out there but I am happy with the results.

Knowing what I know now I would not buy HF powder. It can be made to work but it is less forgiving."
http://www.300blktalk.com/forum/view...?f=141&t=84219

[Skip62]

Hi all! I'm new to bullet casting and powder coating world, wondering if I need to do additional lubing before running the powder coated bullet through the sizing die?

I've done it without, but if the coating got thick on one, it's a real bummer to push through. Now I just spray a very little hornady one shoot in to the bucket of bullets and tumble that around.

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[Skip62]

Just did a couple of batches today (piglet method). First, I used some gray 2 part floor epoxy paint which coated nice, only one coat seems to be enough (adds about .002" to the diameter). Second I used HFPC black which also coated nice and seems to add about the same thickness. I then got the idea of dumping the bullets into some powder talc right after tumbling, just when they become sticky. I tumbled them into the powder talc for about 1 minute and they got a very nice powdery look and feel to them. After that I blew some air on them to remove any excess powder and then cooked them in the oven for 20 min. @ 450F. They did not stick to each other or to the hardware cloth after removing them from the oven...Both batches (floor paint and HFPC with talc powder) sized quite nicely w/o any lube and paint stayed on the bullet. It seems that using the talc powder has some benefits, it remains to be seen how they perform in the barrel. I have the feeling that I'll get lower velocities because they are so slippery...Any thoughs on this?
On the picture below, talc powder coated ones on the left.

Interesting. Does talc have any abrasive qualities?

[Keola5o4]

OK, push the 9mm powder coated bullet through my Lee sizer without lube, some came out alright but some get scratched up. Is there something I'm doing wrong? I'm using the red powder coat from harbor freight. Should I get a different brand?

[sd61]

Interesting. Does talc have any abrasive qualities?

Not really, on the contrary,it is often used as a dry lubricant...
http://www.eurotalc.eu/functionsapplication.html

[jmort]

"Should I get a different brand?"

Yes, Powder By the Pound. Look at post #1203

[Russel Nash]

Interesting. Does talc have any abrasive qualities?

My galled'ed sensitive areas say "MY GOD! I HOPE NOT!"

[fastglock]

My jig to hold the bullets. 9 more to go . i'll be making a tray that will stand 5 or 10 of these when ready for the oven. I'll post later of my plastic 55 gal drum spray booth set-up. These were rejected casts by the way,use for mocking up only. Finger tight only and could hang on it's side if I wanted to. powder gun from HF still in transit. Got some black from PowderByThePound. That's the best I could think of to get the least contact on the bullet during spraying and curing. Foil or masking tape to cover the bolts.

[Russel Nash]

But seriously, I have thrown talcum powder across a tablesaw's top to get wood to slide across easier. I have also sprinkled talcum powder on wood floors to eliminated squeaks when the planks rub together.

I think somebody in another thread said he was using olive oil to lube up the boolits before sizing them.

[Skip62]

Not really, on the contrary,it is often used as a dry lubricant...
http://www.eurotalc.eu/functionsapplication.html

Excellent
Next question, can it harm the powder?

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[Skip62]

My galled'ed sensitive areas say "MY GOD! I HOPE NOT!"

Blahahaha....good one

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[Smoke4320]

OK, push the 9mm powder coated bullet through my Lee sizer without lube, some came out alright but some get scratched up. Is there something I'm doing wrong? I'm using the red powder coat from harbor freight. Should I get a different brand?

3 things come to mind on the coat coming off..
bullets are not clean (handling them with bare hands, getting your oil on them before spraying)

not getting a good cure.. I heat my bullets 10 minutes at 300 degrees spray and cure another 10 at 300 then wait 2 days to size.. YMMV

least likely....mold is not casting Round Bullets

I have done at least 2000 boolits with red and black HF Powder some very heavy coated .. I see more issues with not enough coating verses too much coating
sizing many from 459 down to 452 and almost none get any coating removed.. 314 thru a 311 sizer are nearly like butter

Pc'ing has opened a whole new world to me for boolits..

PS HF Powder is far from the best powder out there but works quite well in the spraying app....Red or Black .. the yellow is not so good for me ...

[sd61]

Excellent
Next question, can it harm the powder?

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I'll find out when I'll have a chance to shoot them (which won't happen for a while), but I don't expect any complications. The amount left of the bullet is next to nothing and additionally I'll gas check them also. Perhaps other people that use the piglet method should give this a try as well, I think you'll really like the end result...
Gas checked and sized, talc powder process on the right...

[Skip62]

I'll find out when I'll have a chance to shoot them (which won't happen for a while), but I don't expect any complications. The amount left of the bullet is next to nothing and additionally I'll gas check them also. Perhaps other people that use the piglet method should give this a try as well, I think you'll really like the end result...
Gas checked and sized, talc powder process on the right...

Look good, next batch I'm going to give it a go.

Did you use acetone or lacquer thinner?

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[sd61]

My jig to hold the bullets. 9 more to go . i'll be making a tray that will stand 5 or 10 of these when ready for the oven. I'll post later of my plastic 55 gal drum spray booth set-up. These were rejected casts by the way,use for mocking up only. Finger tight only and could hang on it's side if I wanted to. powder gun from HF still in transit. Got some black from PowderByThePound. That's the best I could think of to get the least contact on the bullet during spraying and curing. Foil or masking tape to cover the bolts.

That is pretty slick, I bet you'll get some nicely coated pils...I went away from using a PC gun because the process it's too laborious, given all the set up and cleaning required. Plus no matter how you do it, you still waste some powder. The piglet method seems so much easier and efficient, you won't get perfectly coated bullets, but that's OK for me, I chose functionality over cosmetics....

[sd61]

I used both, acetone and lacquer thinner, I don't really see any significant difference...

[popper]

Make sure your push thru is clean. I had some scrape off due to lead in the die. I don't use any lube at all for sizing PC or H-T coated. Talc is not abrasive at all. I don't clean before coating, nothing special at all. I cast, put em in a plastic jug, coat & size later. Load when I need some more.

They did not stick to each other or to the hardware cloth after removing them from the oven

Talc is on top of PC which has hardened. The cooking cross links the polymer, not like the sprayed which has to melt and flow to cover.

[Skip62]

Talc is on top of PC which has hardened. The cooking cross links the polymer, not like the sprayed which has to melt and flow to cover.

Wait, I'm confused now. I thought the talc goes on while tumbling as the bullets start sticking together. Your saying after the bullets are cured in the oven? That's not going to do what I hoped.

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