Questions about getting started in Powder coating

[Hickok]

Sorry for misspelling in title.

I have read the stickies and done the searches.

Just need advice from you all.

Simple question, what is the best, easiest, and most satisfactory color of powder to use for the "tumbler method" of PCing boolits? Where do I order from to get it?

Can anyone recommend a good economical stove/oven to heat the boolits after PC.

Layed off from work and need to get a project going to occupy myself.

[bdicki]

Get your powder here.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...owder-For-sale
I found a couple of toaster ovens at the local Goodwill store, bought one for $5.99 works fine. Just check temp with a thermometer. While I was at Goodwill the other day I picked up 7pounds 12.3 ounces, after smelting, of marked pewter for $22.50. It pays to check there for time to time.

[jcren]

Smokes high gloss black and clear cover well and are slick as snot. Cheap ovens work fine in smaller batches, fancier convection units heat more evenly for large batches/multi trays. I love the nu-wave style because you don't have to move the tray after setting them up, and generics can be had for $40 or so.

[FredBuddy]

I've been using Smoke's pink to size up 200 gr SWC's for my 45-70 lite loads. Works fine.

[Beagle333]

Smoke will let you get a trial pack of 4 colors if you want. I think Signal Blue covers the best, but most dark colors do well tumbling.

[Hickok]

Thanks to all you for the information. I will order some powder coat from Smoke. I enjoy giving my business to people on this site!

[runfiverun]

fixed your title for ya.

[Hickok]

fixed your title for ya.

Thanks!

[rancher1913]

smoke has a post on his sticky that gives the powders that tumble and the ones that don't. his powders got me started. my oven came from wally world, it was cheeper than goodwill.

[nagantguy]

You can't do better than smokes powder, bules, red, black, John deere green, clear, they all seem to work well tumbleing, make sure to use #5 plastic containers such as cool whip dishes, don't know the science behind it but they seem to work best. Few air soft bbs black and green seem to work best for me, give them a shake, more of a roll actually clockwise then counter. Long pliers or hemostats work well for pickingg them out but smooth jawed, jaws with teeth or sereations seem to collect the powder, I dipped my pliers in the rubber dip from harbor freight. The biggest thing to work out is coverage, to much is worse than to little in my OPINION. I use 1 and a half plastic spoons for about 50 boolits, for second batch, just add half a spoon full, (very precise mesurments I know) dont worry about not having total coverage at first, for p linker rounds it hurts nothing, my less than perfect ones get shot in idpa, without any lessening of accuracy nor leading. After a few batches you'll find your stride of powder, bbs, boolits and motion. My #1 is smokes jet black, all serious hunting boolits are black, can tell at a glance. Training ammo is blue (Carolina blue ) pilnking ammo is J D green experimental ammo is red, most idpa ammo is clear. You won't believe how smooth it goes through a sizer die once pcd.

[Dragonheart]

I don't use it, but a lot swear by Harbor Freight Red powder at $5.99 a pound, if you have a store close. I order my powder from Prismatic Powder and the Tractor Green, Bubba Blue, Plum Purple coat really well using a tumbler. If you stay with their solid colors you should do fine. Also check out their discount & overrun powders which are usually less than $6 a pound. I bought several pounds of a discontinued gold metallic powder for $3 a pound, but found that it only works well when sprayed, but it looks great sprayed. I understand Smokes also sells good quality powder off this site.

I would put my money in a convection toaster oven as they heat more evenly. Garage sales and thrift stores are a good place to start, but you can buy a new one at Costco for under $50. Get a Taylor Glass Oven Thermometer and put it where you can see it to monitor the oven temperature, don't rely on the oven's dial. Cover the oven's wire racks with thin sheetmetal from front to back to give you a flat surface to stand up your bullets. I use silicon baking mats to cook on, but non-stick foil & parchment paper also work well. Cook for a full 10+ minutes at 400 degrees and you should have great looking bullets ready to size.

[gpidaho]

Hickok: If you have a local powder coat custom shop drop by and tell them what your up to. Some won't sell wanting to do the custom work for you but some show interest and will sell you some powder. I buy from a local shop and get good made in America Cardinal powder for about six bucks a quart, that goes a lonnnnng way. Even swept up overspray works just fine if you put it through one of those paper sieves you use to strain paint when you put it back in the can. Mixed overspray can make some interesting looking boolits. Have fun with this. Gp

[RogerDat]

Get your powder here.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...owder-For-sale
I found a couple of toaster ovens at the local Goodwill store, bought one for $5.99 works fine. Just check temp with a thermometer. While I was at Goodwill the other day I picked up 7pounds 12.3 ounces, after smelting, of marked pewter for $22.50. It pays to check there for time to time.

Exactly my route. Goodwill toaster oven for $6, thermometer to confirm where on the oven dial I got the right temp, never trust the oven dial temps. A roll of non-stick aluminum foil from Wal-Mart. I picked up some Harbor Freight red and black airsoft BB's but bookmarked smoke's post to get some better quality, tested colors of powder. I don't think I saved much of anything but time buying the BB's and the powder local. Price was pretty close to the same.

Have seen larger toaster ovens for around $15 at Goodwill the small one I bought will do 40 or so at a time of 45 or 30 cal.

[fredj338]

I get good results with HF red. I splurged & bought a $50 12" convection pizza oven. I can get 400 bullets plus at a time in the wire baskets I use tumble coating. The powders Smoke sells are better, but if you are happy with red, why not. Agree on the less powder is better. I can do a several 100 with less than a level tsp.

[Hickok]

Just ordered some yellow/green powder from Smoke. Now the adventure begins!

[Beagle333]

You'll like yellow/green. These were tumbled in Smoke's yellow/green:

[Hickok]

Nice!

Beagle if you don't mind, can you give me any details as to your tumbling process, it sure would be a time saver for me from someone who has experience.

I have a Lyman 1200 Turbo case tumbler. I read some use these in PC process putting everything in tupperware and placing in the tumbler. Also see where some simply shake in the Tupperware by hand.

[Beagle333]

The powder works great. My tumbling does not. You'd be much better off following the ASBBDT threads. Just get some black AirSoft BBs and some yellow/green and a Cool Whip bowl and shake the heck out of it. Don't use too much powder, as you can always sprinkle a little more in there and keep shaking, but it's hard to get back out if you use too much at first. I can't get mine to reproduce often enough to be useful. Do note that if you aren't totally happy with the looks of your tumbling/baking, you can always tumble a second coat and bake again. It won't hurt a thing. Every now and again I'll get some nice ones, but it is so rare that I just use the spray gun. It works 100% of the time.

Good luck on it!

[JakeBlanton]

I was in a Wal-Mart last night and say a very large stack of toaster ovens for around $25. I think they were the Black & Decker models. I don't think it was a convection oven though.

Checking their website, I came up with this one.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Deck...Steel/22910666

That must be the one I saw.

[bangerjim]

Nice!

Beagle if you don't mind, can you give me any details as to your tumbling process, it sure would be a time saver for me from someone who has experience.

I have a Lyman 1200 Turbo case tumbler. I read some use these in PC process putting everything in tupperware and placing in the tumbler. Also see where some simply shake in the Tupperware by hand.

You do NOT need to put anything in a mechanical tumbler/vibrator at all! Just 20-39 seconds hard swirl and then 10-15 seconds hard up and down and you are done. Pick 'em up with hemostats and put on NSAF and bake 10min @ 400F after the powder turns shiny. We all developed this BBDT method using only some BB's, a little powder (started off with HF red which is still my go-to powder for BBDT and ESPC) and #5 coolwhip bowl. Simple and most effective.

And using a tumbler will scuff of lead and darken your coat. I have tried every method know to man on this process and mechanical machines are not needed at all.

Done.

Simple.

Upper body exercise to boot!

banger