Homebrewed Coating

[Blanco]

I have been testing my own Dexter's laboratory type super bullet coating on .40 cal.
This is an Epoxy polyester graphite baked on coating.
You can see the one bullet I did the hammer test on. Baked at 325 deg. 15 min.
Will report back after shooting.

[Blanco]

The coverage is better than what it appears to be in the picture. This was a first attempt as a proof test. I know the mixture will need to be thinned a bit for a more even coating. This was applied using the tumble in a coolwhip bowl method(piglet ?). It would work as is, but the astetics need a tweek. When sizing the cured product, I will say it is Very slick. It sizes easier than even naked lead. Very optimistic about this one. Some (ALL) of my other attempts with other materials were dismal failures.

[farmerjim]

I await the results of your tests. I think coatings will be the future of cast.

[Blanco]

I await the results of your tests. I think coatings will be the future of cast.

I am fairly new to rolling your own. i tried using the lubes and Alox and even experimented with some others. All of them were messy at best and they all failed to prevent leading and smoke.
I see more and more molds offered without lube grooves, I know why!

[Blanco]

This is where i got some ideas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiFxAPtx4c0
I think the guy that made the video is a member of this forum.

[bangerjim]

I have seen that video a long time ago. It probably works, but you need to mix up the messy epoxy, do 3 coats and where do you get that magic powder????????????? From what I have found it is like buying gold in the internet. I do not buy on the internet. I keep my money in my state!

HF powders are right down the street, cheap, and make very little mess and coat with ONE shake/spray and bake.

To each his own.

banger

[Blanco]

Those testers were only 1 coat. Great coverage but the finish surfce is a bit rough. The portion that was resized was slick, so I could live with it.
My buddy is test firing the first batch right now
As far as the video... I only used it for ideas. My method is a bit differenter

[finstr]

Interested and subscribed. Love new stuff!

[petroid]

Results! We need results! How did the test fire go?

[Blanco]

Well good news / Bad news
Buddy did a test fire in his Sig. Just for giggles he shot a gallon jug at 20 paces. He put a green dot sticker on the jug for a point of aim. He squeezed off the first shot and hit the jug about 2~3" from the sticker. His Sig had a mechanical issue after the first shot (nothing to do with ammo) and he had to quit. It required a teardown so he was out of commission for the day. He inspected the barrel and said there was a small schmere of color at the muzzle that brushed out easily.
So... hard to say at this point. I made him another batch to test but it will be later in the week before he can shoot some more.
I also made a batch of .45 230 gr. that I will test too. I will say they look VERY good. If they perform nearly as well I will be happy.
I intend to try and recover some fired projectiles for inspection. Will post more info and pics later.

[Blanco]

Jugged

Attachment 104866

[finstr]

Man! The suspense is KILLING me, lol.

[psychicrhino]

I wait and watch

[Blanco]

Finally got some news back on the first batch. Not terrible but not great. Some of the coating is detaching and sticking just like leading. Not bad enough to cause a stoppage but not what I wanted either.
I was still experimenting tonight and I tried the tumble on method for the PC powder. I have to say if these shoot and don't leave anything in the barrel, this is the way to go. Still a bit of a learning curve but the PC powder is easier and less messy and I will say it is tougher than the epoxy.
So .... chalk this one up as a good experiment but not completely successful.

[popper]

Got the samples of ibejiheads from the SIL this weekend. Look good, survived a hammer test but not a knife scrape test. Way softer than HiTek or HF PC. Guessing it is a liquid product. Recycle.