a trick for tumble powder coating

[rsrocket1]

It was 98F out here in NoCal yesterday and dry as a bone with a slight breeze which made it even more "static friendly". For my 3rd batch, I probably dumped in too much additional powder because the coating seemed quite a bit thicker. I switched over to a HF vinyl glove as an experiment and the powder did not spread nearly as nice as with the blue glove which I "think" was latex. Honestly, I simply found them under my workbench an Saturday and they were probably sitting there for years. The batch still came out nicely, but "more" is definitely not better than "enough". I could see thinning of the paint on some of the top edges of the TC boolit. I think the additional liquified paint increases the surface tension and draws it away from the edges and sharp corners. The important thing was that the driving bands were fully covered and evenly coated.

The 4th batch went better when again, I just added boolits and no more powder. The first glove was still better than the vinyl glove at smoothing out the powder coverage. I noticed that the vinyl glove was a bit shinier than the other glove.

I loaded a hundred up last night and shot them today with 6.0g Red Dot seated to where the cone meets the vertical part of the bullet. That's because I didn't want to resize them even though they were measuring 0.404" to 0.405" and my bore is 0.400" on the groove. They shot fine (sitting @ 10 yards, that means the load/gun can still shoot way better than I can shoot offhand).
Attachment 106305

and no leading, just a touch of soot in the grooves

Attachment 106306

[Beau Cassidy]

Has anybody been having luck shooting GC pistol bullets without the gas check? I have not been having good luck with powder coat and gas check- some of the coating comes off the check when sizing so I have been coating without the gas check.. These are ,41 mag Lyman bullets for a friend of mine.

I haven't been able to size and gas check a naked bullet- they get stuck.
Putting a gas check on a coated bullet causes the base of the bullet to look like ****- very dimpled.

[jakec]

i snap the gaschecks on, then coat, then size. i dont worry about the little bit that comes off the check.

[bangerjim]

I shoot GC style boolits all the time without GC's.......as long as you are subsonic.

The main one I shoot is a Lee 300gn 45LC. No leading....no problems.

I also shoot 223's and 30's in long guns with light loads for plinking without GC's.

The rifles boolits are BBDT'd and the bases are coated. The 45 is normally ESPC'd with matte black and the base is bare. Coating the base accomplishes NOTHING, so do not worry about it.

banger

[Blanco]

whoda thunk you'd be coating cast boolits with the same material your grandads pants were made of ?
If someone would have told me that 10 years ago .... well you get it

[snuffy]

Glossary? BBDT'D ? Bevel Based Down Towned? SNB PC? DT? ASBB? Why so many acronyms with no key to understand what you all are talking about?

[jmort]

DT = Dry Tumble BB = 6mm (black) airsoft BBs
ES= Electro Static PC = Powder Coat

[rsrocket1]

I tried a Styrofoam box as a container for DTBB (white BB's) and it worked very well. At the bottom of the post is a video showing the effectiveness of the examination glove at spreading out the powder to cover bare spots. It makes setting up the boolits so much easier.

[bangerjim]

Glossary? BBDT'D ? Bevel Based Down Towned? SNB PC? DT? ASBB? Why so many acronyms with no key to understand what you all are talking about?

Because we hate typing.

[clocker]

Nice technique rsrocket1. I tried to smooth out some of the PC with the HF white latex gloves and it did not do nearly as good as yours. May have to try a different type or go back to the pliers.

[rsrocket1]

Sorry clocker, at first I thought they might be latex, but after further inspection, I think they are nitril. I found some more at Lowes yesterday and bought them $3 for 10.


Make sure they are snug against your finger and thumb, no wrinkles and give them a light dusting with the PC powder where you will be touching the boolits.

I only had time to test it with one batch of 121 9mm, but the glove worked great

[bangerjim]

whoda thunk you'd be coating cast boolits with the same material your grandads pants were made of ?
If someone would have told me that 10 years ago .... well you get it

Now......wait a minute there!

I had several polyester leisure suites back when they were the in thing back in the 70's! Looked like Travolta and the BeeGees! My sons now borrow them from storage every so often to use as a costume for parties. And.........Yes.........I STILL have them!

OMG..........i AM getting old!!!!!!!!!!!

bangerjim

[popper]

polyester leisure suites Remember shark skin slacks from the 50's? Rayon I think. Mom said naughties when she got a run in a nylon. A weeks pay.

[bandmiller2]

Very interesting, you realize guys the powder is lube and we must mess with it. What about adding some motor mica to the powder or mayby molly powder.?? Am I right in assuming you shouldn't use an oven you will be cooking in or even one in the house. I'am collecting the materials to try PC went to Harbor Freight they had one tub or red, $ 3.00. I must find an old toaster oven or do you think a closed top outside grill would work.?? When will the fun stop.?? Frank C.

[rsrocket1]

Yes, an outside grill will work. Here's a picture of a guy's finished boolits on the grill. I would personally want to keep my PC baking away from food cookers. Drop by a few thrift stores when you commute or drive around. You'll eventually see a toaster oven cheap. Try to find one with a tray or look where they have pots and pans and you might find one that fits. A flat one without a trough along the edge is better. You have more room to stack boolits.

[prickett]

Very interesting, you realize guys the powder is lube and we must mess with it. What about adding some motor mica to the powder or mayby molly powder.?? Am I right in assuming you shouldn't use an oven you will be cooking in or even one in the house. I'am collecting the materials to try PC went to Harbor Freight they had one tub or red, $ 3.00. I must find an old toaster oven or do you think a closed top outside grill would work.?? When will the fun stop.?? Frank C.

The "need for adding lube to the coating" was big for about a week with regards to the Klass Kote epoxy coating. But, once people tried just using Klass Kote with no added lube they found no difference, and opted for cheap/easy.

If you aren't getting leading, and your barrel isn't being eroded, there really isn't any point to additional lube.

[Blanco]

Not sure if its the same thing you are referencing but I tried a bit of powdered graphite in with some PC powder and the dry bowl tumble method and it killed the stick of the powder to the boolits. Sounded like a good idea, but I dont think it is necessary to have a lube with the PC.

[bangerjim]

Not sure if its the same thing you are referencing but I tried a bit of powdered graphite in with some PC powder and the dry bowl tumble method and it killed the stick of the powder to the boolits. Sounded like a good idea, but I dont think it is necessary to have a lube with the PC.

That is why gun powder makers put graphite in the powder.................... to eliminate static cling!

Moly does the same thing.

will NOT work with BBDT! I have discussed this several times before in threads on here.

banger

[Blanco]

This is what makes one wise, Experience by failure.
Jim ... For what it's worth I seem to always find your bits of wisdom after my own lesson.

[Blanco]

Now......wait a minute there!

I had several polyester leisure suites back when they were the in thing back in the 70's! Looked like Travolta and the BeeGees! My sons now borrow them from storage every so often to use as a costume for parties. And.........Yes.........I STILL have them!

OMG..........i AM getting old!!!!!!!!!!!

bangerjim

We need pictures Jim ... Do you still fit the suits?
If not, we could powder them and you would have a good source of PC Powder