Powder Coating 101 - Electrostatic Method

[fcvan]

I have used my Lyman 450 to size without having the lube reservoir pressurized and it works quite well. I am currently PCing all of my boolits and starting to collect different push through sizers. Yes, the Lyman works but so does a Lee hand press for sizing while watching football.

I've been using HF flat black for everything because I like the look and love the price. Some places sell by the pound for $16 bucks, HF is $5.50 for a pound. They sell red, yellow, white, and of course black. I've seen some pics of grey made by a guy who mixed the powders.

I use the HF PC gun but will be trying Rangefinders tumble method. The PC gun sells for $59, is occasionally on sale for $49, and if you have a coupon (like I used) you can get it for $39. As far as PC goes, I've tried it in .380, 9mm, .38/.357, 40, 41, 45 ACP and Colt, .223/5.56, 30 carbine, 30-06, and shortly 300 blk. Love it! I intend to try the tumble method for handgun but will stick with PC gun for rifle. My PC trays use gas checks to hold the boolits upright and keep PC from coating the check shank. Anyway, I'm digging the smooth shiny bores, the lack of smoke, and the lack of boolit deformation from semi auto feeding, especially the .223/5.56. Oh ya, the same powder charge with lead boolits obtain more velocity when PCd.

[MacFan]

A 1" pvc sched. 40 pipe cap is a perfect friction fit on the end of the Harbor Freight gun. 3/8 inch diameter hole and a cut down electrode (just leave a little thread for future use) makes a pretty perfect narrow flow for running up and down between rows of bullets.

[Beagle333]

Yes, the Lyman works but so does a Lee hand press for sizing while watching football.

This!!!


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MacFan, the concentrated flow idea sounds good, but have you experience it building up behind the cap?

[MacFan]

Hey Beagle333, yes you do get some built up behind the cap. It doesn't seem to affect flow or volume at all.
When I'm done shooting I take off the cap and tap the powder back in to my main storage container... a plastic bag.

[bangerjim]

A 1" pvc sched. 40 pipe cap is a perfect friction fit on the end of the Harbor Freight gun. 3/8 inch diameter hole and a cut down electrode (just leave a little thread for future use) makes a pretty perfect narrow flow for running up and down between rows of bullets.

Cool idea! I will have to try it this week. That 1" gun hole is definitely too big for what we do.

Thanks!

banger

[Beagle333]

Terra Cotta boolits! (No, I can't recreate the color... it's just leftovers mixed together.)

[rattletrap1970]

Has anyone seriously shot these for accuracy yet? Like 20 shots uncoated from a ransom rest at some distance, then 20 coated? I would love to see some shooting data of a comparison. Cause I'm intrigued as hell.

[Mk42gunner]

This sounds very interesting, I do have a question though. Since I have read that the powder coating builds up anywhere from 0.001-0.0025", is it tough enough to enlarge the nose on bore riding rifle boolits that are too small for the land diameter?

I foresee a trip to Harbor Freight in my future.

Robert

[KYShooter73]

This sounds very interesting, I do have a question though. Since I have read that the powder coating builds up anywhere from 0.001-0.0025", is it tough enough to enlarge the nose on bore riding rifle boolits that are too small for the land diameter?

I foresee a trip to Harbor Freight in my future.

Robert

If I understand your question correctly, my answer is probably not. I'm new to rifle casting though. Here is my testing using Lee 311-155, COWW + 2% tin, air cooled. Test barrel was a CMMG 16in carbine gas port. Slugged, as measured with calipers at around .3075. 1st batch sized .309, checked, coated, then resized .309; accuracy was horrible. 2nd batch checked, sized .309, not resized after coating for diameter of about .311; poor accuracy. 3rd batch checked, sized .311, coated, resized .311; much improved accuracy. I need some glass on the rifle instead of the Eotech to do any further testing because 3-4 moa is about my limit without magnification. I did not experience leading with any of these loads at 1825fps. Hope that helped.

[Beagle333]

In my 30-30s (Win 94 and Handi), the noses of all of my boolits are already .301 and engrave upon loading, so I'd have to protect the nose from any further coating, or resize the nose. Resizing the .310 portion is easy, of course. Resizing the nose.... a little trickier.

[el34]

A good read for those PC with ES gun.
http://www.nordson.com/en-us/divisions/ ... WR1164.pdf

Popper, the link no workee.

[bretNorCal]

http://www.nordson.com/en-us/divisio...rs/PWR1164.pdf

[jcameron996]

Dang you guys. I've tried to put this out of my head half a dozen times in the last few days, but keep coming back to these threads and reading more. One question I have though. How fast can this be done? I realize it will depend on the size of toaster oven, but on average how many can be done in an hour or so. Comparatively the cost doesn't seem terrible, but with children, full time job, plus the ranch work my time is limited and valuable. This sounds like just what I am looking for to solve my 9mm leading issues.

[Beagle333]

It really depends on the size of your oven (as you said) and how many trays you are using/rotating through. It takes about 5 minutes for me to spray a tray (including standing the boolits up)... and 20 minutes of bake time, then about 5 minutes to cool enough to dump them into a ziplock. (my preferred boolit storage container)

So if you had a two-tray system baking, and two more always at the ready.... it would just depend on how many boolits you were rotating out, every 20 minute baking cycle.

[JASON4X4]

I have a good size convection toaster oven I picked up. I made 3 trays out of scrap 1/8 steel my kids help me stand the boolits up on the foil coated trays. I coat and bake all 3 trays at the same time, we usually fit 100 to 125 per tray so we end up with at least 325 coated bullets in about 45 min from start to finish per bake.

[waco]

Jason.
Are you using nuts under the foil to raise up the boolit, or are you just standing the boolit up right on the foil?

[JASON4X4]

I just stand them up on the foil

[JASON4X4]

I also soak them in acetone and by the time I am ready to PC they are dry.

[Springfield0612]

I did a test with the HF matte black because my wife found me a convection oven at Goodwill for $12.99. When she brought it home, come to find out that you cannot control the temp only the time. Everything is preset. I verified the temps with my casting thermometer. Pizza is 425 on the dot, bake is 350 on the dot. I figured no need to measure broil as it should be 500+. So using the HF matte black I put a run of 9mm 124 TL in on the BAKE cycle (350 deg.) for 25 minutes, pulled them out, dropped them into water. A couple hours later I pulled a couple samples, and smashed them with a hammer. Not a flake of PC came off. I smashed one straight top to bottom and the other was laying on the side.
Shot them last weekend and all were very accurate and no leading, no PC in the barrell. So it appears in my experiance that a lower temp for a little longer time will cure the HF matte black without issue.

[jcameron996]

jcameron996 You might want to look at the Hi-Tek thread. Works as well for pistol & allows higher volume per cooking cycle.

Thanks, I'll look into it. Trying to wade through some of these powder coating forums is a little time consuming.