dry tumble powder coating?

[bangerjim]

here is my first try at shake-n-bake, three coats, boolits on the right are gloss clear coat, 10mm 200gr:



just have to shoot them now to see if there is any leaeding and what the accuracy is like... but overall it was a very easy process... i was a little concerned about getting too much powder on each coat, but next time i think i would add more powder when i put them in the vibratory tumbler...

They (the orange ones) look smoother than any I have ever seen using this method.

But.....................please calculate the TIME it takes to accomplish this! 3 coats + 3 bakes + time to spread them out B4 each bake + pick them up after each bake.......sounds like a LOT of time wasted just to avoid spending ~$60 (-25%) on a cool tool to spray it on beautifully in ONE coat and one bake.

And that gun can be used to coat a bunch of other stuff around the house and shop! It is definitely worth the very small monetary investment as a permanent shop tool....not something just to "mess around" with boolits with. (Use that one with the wife.......it DOES work!!!!!!) Ha.....ha!

Thanks a bunch for posting the pix. I have tried several test runs with varying amounts of powder on batches of ~100 boolits and every time they ended back in the melting pot due to inferior coverage and looks. (NOT black)

The big concern I have is the uneven coatings will cause unbalanced boolits that lead to inaccuracies at the range. A cast boolit is pretty much a balanced geometric shape and if you unbalance it in weight and/or aerodynamics, you could be rather disappointed with the results at the target. The ES gun has faithfully provided me with a perfect even coat on each projectile every time I have used it (now going on 60 times for 300-550 boolits each time). And I have not experienced any error deviations in groupings.

But whatever your choice in powder coatings...........have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

banger

[prickett]

But.....................please calculate the TIME it takes to accomplish this! 3 coats + 3 bakes + time to spread them out B4 each bake + pick them up after each bake.......sounds like a LOT of time wasted just to avoid spending ~$60 (-25%) on a cool tool to spray it on beautifully in ONE coat and one bake.

The big concern I have is the uneven coatings will cause unbalanced boolits that lead to inaccuracies at the range.

Time spent:
Counting 100 boolits to place in tumbler: 1 minute (would be the same for ES)
Pouring in 1 tsp of powder: 3 seconds
Tumbling: N/A - I tumble in a rotary tumbler for 10 minutes, but since I'm not involved in any work, I don't count this time (I suspect this time could at least be cut in half, just haven't tried it yet)
Dumping boolits onto a screen from tumbler: 10 seconds
Cooking: N/A - Again, I'm not working, the oven is. (would be the same for ES)
Removing from oven: 10 seconds (would be the same for ES)
Sizing: maybe 13 minutes per hundred (would be the same for ES)

So, 14 minutes 13 seconds for 100 boolits ready to load. Doing ES would take that same amount of time + whatever time is spent spraying. Don't know if you leave the spray gun loaded or if you have to load/unload it - if so, that would add to the time.

I don't know of anyone doing three coats of dry coat. Most don't even do two.

Regarding the "inaccuracy" I've not found my dry coats to be any better or worse than regular lead, so that seems moot. It might make a difference for Bullseye shooters - it MIGHT.

[Cane_man]

They (the orange ones) look smoother than any I have ever seen using this method.

But.....................please calculate the TIME it takes to accomplish this! 3 coats + 3 bakes + time to spread them out B4 each bake + pick them up after each bake.......sounds like a LOT of time wasted just to avoid spending ~$60 (-25%) on a cool tool to spray it on beautifully in ONE coat and one bake.

And that gun can be used to coat a bunch of other stuff around the house and shop! It is definitely worth the very small monetary investment as a permanent shop tool....not something just to "mess around" with boolits with. (Use that one with the wife.......it DOES work!!!!!!) Ha.....ha!

Thanks a bunch for posting the pix. I have tried several test runs with varying amounts of powder on batches of ~100 boolits and every time they ended back in the melting pot due to inferior coverage and looks. (NOT black)

The big concern I have is the uneven coatings will cause unbalanced boolits that lead to inaccuracies at the range. A cast boolit is pretty much a balanced geometric shape and if you unbalance it in weight and/or aerodynamics, you could be rather disappointed with the results at the target. The ES gun has faithfully provided me with a perfect even coat on each projectile every time I have used it (now going on 60 times for 300-550 boolits each time). And I have not experienced any error deviations in groupings.

But whatever your choice in powder coatings...........have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

banger

shake-n-bake is KISS, i like it...

[bmiller]

here is my first try at shake-n-bake, three coats, boolits on the right are gloss clear coat, 10mm 200gr:



just have to shoot them now to see if there is any leaeding and what the accuracy is like... but overall it was a very easy process... i was a little concerned about getting too much powder on each coat, but next time i think i would add more powder when i put them in the vibratory tumbler...

Wow, nice results! I have not had results this good. What brand of powder did you use?

[jmort]

Every time there is evolution the users of other methods get exorcised. Say something about Hi Tek and "Katie Bar the Door."This would be my method of choice if it works as well as it seems to. Everyone wants to think their method is the best, but there will always be change and evolution. If I can avoid a compressor/regulator/PC gun and over spray, count me in. Sold all my tractors, so I just sold my compressor as I only used it for an impact wrench. Sold the IR impact wrench as well and got an electric one that does what I need. I agree that time wise, there will little time difference, and for sure less contraptions. Whatever floats your boat. This is good news. Also want to know what powder was used by Cane Man

[bangerjim]

Time spent:
Counting 100 boolits to place in tumbler: 1 minute (would be the same for ES)
Pouring in 1 tsp of powder: 3 seconds
Tumbling: N/A - I tumble in a rotary tumbler for 10 minutes, but since I'm not involved in any work, I don't count this time (I suspect this time could at least be cut in half, just haven't tried it yet)
Dumping boolits onto a screen from tumbler: 10 seconds
Cooking: N/A - Again, I'm not working, the oven is. (would be the same for ES)
Removing from oven: 10 seconds (would be the same for ES)
Sizing: maybe 13 minutes per hundred (would be the same for ES)

So, 14 minutes 13 seconds for 100 boolits ready to load. Doing ES would take that same amount of time + whatever time is spent spraying. Don't know if you leave the spray gun loaded or if you have to load/unload it - if so, that would add to the time.

I don't know of anyone doing three coats of dry coat. Most don't even do two.

Regarding the "inaccuracy" I've not found my dry coats to be any better or worse than regular lead, so that seems moot. It might make a difference for Bullseye shooters - it MIGHT.

Well.............. the top line of your post (above the picture) says "here is my first try at shake-n-bake, three coats, boolits on the right are gloss clear coat, 10mm 200gr:.

Sounds like 3 to me! I was just going by your own statement. That equals ~15 minutes x 3 coats = 45 minutes for 100 boolits. Waaaaaaay too much time for me!!!!!

Sorry, but I was just reading what you wrote..................... and commented on it.

Use whatever the heck method you want. I will always use ES gun.


banger

[jmort]

"Well.............. the top line of your post (above the picture) says "here is my first try at shake-n-bake, three coats, boolits on the right are gloss clear coat, 10mm 200gr"

I believe that is cane_man's post, not prickett's. He was calculating his all-in time I believe not cane_man's

[Cane_man]

Wow, nice results! I have not had results this good. What brand of powder did you use?

the picture makes them look a little better than they really are, the flash kind of made it a little fuzzy and blended in the finish... i am using powder from allpowderpaints.com

this is the link for the paint i used: http://www.shop.allpowderpaints.com/...RED-ORANGE.htm

[Cane_man]

Every time there is evolution the users of other methods get exorcised. Say something about Hi Tek and "Katie Bar the Door."This would be my method of choice if it works as well as it seems to. Everyone wants to think their method is the best, but there will always be change and evolution. If I can avoid a compressor/regulator/PC gun and over spray, count me in. Sold all my tractors, so I just sold my compressor as I only used it for an impact wrench. Sold the IR impact wrench as well and got an electric one that does what I need. I agree that time wise, there will little time difference, and for sure less contraptions. Whatever floats your boat. This is good news. Also want to know what powder was used by Cane Man

exactly

[prickett]

Here are mine, coated with HF paint. The ones on the left are two coats - first with red, then with yellow. The ones on the right are one coat of red.

I normally only one coat, but bought some yellow just to play around with. The two coats look rough as compared to the ones on the right. I'd lowered the temp as an experiment, so the roughness could be due to that. I'll try again back at my usual temp to see if that is the cause of the coarseness.

[popper]

Bangerjim - If one is worried about water in the acetone, keep the darned cap on it like you should. That does help but acetone will absorb water easily. Brake (and hydraulic fluid) is worse and the flash temp is reduced ~40% with as little as 10% H2O in it. Fairchild found that out the hard way, lost 2 planes from wheel well fires. I found out about the brake fluid in a ~20K mi auto - lost brakes going around a blind curve (engineer pass) 400' drop to the river on one side, mountain on the other side. Just let the boolits dry longer.

[Boogieman]

I've been trying the shake & bake system using HF red. tried 2 coats first, it worked but wasn't real smooth. They shot good with No leading in standard 38 spc. or 45 acp loads 9.5 Bhn. Coated some 45's with 1 coat, they were much smoother haven't shot any of them yet. the first batch was coated in a peanut butter jar. my vibrating case cleaner didn't work for me. I built a hand cranked tumbler using a plastic jar & a scrap wood frame ( think bingo ball scrambler) 5-6 min. slow turning gives boolits a good coating. Bake 20 min. at 400F AFTER the powder melts. They not win the best looking bullit award but they work & it's cheep & easy.

[prickett]

I've been trying the shake & bake system using HF red. tried 2 coats first, it worked but wasn't real smooth. They shot good with No leading in standard 38 spc. or 45 acp loads 9.5 Bhn. Coated some 45's with 1 coat, they were much smoother haven't shot any of them yet. the first batch was coated in a peanut butter jar. my vibrating case cleaner didn't work for me. I built a hand cranked tumbler using a plastic jar & a scrap wood frame ( think bingo ball scrambler) 5-6 min. slow turning gives boolits a good coating. Bake 20 min. at 400F AFTER the powder melts. They not win the best looking bullit award but they work & it's cheep & easy.

Make sure that its really at 400F (check with an oven thermometer). I cooked a batch at less than 400F and they weren't smooth (see my picture a couple posts up). But cooking at 400F (or more) results in a smooth coating for me. Also, make sure you have enough paint. I use 2 tsp per 100 .45 boolits - up from 1 tsp previously - and am getting smoother coats.

[Boogieman]

Make sure that its really at 400F (check with an oven thermometer). I cooked a batch at less than 400F and they weren't smooth (see my picture a couple posts up). But cooking at 400F (or more) results in a smooth coating for me. Also, make sure you have enough paint. I use 2 tsp per 100 .45 boolits - up from 1 tsp previously - and am getting smoother coats.

Are you preheating the boolits before coating them? I did 1 batch warmed & 1 batch COLD it was 36F in my shop when I started, it worked fine both ways. I preheat the oven to 400F . Does going over 400F Or longer than 20 min. hurt anything? I'm going to load & shoot the one coat the 45's (230 gr. Lyman RN) today. If they don't lead I'll be happy. They are so clean to size & load no grease on the bases or the seating die. My 1911 Colt takes 2 patches to clean after 50 rounds.

[prickett]

No, not preheating. Like you, I found no difference between the two methods.

Not sure about going over 400 or longer than 20 minutes. I don't notice any problems with either. I do both and don't SEEM to have any problems.

.45's are the perfect round to start with. You should have no problem with single coating them. I'm heading out into the snow in a couple hours to see if 2 coats work on my 9mm. My previous one coat test failed (could have been due to the lead not age hardened yet, though)

[Boogieman]

just finished short (20 round) test ,45acp. 230 lyman RN 1coat HF red . test ended due to darkness & cold. minor leading I may have over crimped , was using lee FC die ,the case mouth bell was bumping going into it. changed to a regular taper crimp die, will test again tomorrow. I have some 158gr. Lyman SWC with 2 coats of HF red going to load in 357mag. they always lead a little with standard lubs .They crono. 1250 fps out of a 4" Ruger should be a good test.

[prickett]

I'm heading out into the snow in a couple hours to see if 2 coats work on my 9mm. My previous one coat test failed (could have been due to the lead not age hardened yet, though)

Back from the test. A double coat resulted in zero leading on 9mm.

[jmort]

That is what we wanted to hear.

[Boogieman]

[Q. May haveUOTE=prickett;2560094]Back from the test. A double coat resulted in zero leading on 9mm.[/QUOTE]

Good news I plan to try some twice coated 357's Sunday if it stops raining. May have to recoat the 45''s I may not have used enough powder for 1 coat

[Boogieman]

Rain stopped, it turned to snow .temp. in low 20's & wind shot 25 rounds of 1coat 45acp no leading over crimp must have been the problem. coated some more with a little more powder they came out of the oven smooth as any I've seen thanks for the help I'm going to try some in the mags. 357,41,&44. The empties from the autos keep freezing to the ground. I'm ready for some global warming.