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Thread: HFPC Boolits..Piglet Method

  1. #1
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    Lightbulb HFPC Boolits..Piglet Method

    I started reading another thread about various methods and coating materials and chose the Harbor Freight Powder Coat and acetone Method.

    I have compared this method of coating against the Hi Tech coating & Copper Plated.









    My test results are nowhere near finished but in this lovely dry climate the Hi Tech dries up and flakes off when tested with a hammer. To be fair these bullets have been in my possession for exactly 2 months.

    My HFPC bullets smashed with a hammer showed far less surface distortion and zero flaking. I will test them again when my HFPC boolits turn 2 months old.







    PLEASE KEEP THIS ABOUT THE PIGLET METHOD
    Last edited by TES; 06-06-2013 at 10:30 PM.
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
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    What is your method of application?
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    I see many posts about this method but no "how to". Would be nice to see a detailed how to with pics.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    Well I have tried a few different methods for coating and am still experimenting.

    Method 1- Get powder coat and mix in a ratio of 1 table spoon of powder to 3 table spoons of acetone.

    A - measure out your acetone and get it into a container I use a mason jar.
    B - Measure out a table spoon of powder and slowly mix it into the acetone. I leave two bullets in the bottom to act as an agitator.
    C - Mix well so that there are no clumps of powder left.
    D - drop about 50 ish boolits in another container and tumble continuously so that the boolits do not start to stick together.
    E - Lay out you boolits on a 1/4" screen and continue to shake to eliminate sticking and hold over a fan to expedite drying.
    F - Place screen / tray into oven at 400 for 15 minutes.
    G - After heating. Pull them out and separate them from the screen and cool again over fan.
    H - repeat steps D through G until you get the desired thickness.

    I am trying an alternate method for better / more smooth results. It will likely require a decent set up and some money to be able to do this method for production. I will test the rounds this weekend in my Glock 19 and give a report.

    I have sized these before coating and again after coating. This worked well.
    I have also sized them only after coating and the coating does not come off.

    Here are my boolits with the alternate method. The alternate method is a one coat one bake set up. Saves a lot of time!


    4 Parts acetone / 1 Part powder coat
    Very thin.
    Result - Did not size well enough for my liking. Scrapped!


    3 Parts acetone / 1 Part powder coat
    Very thick, even and great color
    Result - Sized great and loaded for shooting!

    Smash test is as seen in the photos.
    Last edited by TES; 06-07-2013 at 04:36 PM.
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    Those last blue ones look nice. How many coats?

  6. #6
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    one coat and one bake
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  7. #7
    Boolit Master prickett's Avatar
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    TES, is that really HF powder? I only see black, white, red, and yellow colors on their site.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master
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    PLEASE......describe your "alternate" method. it looks great and sounds MUCH faster than multi-coat process used up till now.

    You mentioned cost. Remember "this hobby of ours that will save us hundreds of dollars...is costing thousands!"

    How true...............

    bangerjim

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Forgot to ask..........does your powder actually DISSOLVE in the acetone or is it mere SUSPENDED for a time? I have had only suspension with HF powders. My finishes are lumpy due to the non-dissolubility of the HF stuff. As I mentioned in the other thread, I have used every solvent known to man and they all DO NOT dissolve the darned HF stuff.

    Could you post some pix showing the start and finish of the coating process...showing the container with the slugs in it?

    What brand is the blue?

    bangerjim

  10. #10
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    HF is coming. If I achieve the same result then I will still call it the HFPC / piglet method if not I will let all know the source of this powder. You really do have to shake this like a can of spray paint to get it to dissolve well......

    I mean like 30 seconds with 2 45's in the bottom. Some times I think I'm about to break the glass. Other wise it is just a clump of **** stuck to the boolits. Shake it like a Polaroid picture. When done it does dissolve.

    On a side note I did let a solution sit over night and it did get very powdery. Meaning the powder got swollen with the acetone. It still coated ok but for production purposes it would not pass.
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  11. #11
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    Even with the "costs" I'm at least thinking about now...it is still cheaper than Hitech and electroplating. If I get a production set up going I will unfortunately not be posting "how I do it". I will how ever post how I solved the problem and let you decide if you want to experiment with it and come up with contrivances and pay the additional costs. Great boolits are not easy to make. I wasted 4 times the color that I did in the tumble and shake method vs this super slick method. RIGHT NOW cost are equal to HiTech method but....so far with better results. I will see if the arid climate here makes the coating brittle like it does the green stuff. I will also be doing abrasion testing to see if this coating sands the barrel. I will not be accountable for anyone losing a barrel due to an abrasive product! So I will do testing and verify results before I say "yes...do it this way".

    Also...l do not want to say that this is better than any other method until I have proof. Right now I have not fired a single shot of HFPC and HiTechs could still out perform this. I have shot Hitech's and it does leave a clean barrel...period! I have no complaints other than the cost and time to table as a manufacturer.

    Remember that pretty is not always a good thing....remember the song "never make a pretty woman your wife"

    More tests to come I will be posting ASAP..
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  12. #12
    Boolit Master prickett's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bangerjim View Post
    Forgot to ask..........does your powder actually DISSOLVE in the acetone or is it mere SUSPENDED for a time? I have had only suspension with HF powders. My finishes are lumpy due to the non-dissolubility of the HF stuff. As I mentioned in the other thread, I have used every solvent known to man and they all DO NOT dissolve the darned HF stuff.
    bangerjim
    I've used HF paint and it must dissolve. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sticky when dumped on the wire rack.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by prickett View Post
    I've used HF paint and it must dissolve. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sticky when dumped on the wire rack.

    It is sticky but so is solvent-based contact cement when you try to clean the brush with lacquer thinner! the cement takes a very special solvent. Otherwise it is a gooey mess that will not work.

    The stuff I end up with sticks to the sides of the tupper ware container but is kind of stringy. Just like on the lead itself.

    Tes - - - - I will try the "shimmy-shimmy-coco-bop" mentioned above and see if it dissolves further!

    Thanks.

    bangerjim

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by TES View Post
    I have compared this method of coating against the Hi Tech coating & Copper Plated.

    My test results are nowhere near finished but in this lovely dry climate the Hi Tech dries up and flakes off when tested with a hammer. To be fair these bullets have been in my possession for exactly 2 months.
    .

    G'day, If the HI-TEK coating is flaking off, the first coat was not cured correctly.
    I'm posting photos of smashed HI_TEK coated bullets on the other thread.

    Australia is one of the most arid countries on the planet, and we have no problems with HI-TEK coated pills being stored for years and still firing perfectly.

    The cost of the HI-TEK coating in the US is not controlled by HI-TEK. It is controlled by the re-seller. If the re-seller is swamped with people wanting the coating, then he can charge whatever he thinks is market value.
    The classic supply and demand.

    The PC/ Piglet looks the goods, but the proof is in the firing.

    There are tens of thousands of coated bullets fired in Australia every weekend by sport shooters. IPSC shooters with compensated open guns running Major power factor and driving these bullets at over 1500FPS out of the 4 and 5 port guns. even the ports and popple holes in the barrel do not removed the HI-TEK coating. My 38 Super racegun can be fired as fast as I can pull the trigger mag after mag and there is no leading in the ports of the compensator.
    A top product, loved by shooters all over Australia.
    The Topscore projectiles commercially coated with HI-TEK coating have been fired by Australian Police in full auto MP5, MP40, 9mm AR-15 and the coating has stood up to this with no issues what so ever.
    Hooroo.
    Regards, Trevor.
    Australia

  15. #15
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    Im not going to turn this into a Hitech thread. Sorry keep this about HFPC Method.
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    PLEASE KEEP THIS ABOUT THE PIGLET METHOD
    Agree 100%. Methods, results.
    Whatever!

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    I tried the piglet method twice for grins. I am getting good results except for my screens are leaving bumps and divots on the coating. Mixing a 3 acetone to 1 powder ratio. I don't take time to stand them up. What am I doing wrong ?

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    Yup, I got some little spots on my boolits too with this method. Coated some lee 311-230's for the blackout. I used the flat black. Interesting enough the coating is gloss when you put it on this way, and goes flat after cooking. I did some with the standard PC method to compare. Seems to be less waste, but the finish is a little rough. I had to handle the boolits more with this method as well. If I were to get one coat boolits that look nice and shoot well I would stick with it.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master TES's Avatar
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    In order to keep the screen marks off you have to keep shaking them while on the screen. I hold mine over a fan to speed up the pre oven cure. However this method still produces a speckled rough finish. With this method the HiTech coating is smoother but the HFPC shoots just as well and was easy to clean with only a couple of passes of a cleaner and swatch. I shot these today and they did very well at 900 - 1000 fps. (nice light plinking load)

    The alternate method with the smooth coat shot well too and was very easy to clean.

    Great day at the range!


    Soft lead 8 BHN - backs look great!


    Same from the front - nice expansion (shot into a homer bucket stuffed with dry phone books)

    I cant wait for the HF to get here and see if it does equally as well.
    Last edited by TES; 06-08-2013 at 06:00 PM.
    They call it "common sense". Why is it so uncommon?

  20. #20
    Boolit Master prickett's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bangerjim View Post
    It is sticky but so is solvent-based contact cement when you try to clean the brush with lacquer thinner! the cement takes a very special solvent. Otherwise it is a gooey mess that will not work.

    The stuff I end up with sticks to the sides of the tupper ware container but is kind of stringy. Just like on the lead itself.

    Tes - - - - I will try the "shimmy-shimmy-coco-bop" mentioned above and see if it dissolves further!

    Thanks.

    bangerjim
    Just saw this in another thread: "I used HF PC too in acetone. The pigment didn't go into solution, but he polymer did"

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