$10 epoxy coat can it be done? lets find out

[Weaponologist]

On the VHT, Do you coat the base with a couple coats for use a Gas Check? I would think a coulpe coats would work as well as GC..

[bangerjim]

On the VHT, Do you coat the base with a couple coats for use a Gas Check? I would think a coulpe coats would work as well as GC..

You do not coat the base with ANYTHING to replace a metal GC. They are cheap. I use only commercial Cu checks, as they fit and go on better and stay on better than any "home-made" ones I have tired.

If you are shooting velocities that need a GC.........USE a GC!

Powder coat/epoxy is not a replacement for a metal check. Coating the base of a boolit is just a waste of time as it offers no protection from gas cutting as a metal GC does. Your old grease lube offered no protection from cutting, why should any other coating? The coatings are NOT that hard. Why bother to coat the base, other than looks........and no one will ever see it but you.

bangerjim

[Weaponologist]

You do not coat the base with ANYTHING to replace a metal GC. They are cheap. I use only commercial Cu checks, as they fit and go on better and stay on better than any "home-made" ones I have tired.

If you are shooting velocities that need a GC.........USE a GC!

Powder coat/epoxy is not a replacement for a metal check. Coating the base of a boolit is just a waste of time as it offers no protection from gas cutting as a metal GC does. Your old grease lube offered no protection from cutting, why should any other coating? The coatings are NOT that hard. Why bother to coat the base, other than looks........and no one will ever see it but you.

bangerjim

That's what I needed to know... I got the impression it might work for that. So it's just to stop leading in the bore and use a GC when using hotter loads....Thanks Bangerjim..

[R1valdez]

Anybody tried this VHT coating on an open gun for USPSA @ major speed?

[barrabruce]

Iv'e been reading up on enamel paint for coating as down at the range I was told to forget about my plainbase with soft lube and that other paper patched stuff that don't work.

One member has gone nuts on it and others are following.
I want to see the proof first hand thou before I try it.
They are using no gas check and decent loads in rifles.
Maybe the coating thickness is fitting there throatt better as they never have miced anything and beleive there guns ARE 308" etc and cast
bullets out of there mould are what are advertised and concentric.
O.k. for jacket stuff I suppose.
Never mind I do enjoy the reveric not that I'm a master at this or such mind you.

They are using Knights spray can enamel and baking there hard cast waterquenched bullets in the kitchen oven.

My lungs tend to squeeze up with paint fumes and don't like the thought of bakeing the enamel in my oven as well as chickens etc.

Maybe they can do a chiken bullet thing and save some on the gas or electric.

Still keeping an open mind thou.......and hardley any leading!!!!!

I'd like to see it work before I go out and gear up for something new.
Black and cow ****e green seem to be the most successfull or red.

Interesting thou

Barra

[bangerjim]

I am still sticking with ESPC. Coats well, very inexpensive compared to those cans of stray stuff, and doe NOT lead.

I have coated about 75 38's and 45's with black VHT and it does cure hard....after a while. PC is hard when it cools. I have shot about 35 or so of the VHT and did not notice any significent problems.

But the time and $$ involved pretty much rules it out compared with PC for my uses.

It works great on engine parts as it was designed to do.

bangerjim

[Rick459]

Any one try duracoat on lead rifle bullets. The only high power rifle mold i have is for my 338/06. I have some matte black duracoat and was thinking about trying it on this mold. i guess in the next couple of weeks i will cast up some bullets a duracoat them and see if i can get them past 2200fps with decent accuracy. will update progress latter.
Rick

[Rick459]

ok step 1 of my duracoat experment. first coat of white second coat will be flat black.

[shoot-n-lead]

I honestly cannot believe people jump through this hoop to lube bullets.

[RP]

I honestly cannot believe people jump through this hoop to lube bullets.

Some people cannot believe we spend the time we do to reload. I think its more of something new and fun to do well it is for me and if it works for you that's even better. I can see results with some bullets in some firearms but not in others just like I see with cast and copper. If you like it and are having fun why not?

[Rattus58]

Some people cannot believe we spend the time we do to reload. I think its more of something new and fun to do well it is for me and if it works for you that's even better. I can see results with some bullets in some firearms but not in others just like I see with cast and copper. If you like it and are having fun why not?

And that is it right there.... pride, professionalism, and why spend time doing something you don't like doing.... like the dishes...

[cgm]

Count me in as one of those who don't want to mess around with oven baking....... However, living in South Fl, we do have that blazing sun. Have sprayed and put in a metallic tray and I'm going to leave out in the sun for a week to see what happens. When in direct sun they get pretty hot to the touch! This may very well get that curing done.

Hope this works. Will report back.

[cgm]

Tried my VHT coated bullets today (148 grain .357 over 4 grains of Bullseye). Not baked. They spent a couple of hot days in the sun.

My results were terrible.... Smoky, lots of leading and more fouling than usual (Alox).

[Tazza]

Well it was a good idea, but it seems you really do need to bake them.....

Hopefully your next batch will give better results

[bangerjim]

Tried my VHT coated bullets today (148 grain .357 over 4 grains of Bullseye). Not baked. They spent a couple of hot days in the sun.

My results were terrible.... Smoky, lots of leading and more fouling than usual (Alox).

Glad you posted that! Just adds to our over-all knowledge base of what does NOT work, and elimiates some of the "but, what if I......" comments.

Looks like you might want to "mess around with the oven baking" if the product is engineered to be baked. Sitting in the sun is not nearly as hot as the temps recommended for oven use. The polymer chains do not form correctly (or at all!) if suffieicnt temp and time is not used. Just because a coating feels dry to your touch does not mean it has cured properly and will survive the journey down the barrel.

I tired some of the black just letting it dry (here the in AZ sun). Felt dry and hard after several days, but you could easily scrape it off. Did not even try shooting it as it did not pass the scratch OR the hammer test.

My baked black VHT (baked exactly per the rules on the can) worked well, no leading, but ended up being VERY expensive! Anything in a spray can is a very ineffecient & costly way to dispurse a product. To spray, correctly, the product must be diluted significently to get it to work. You are paying for a lot of solvent and propellant and not much base/pigment.

PC is really the only way I have found (after trying a whole bunch of different coating "stuff") that gives a successful, easy, and economical coat for what we are wanting it to do with our little hunks of Pb.

Happy coating!

banger

[ireload]

Bangerjim I agree with you with the cost of the epoxy spray but the good side we still have options besides the various hard wax, liquid alox, PC, and so forth. Keep up the experimentation and good work.

[sw282]

l have read the thread because l am tired of messy lubes..l am an industrial painter by trade.. While l have sprayed/brushed/rolled epoxies, l have never done any baking of them. Baking paints is done in a manufacturing setting or a paint/body shop.. My expertise lies in steel structures like bridges ,piping, storage tanks..l can say that epoxies or most any paint need time to cure..0ne product l have NOT seen mentioned in ANY thread is ZINC...Used liberally in steel/metal fabrication as a rust preventer..lt comes in spray cans too..


l am off to the paint store for some epoxy paint to try on some 220gr 41mag bullets l cast over the weekend..Been a couple yrs since l fired up the old pot..Been having to relearn a couple thing..


MERRY CHRISTMAS



282

[otter5555]

ok. been casting since 1971. got used to the fact that cast bullets must be loaded down, sized tight and lubed correctly to prevent leading. i have some FINE cast loads for all my firearms. never shoot anything else.

then i start reading about bullets being painted with vht epoxy paints. more velocity, no lead.

so, i casted 100 of my lee 90369's out of 100% ww water dropped. i basically never have culls from this mold but did inspect each one wearing gloves.

dumped them into a saucepan. painted, swirled and painted a few times. dumped them onto a window screen. 30 degree weather and snow but the still dried in 20 minutes. did 3 coats.

then i stood them all up on a small piece of steel and put it all into a toaster over set on 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

let them cool. sized to .308. NO GC used. then i loaded 5 with 43.6gr h380 oal 2.725.

30 degrees and snowing. shot 2 minute group at 100 yds with my remington 700 sps varmint 1:12.

bore was fresh cleaned before shooting group. inspected and bore was still perfect.

repeated this 3 more times. 80 rounds total fired. bore is still PERFECTLY clean, no leading at all.

didnt chrono because of the snow but book shows around 2400 fps.

i am shocked. i never dreamed i could shoot 2400 fps with cast bullets and not lead.

this s### WORKS!

over the next few days i will cast several hundred more bullets after my work day ends. i'll paint and size them to get stock ready.

Then.....i'm gonna see if i can build a sub moa load that still chronos 2400 fps.

this is REALLY encouraging

[bangerjim]

ok. been casting since 1971. got used to the fact that cast bullets must be loaded down, sized tight and lubed correctly to prevent leading. i have some FINE cast loads for all my firearms. never shoot anything else.

then i start reading about bullets being painted with vht epoxy paints. more velocity, no lead.

so, i casted 100 of my lee 90369's out of 100% ww water dropped. i basically never have culls from this mold but did inspect each one wearing gloves.

dumped them into a saucepan. painted, swirled and painted a few times. dumped them onto a window screen. 30 degree weather and snow but the still dried in 20 minutes. did 3 coats.

then i stood them all up on a small piece of steel and put it all into a toaster over set on 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

let them cool. sized to .308. NO GC used. then i loaded 5 with 43.6gr h380 oal 2.725.

30 degrees and snowing. shot 2 minute group at 100 yds with my remington 700 sps varmint 1:12.

bore was fresh cleaned before shooting group. inspected and bore was still perfect.

repeated this 3 more times. 80 rounds total fired. bore is still PERFECTLY clean, no leading at all.

didnt chrono because of the snow but book shows around 2400 fps.

i am shocked. i never dreamed i could shoot 2400 fps with cast bullets and not lead.

this s### WORKS!

over the next few days i will cast several hundred more bullets after my work day ends. i'll paint and size them to get stock ready.

Then.....i'm gonna see if i can build a sub moa load that still chronos 2400 fps.

this is REALLY encouraging

Yes, it does work. I have played with it. But you should check the economics of VHT vs powder coating. PC is much more economical. And only one coat/bake for total protection. Some on here are pushing 2800+ fps with PC.

banger

[otter5555]

just finished 100 rounds of the vht boolits through my 308. purposely did not clean the bore the whole 100 rounds. also shot it hot. final 5 shot group was just like the first 5 shot group, 1.7 minutes at 100 yds. zero leading. very little powder residue.

nothing on the boolits but vht paint. no gas checks. no nothing.

i got to finess the load to see if i can improve group size. didnt bother yet cause i wanted to see what a hundred rounds would do to the bore.

finally chronoed 5 rounds. avg 2518 fps.

my shoulder is a bit sore so i am through for the day