HFPC Boolits..Piglet Method

[bigfelipe]

Is there any real world accuracy or velocity data out there anywhere on PC bullets? I've been playing with the piglet method for my 300BLK subs/supers. The big 230s pattern about half again as wide as plain lead. My little 115gr LRN super loads are wild and minute of pie plate at 30yds when PC'd.

Haven't done handgun bullets yet. I'm only casting 125gr 9mm boolits and I don't size them or even have a sizing die for them. Working through a couple thousand factory made lead that have been lubed. What kind of groups are you guys getting? I'm interested in this for competition use in my GLOCKs.

[passgas55]

I played around a little bit with just using acetone dump on the bullets and sprinkling
the powder with a salt shaker. I used the salt shaker you use for camping. Then I
store them in a 8 oz glass canning jar. You can fit 2 shakers in there which will store
the 4 HF colors. I need some of those moisture removing packs in with them.
Red still giving me fits in the mixing. What I like about this is that I can control
the colors shades/ combinations easier than mixing the acetone/powder together and then storing the mixture.

[passgas55]

Here is a pic of the brown bullets using HF powders and Piglets modified method by salt shaker.
I started out with red but the red did not want to evenly coat no matter how much acetone I used. Then I sprinkled in
a little white to get things mix but I did not want pink again. So heck spinkle in some black with a sprinkle touch of yellow .
Never been done before-brown HF bullets. This is just one coat. All that is needed. Ended up with a good amount of even coating on it.
Only place that was not coated is where the bullet rested on the hardware cloth while baking. Wanted to add these are my chocolate bullets. I know some of you may think other wise.

[Skip62]

Ok, got the silicone hi-temp PC in, my little oven must not get hot enough to cure it. Acetone wipe takes it right off. bummer. I tried cooking longer, preheating. Anyone else have a problem with it?

[docmagnum357]

This is a simple question.
Do any of the people using this process have a Star?

If yes, second question.
Why are you doing this?

I am a big believer is KISS. Cost is less of a concern than productivity or improved performance. Thanks for any insight you can share. I am trying to understand.

Don Verna

Several reasons. 1) on the scale you need for competitive shooting you will have a lot of trouble with dirty guns. I don't mind cleaning guns, but if I can avoid a prolonged, down and dirty cleaning every time because of the crud from the lube in the action I am all for it. 2) cheaper alloy seems to be usable. 3) I can literally handle bullets with wheel barrow and a cement mixer 4) If you are a tinkerer or a hunter, this isn't for you. You are right, a Star is the way to go.5) I just like being independent of the big boys. If I can buy something off the shelf at HF, It doesn't have to be as good, as long as it will work.6) keeps bullet feeders, dies clean.

[docmagnum357]

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.

I noticed the same thing. I no longer use mixture if I don't use it right away. It seems to go on thicker, rougher, and just doesn't work as well.

[jcobb651]

I played around a little bit with just using acetone dump on the bullets and sprinkling
the powder with a salt shaker. I used the salt shaker you use for camping. Then I
store them in a 8 oz glass canning jar. You can fit 2 shakers in there which will store
the 4 HF colors. I need some of those moisture removing packs in with them.
Red still giving me fits in the mixing. What I like about this is that I can control
the colors shades/ combinations easier than mixing the acetone/powder together and then storing the mixture.

passgass55: Would you give a few more details on what your process is? So far this seems like it may be the easiest / fastest method with the best outcome. Thanks

[passgas55]

JCOBB651

Basically I take 50 pistol bullets dumped into a plastic cointainer. Then I use 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of acetone and add to the bullets.
How much acetone you use is up to you. The more acetone I find the easier it is to work the powder in but it will take a little longer.
Then I just sprinkle a good coat on top of the bullets/acetone and start mixing it around. You control how much powder to use.
I find that if you are not stingy with the powder you can coat in one mix/bake. If it looks too thin on coverage right before it starts to stick add a little more acetone and sprinkle more powder. Remember the acetone will evaperate and the amount of powder is what coats your bullets. I all so find taking it out before it starts to stick a lot gives a smoother finish. The less bullet movement after it starts to stick the smoother the finish. If you have a lot of residue in your plastic mixing container it can be used next time and will mix when you add the acetone again and less powder can be used. That is one reason why I use a mixing container for each color. Red does not work this way but for making a pink bullet start off making white bullets and while it is still wet sprinkle the red in. It will mix then. When baking I do not let the bullets touch. I do not wait for the acetone to dry before baking. I set the oven to 150 for a couple of mintues or so then 400f for 15 mintues. I may have to rethink the warm up/ dry period in the oven. May be a fire hazard.

I am still doing it by trial and error but it seems to be working for me.

[jcobb651]

Thanks! I couldn't decide if you had laid the pills on a mesh and thrown acetone over them or if you were swirling in a container.

[passgas55]

I did a grey, a olive green and a pastel yellow.
I came to the conclusion I need white to help coat the boolits. I tried black and it did not want to stick
to the boolits so I added white and now I have a grey. The olive green started out as a black and red mixture
but I was having coating problems so out came the white again but I added a little yellow and this made a olive green.
Then I started out white and added yellow which gave me the pastel yellow. I had to shake/bake a second time on the yellow.
It could have been ok but I wanted a little more coverage on the yellow. I need to start shooting instead of baking.

[passgas55]

I need to do the M&M colors.

[Russel Nash]

This is a simple question.
Do any of the people using this process have a Star?

If yes, second question.
Why are you doing this?

I am a big believer is KISS. Cost is less of a concern than productivity or improved performance. Thanks for any insight you can share. I am trying to understand.

Don Verna

I have a Star. I could never get the thing timed just right. I have the heater base and the pneumatic plunger ram thingey. I was using Red Rooster (or Rooster Red) commercially made lube. I had my Star mounted to the edge of my bench with an extra Dillon akrobin underneath it to catch the boolits. I could leave everything turned on and walk away for 5 minutes. I'd get back to the bench and the akrobin would be filled with red-ish pink-ish "spaghetti".



Maybe you other Star owners could chime in.

Also...since you asked...a few years back I was kinda on the trail with the Sandstrom 27A liquid. A couple of years before that, a buddy of mine was in talks with the owner of MasterBlaster bullets to buy his automated casting and sizing equipment. My buddy and this guy agreed on a price. Then the guy goes "Oh, by the way that will be an extra five thousand dollars to get the secret chemical and proprietary coating process my chemist wife invented.". My friend was like "What the _ _ _ _, no, the deal is off!". So master blasters dude sold the equipment to Tom Drazy who called it "Black Bullets International". Then within the past year or two he sold it to Chandler LaFrain of Team Rudy Project.

This whole time over the course of five years or so I have always thought the whole super secret proprietary chemical and coating process was BS.

So to prove somebody wrong is why I want to do it.

[Russel Nash]

Also, in the spirit of one-upsmanship, as far as I know none of the poly/moly coated boolit manufacturers (black bullets international, bear creek, and precision) make a rifle boolit. I've got an AR in 7.62X39 that is begging for a 123 grain-ish powder coated boolit in .30 cal, if it's cheap, and accurate, and I can post my results to another forum, people are gonna do this:

[jcobb651]

As far as the hardware cloth goes, what is the better: larger diameter openings or smaller diameter openings? Obviously the openings need to be smaller than the diameter of the boolit, but large enough to allow drainage of the powder coat, but does one have any advantage over the other?

[Capt Mike]

I was thinking the same thing. Anyone used regular screen wire? I know it will clog up, but what the heck if it will render a smoother boolet.

[Capt Mike]

I have read this entire thread and many other threads on this and other forums pertaining to powder coating. I would like something clarified for me. As I see it there are three basic methods at this time for powder coating projectiles.

1. The "Piglet" method where one uses a powder mixed with acetone or lacquer thinner. The projectiles are dumped into a container and agitated in the powder/liquid mixture until coated and then placed on a screen tray to dry and heat. There are a couple of variations of this, but all use thinner of some sort with powder sprinkled or added, then heated.

2. Next is the Hi-Tech method where you purchase a kit containing a premixed liquid pigment and a catalyst. Once mixed, this method is the same as the "Piglet" method.

3. Last is the regular powder coating method where one used a powder coat gun and induces the powder to adhere to the projectile by use of electricity. One again, the projectile must be heated.

Now am I missing something or does this pretty much cover it? I know there are those that use liquid paints of all sorts and other chemicals and coatings, but to keep this simple does this sum it up for us here in the US trying to powder coat boolets?

[Capt Mike]

OK, obviously I have nothing to do today but work on this boolet project.....actually I do, but I can't get it off my mind. Question, If this powder coating is cured to 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or so, is it still soluble in lacquer thinner? I just checked my last batch and if I put thinner on a paper towel and rub the coating the red comes off.

[Jailer]

Should work great. There is a guy on another forum that posted he actually had better results using lacquer thinner than he did with acetone.

[Skip62]

OK, obviously I have nothing to do today but work on this boolet project.....actually I do, but I can't get it off my mind. Question, If this powder coating is cured to 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or so, is it still soluble in lacquer thinner? I just checked my last batch and if I put thinner on a paper towel and rub the coating the red comes off.

Well, your not supposed to be able to, but yesterday I tried coating some, and it would wipe off after curing. That had never happened before, so I'm really puzzled by it. I thought maybe I was loosing my mind, so I dug out some that I had done a couple weeks ago, and they are fine. I have no idea why.

[Skip62]

Should work great. There is a guy on another forum that posted he actually had better results using lacquer thinner than he did with acetone.

could be he just got high on the lacquer thinner and thought it was better....