simple Hi-Tek coating

[kryogen]

I cut off the bottom of the powder die to where it just will hold the powder funnel, and ran it down to where it will bell the 9mm case and operate the powder measure.
I had to cut some of the threads off the bottom powder die as it contacts the shell plate and almost had to put the lock nut on the bottom of the tool head.

This just barely worked and might not work on a different 550B. I have no idea if this would work on a xl650.

The better solution would be to have a after market powder funnel custom made, I think some on this forum are doing that.

Yeah, I need something that works reliably.... seriously.

[ioon44]

Yeah, I need something that works reliably.... seriously.

Seriously, this does work reliably, I have using this set up for almost a year and have loaded thousands of rounds with excellent results.

You just have to be creative, its like they say necessity is the mother of invention.

[Ausglock]

Seems to be a lot of trouble just to reload 9mm ammo.
I have loaded tens of thousands of 9mm with coated bullets on Lee and dillon presses.
They all worked without all the modifications you are talking about.

[kryogen]

jeez. im fail.

[zomby woof]

do you size the boolits and what press or die do you use to expand the case?

I size to .358. I load on a LEE Loadmaster and use the powder through expanding die.

[Brenden]

Candy Apple red and Kryptonite green on Hardline 45ACP 230gn RN Bevel base.

I mixed up the candy apple red a couple days ago, applied to day following instructions and the result was much "browner" than your picture. Any idea what might have gone wrong?

[Ausglock]

Powder or liquid?

Make sire you shake IMMEDIATELY before coating the bullets to keep the particles in suspension.
What is your temp and bake time?

[Ausglock]

Temp needs to be verified with a thermometer. don't trust the temp dial on the oven.

[PAT303]

I mixed up the candy apple red a couple days ago, applied to day following instructions and the result was much "browner" than your picture. Any idea what might have gone wrong?

My Texas Tea boolits should be black with gold specks,every boolit comes out the colour of coffee,but they work. Pat

[HI-TEK]

My Texas Tea boolits should be black with gold specks,every boolit comes out the colour of coffee,but they work. Pat

Can you post a picture, of your mixture, and finished projectile.
This will help a lot.

[Brenden]

Powder or liquid?

Make sire you shake IMMEDIATELY before coating the bullets to keep the particles in suspension.
What is your temp and bake time?

It's the powder, I think my bake time was too long. I baked a full ten minutes after oven recovered to 400 degrees, next time I'll try 8 minutes. I remember looking through the oven glass at around 8 minute mark and thinking that's the color I wanted, but I talked myself into leaving them the full 10 for each coat. They passed the smash and acetone test so I should be good to go. Thanks all that responded.

[kryogen]

Here are a few pics of my coated boolits. Size is largest point if out of round. Mitutoyo micrometer readings, rounded to +- .0002 so it's close enough IMO for this post. Meaningless to be .00005 precise
1st one wasnt sized, so 359-360
2nd one was 358
3rd one was 357
The other is smash test. 2 coats brown copper.

All 3 bullets were driven with a wooden dowel through my glock 17 barrel. I measured it again and it's .356 at largest point and not 357 like I though. So I would use a 357 boolit not a 358 one.




The 360 peeled quite a bit when going through the barrel. The 358 peeled some, and the 357 peeled minimally, but still, it did not retain perfect coating. I have taken a pic with the worst spot, and then the other side to compare. The 359 when sizing to 357 stays perfect, and peels just a tad when hammered through the 356 barrel.

So what do you guys think?

Also, I have set up a modified 38 special lee expander die to work with 9mm cases. I dumped a bolt in it to act as a spacer, so there is just some play but it works with 9mm cases. (of course I use it just as an expander, not a powder through die). That way, when I seat a 357 boolit, pull it out and measure, it's still 357, so no more sizing down to 355 like it used to do with the 9mm tiny expander. I just use the 9mm powder through to dump powder now. (I resize and prime 9mm on a single stage anyway, so I feed the loadmaster with primed and sized brass). Cant get the priming system to work so I just gave up.

So the question is, am I good to shoot those 357 without leading?

[Ausglock]

OK... you people that are starting the bake time from when the oven returns to 400Deg... WHY?????????
This is over baking!!!
Remember... the coating only needs something like 1 minute at 400deg to cure.
Yes One (1) minute!!!
So. preheat the oven.
when it reaches 400deg, Insert the tray of bullets and close door.
START TIMING FROM NOW !!!!!!

This is how it's done..
If you want dark bullets, keep doing it your way.
I like my candy apple red and Kryptonite green looking good.

kryogen Shoot the .357
I really need to get to the range and collect some fired commercial coated bullets for you lot to see.
Some look like they could be reloaded and fired again.
Some look like bare lead with all coating gone.
Some have no coating where the lands of the rifling has been.
But they all worked.
The amount of leading is relative.
Some guns lead no matter what you do.
Others don't. Some do a bit.

Bullet fit and barrel throating will solve 90% of leading issues.
HITEK solves the rest.

[kryogen]

great, will try those 357 this week and report.

[Brenden]

OK... you people that are starting the bake time from when the oven returns to 400Deg... WHY?????????
This is over baking!!!
Remember... the coating only needs something like 1 minute at 400deg to cure.
Yes One (1) minute!!!
So. preheat the oven.
when it reaches 400deg, Insert the tray of bullets and close door.
START TIMING FROM NOW !!!!!!

This is how it's done..
If you want dark bullets, keep doing it your way.
I like my candy apple red and Kryptonite green looking good.

I think it has alot to do with the fact that this thread is over 250 pages long. The powdered product is new in the states, so when it came out here is when I really became interested (shipping and product costs were prohibitive before) so at that point I had to start I've had to start backtracking to find my info. It took a while for me to realize that you were associated with the product, by then I had read so much that it was difficult to sort who said what.
It would go along way if clear concise instructions could be edited into an early post in this thread.

[kryogen]

OK... you people that are starting the bake time from when the oven returns to 400Deg... WHY?????????
This is over baking!!!
Remember... the coating only needs something like 1 minute at 400deg to cure.
Yes One (1) minute!!!
So. preheat the oven.
when it reaches 400deg, Insert the tray of bullets and close door.
START TIMING FROM NOW !!!!!!

This is how it's done..

If I cook mine 10 minutes after it's gotten back to 200, it fails wipe test quite miserably. (brown copper).
At 12 minutes after it's back to 200, it passes wipe test.
No clue why, but it's this way. PID controlled to +- 1 degree.

[Ausglock]

I really feel a lot of the failures are based on the fact that where you are is far colder than where I am.

Winter here is lucky to get to 0 Deg C. Even that is only for a few hours a few days per Winter.
Summer is normally into the High 30 to mid 40 Deg C with humidity into the 90% mark.

So, this is very good for coating bullets.

Your cold climate may be the fly in the ointment for coating.

Brenden. Page 19 has instructions for the coating.
When I get time, I will rehash and update it.
There is a HITEK do's and don't thread that is far easier to follow and there are tips and tricks on there to help you.

[kryogen]

we get -40 sometimes here during the winter. Quite cold.
Most of the winter is -20 day and -30 nights though.
now it has started to warm up and we are getting -16 this night, and oooooo, above ZERO tuesday, if we are lucky :P, then back to -7. eh eh.

I coat in a garage, heated to 23, with very low humidity though. And coat warmed bullets. So acetone evaporates really quick. Next time I'll shake less than 10 seconds I think.

[Budzilla 19]

Just used the new (to me) gold powder and acetone mixture on some 9mm's and these beautiful 30 cal's!!!! Shook them around till sound changed, then onto rack on top of oven to dry. 5 minutes later, into oven at 400 deg. F for ten minutes. Did this four times,just for grins, came out looking beautiful!! Check'em out!! Sized and checked, no loss of coating!! Wipe and smash test ok also.

[popper]

Kryogen, too thick a first coat I think plus not really dry. Low temp doesn't mean l;ow humidity, air holds less moisture at low temp so drying is ineffective. My first try with the gold turned out the same way. Passed smash but flaked when sizing. I think I solved the problem using half a teaspoon for the first 2 coats, full for the last. I also put them in the oven to dry for an hour before baking - PID says 180F but I leave the door about half open. I bake then @ 380 for 12 min. Shoot ~ 25 in the BO, no leading. Got a feeling we will be cold and damp this spring, we need the water.