Powder Coating 101 - Electrostatic Method

[Beagle333]

Loaded up some .45s on the tray today. Having the nuts JB-Welded to the pan really does help. And I took the tip off the gun, it seems to really make it spray a tighter pattern and also lets it flow better and I didn't have any loose powder dropping out of the tube as I shifted and tapped the paint cup while spraying. I think that it works better without that little part.
Wind here today is not friendly though. I built a little spray booth out of a cardboard box that is going to let me get the job done during brief lulls in the gusts. But it's not nearly as much fun as a nice calm day. I still see some "Piglet" days in my future.


And as another thought.... I'm not going to modify my gun yet, but if that little electrode rod in the center of the gun were a bit shorter, I could get that tube just a little closer to the boolits and just spray em with a nice sweeping motion, rather than the current "fogger" pattern that is probably meant for wheel rims or motorcycle gas tanks.

[Beagle333]

20 minutes later..... Bring on yer zombies!



(my apologies if you're tired of the zombie thing... this is the last of my green paint anyway)



I mixed the blue with the rest of the green. 'Interesting speckled pattern on this batch.


Here's a closer shot.... it shows how the powder swirls around and gets under the base while the boolit is sitting on the little nut. It coats the sides and down onto the base pretty well. I'm not bothered by the entire base not getting coated, because I believe this is just friction protection and I do not think it is needed on the centers of the base. Some of my lighter-coated piglet boolits only have coating on the outside of the driving bands and they will run pretty fast without any problems. I'll test this more soon.

[MacFan]

And as another thought.... I'm not going to modify my gun yet, but if that little electrode rod in the center of the gun were a bit shorter, I could get that tube just a little closer to the boolits and just spray em with a nice sweeping motion, rather than the current "fogger" pattern that is probably meant for wheel rims or motorcycle gas tanks.

Nice work!
BTW, I've shortened the electrode rod on my gun. I left enough thread (about 3/16") so I could still screw on a diffuser someday if I wanted to.
It still works fine and lets me get in a little closer.

[WallyM3]

I must be "search challenged" or something. I can't find the electrostatic painting set up on Harbor Freight's site.

Edit: Then it hit me! "Powder coat".

[el34]

I just put a PVC coupling on mine, does the same thing as shortening the electrode.

Yep! A thought is to go a bit further and choke it down but I haven't tried it yet.

[el34]

Beagle- what size nut did you use? I made mine with 6-32 and boolits seem stable, even 230gr 45's. Yours look smaller, 4-40?

I think the smaller they are the longer you can use the foil. Could be wrong though.

[Beagle333]

I don't have a problem with the flow, it's just that it's too far away, especially since I spray outdoors. I'm gonna give the coupling a try. 'Sounds like the solution! Thanks popper!


I'm using 6-32 as well. My 260gr 45's were stable. I didn't spill a one moving the tray from the spraying area into the toaster.
I just started using a fresh sheet every time today. My tray is only 9x11" (80 boolits), and my roll of non-stick foil is 35 feet long, so I get 46 sheets out of a box. At 20 minutes to bake, and 10-15 to cool, load, and respray.... I'm not going to use many sheets in a day. It'll last a long time.
At $2.98 per roll.... that comes to 7.1 cents per sheet, after tax.

[el34]

I just started using a fresh sheet every time today. My tray is only 9x11" (80 boolits)

My tray is the same, 80 boolits. I used the foil 2x but that's it. I am now using a foam paint roller to mash the foil around the nuts, starting in the middle and rolling outward to prevent tearing. Does better than my fingers.

I have two trays so I reload one while the other is cooking, same as you. Just today I got a wire cooling rack to make a second for the oven, then I'll try getting 2 pans ready while the other 2 are baking. That'll keep me hoppin'.

[gimling]

I tried that method worked ok, I found that using hex screws 1 1/2 inch long work better, take a piece of aluminum plate aluminum foil to cover both sides then run the hex screws in. you now have the ability to do both swc and flip it over and do hollow points will post some pics of my setup tomorrow. also as a side note doing it this way powder doesn't build up between plate and hex screws I do around 20 powder coats, then remove screws and replace the tin foil.

Loaded up some .45s on the tray today. Having the nuts JB-Welded to the pan really does help. And I took the tip off the gun, it seems to really make it spray a tighter pattern and also lets it flow better and I didn't have any loose powder dropping out of the tube as I shifted and tapped the paint cup while spraying. I think that it works better without that little part.
Wind here today is not friendly though. I built a little spray booth out of a cardboard box that is going to let me get the job done during brief lulls in the gusts. But it's not nearly as much fun as a nice calm day. I still see some "Piglet" days in my future.


And as another thought.... I'm not going to modify my gun yet, but if that little electrode rod in the center of the gun were a bit shorter, I could get that tube just a little closer to the boolits and just spray em with a nice sweeping motion, rather than the current "fogger" pattern that is probably meant for wheel rims or motorcycle gas tanks.

[eljefeoz]

But........remember, we PC to allow us to shoot softer lead and not really worry about all that hardness and water dropping whoop-la stuff anymore!

My slugs all end up around 12bnh on my Cabine after PC'ing and air cooling.

And if your mix does not have any antimony in it, water dropping will gain you really nothing but cold boolits real fast. Lead + tin do nothing in water quenching.

bangerjim

Ahh, thanks Banger J,
THIS is what i was looking for.
All I want is to have decent accuracy and no leading. Not looking at the hoopla of annealing/re annealing/water dropping .
I'd rather stay with good ol BW : Vaseline if that was the case

[waco]

sorry. but what is the point of putting the nuts under the foil?
cant you just put the boolits on the flat foil?
if its a pb boolit, whats the advantage of raising the boolit off the surface????

[el34]

sorry. but what is the point of putting the nuts under the foil?
cant you just put the boolits on the flat foil?
if its a pb boolit, whats the advantage of raising the boolit off the surface????

The nuts under the foil create little pedestals the boolits sit on. The nuts are smaller than the base, so the boolit 'overhangs' the nut which helps prevent the powder from forming a connecting fillet from boolit to foil.

I use 6-32 nuts which seems to be a good size to use for 0.356 to 0.452 boolits without them easily falling off on the nervous trip to the oven. Out of the oven, they literally pour off the tray.

Using JB Weld to glue them makes the nuts stay in place while changing foil. The quick-set is only good for temps under 300F, the original 24 hr stuff goes to over 500.

In beagle's pic you can see the foil pressed down between the nuts, creating the pedestals. I use a foam paint roller to do it.

[Beagle333]

if its a pb boolit, whats the advantage of raising the boolit off the surface????

The nuts under the foil create little pedestals the boolits sit on. The nuts are smaller than the base, so the boolit 'overhangs' the nut which helps prevent the powder from forming a connecting fillet from boolit to foil.

As in this picture. You can see it also creates a little wrap-around effect.

nervous trip to the oven

Very accurate description!!!! But I haven't had any fall over yet.

[waco]

Gotcha! Thanks guys. I think I'm getting the bug to try this.When you buy the HF PC gun, does it come with any powder? Does HF sell powder? How much $ for how much powder?

[waco]

Also, I don't own any Lee push through sizer dies. Can I PC boolits right from the mold, then size in my 450 with no lube???

[JASON4X4]

Guns don't come with powder but they are only $6 tub. most say flat black works the best

[el34]

If you want to get loony with colors, check here-
https://www.powderbuythepound.com/Co...er_Collection/

I used 5 of their colors and they emailed me asking for customer pictures-
https://www.powderbuythepound.com/gallery/index.php

It costs 4x the price from HF but is still miniscule $ per boolit. It buys you a wowee factor but nothing functional that I know of yet.

[Springfield0612]

My lee 356-124 TL mold drops at .358 and after PC bullets go .359-.360 as cast. I use the .38 s&w expander and I shot my first 200 PC bullets yesterday and all fed and shot very accurately. The time it takes to set the bullets on the nuts on the tray is about less time for tumble lube size and tumble lube. Now I cast, PC, reload and shoot.

[el34]

My lee 356-124 TL mold drops at .358 and after PC bullets go .359-.360 as cast. I use the .38 s&w expander and I shot my first 200 PC bullets yesterday and all fed and shot very accurately. The time it takes to set the bullets on the nuts on the tray is about less time for tumble lube size and tumble lube. Now I cast, PC, reload and shoot.

Cool- no sizing at all. And another cool thing is the slowly growing evidence that lead boolits, PC'ed, can go 4 thou over and work well. It's not uncommon to hear oversize lead is sometimes desirable to seal the barrel and I can't see PC as being too tough to allow the bit of swaging to occur.

Someday perhaps load data will have three columns- lead, jacketed, powdercoated.

[Beagle333]

I started running out of some colors. Now I'm just mixing the leftovers. Seems to work just as well. (MP45-225 and Accurate 36-162V)