that went well

[454PB]

with harbor freight powder ?

Yes, that's what I'm using.

[BUCKEYE BANDIT]

SOOOOO I'm not they only one with a RED !!!! shop floor.Thankfully I had sense enough to take this on in the shop,not the reloading room.

Sounds like everyone is having fun. I've coated somewhere in the neighborhood of 6k and still have mishaps. Just this morning the lid of my cool whip bowl popped off during shaking.... the worst part is when I try to close it back and resume only for the bastard bbs to be stuck in the lid and have an immediate repeat.

[popper]

~$30 at WW. Put a glazed ceramic tile on it (steel plate won't work), crank all the way up and in 10 min, done (from cold). I get ~ 80 30 cal on one tile (yes, I load the tile then move to H.P.). Use parchment paper if the bases are coated. I did have trouble with NSAL on the tile - wouldn't lay flat. If you have good gloves you can rotate tiles. I WD, don't coat all the nose so pick up with hemos but paper will slide off into the water - the tile will crack if dumped in water. No oven, no thermo, not much space on the bench.
Attachment 186869

[Phantom30]

r5r jammed the sizing die did you, well that's the basis for the discussion of Molds designed specifically for the PC process. Handles sizing and nose chamber issues all together.

[NyFirefighter357]

I've read and watched that guys are getting an even/better coating by warming the bullets to 120F-140F. This relies less on static and more on making the paint tacky. Just my $.02

[Joe K]

I let them cool completely before removing from the foil covered bake sheet, they come off quite easy. While baking, I work on the next batch on another sheet and so on. About 300 and hour once you get going. Have fun.

[runfiverun]

I did a double coat on some of the slick sides.
I placed them in the oven until they looked wet.
took them out and let them cool down enough to touch then gave them another shake in the powder.
then cooked them like normal.
I had 5-6 that had too much on the nose but the rest took the powder and coated nice and smooth.

I need to make a wire jig thing for some 30 cal boolits I have, with a too small nose and a bevel base.
of course I was at the hardware store today for some paint stuff and completely forgot to go look

this isn't gonna be a common thing for me, but it will have it's uses for some specific applications.

[dverna]

This will be interesting. As a Star owner, I have not been able to justify adding another process that creates a mess, reduces productivity by more than 50%, requires more equipment/bench space, and requires venting of fumes....with no improvement in accuracy. I know there are those who have Stars and converted to PC....with at least one justifing the change because of less smoke when shooting in indoor ranges.

R5R, would you share what are the "specific applications" that make PC appealing to you?

Thanks

Don Verna

[runfiverun]

the couple of places I'm actually planning on using it is.
[this is gonna start an uprorar]
on some newer lyman molds..... yeah siiigh [specifically a 429667 I lapped out to pour 429]
on a slick sided 9mm mold on loan, it was sent to me to try and fix multiple issues and I have it basically working in my machine but it won't yet work in an automated master caster.
a magma 30 cal mold that has an undersized nose.
the LEE 230gr for the 300 BO at low velocity.
and finally an rcbs 180gr spire point mold I modified long ago to make .312 diameter tubing boolits,[it's a deer killer at 30-30 speeds in the kid's 31 cal rifles]
it's now slick sided and plain base. [has been for 20+ years]
with a powder coat it should make a decent 31 cal 100yd shooter.

I also have 1-2 more in mind but will have to just work through each one as I go.
now this is gonna sound out there.
but I'm also planning on trying Hi-Tek on some jacketed bullets.
I have someone that has been using the Hi-Tek working on doing some plated 9mm bullets, as he has the time, just to see if it's possible to get it to stick.

yeah I do a lot of this stuff just so I can see for myself.
if I want boolits I just get them out of the bucket, or make some more or whatever.
this P/C stuff is just to fill in some gaps.

[runfiverun]

heck Don.
I swage many of my own jacketed bullets [been bump swaging the 44's anyway], Paper patch, make buck shot, and load shot shells for target shooting and hunting. [steel and lead]

the toaster oven I needed [to replace my old one] to heat treat naked high velocity boolits anyway.
7 bucks for some powder and a strainer didn't seem like that big of a deal, if it would help out some molds I don't use hardly anymore.
if I decide it totally sucks I can probably absorb the financial hit, toss the powder and move on.

the PC in no way compares to the speed of a star sizer.
I was coating the next batch, and done sizing the last batch, and still had time to sit there waiting for the batch in the oven to finish cooking.

[OS OK]

I was coating the next batch, and done sizing the last batch, and still had time to sit there waiting for the batch in the oven to finish cooking.

You could try workin slower...you'll get a more harmonious outcome...

[dverna]

Thanks R5R for sharing your thoughts. I admire the work you do and how freely you share your experience. It is this kind of work that develops the science of what we do.

I am like most...too lazy and not knowledgeable enough to put in the effort. But at least I am honest about it. I try to stay current with what is going on and learn. If a better method or process comes along, I take advantage of it and jump in with both feet. A good example is BLL (In the case of BLL, it has a place in my needs as it allows processing of a few hundred bullets without setting up the Star or one of the Lymans.....being lazy again. BTW I wound up getting a life time supply of the stuff...LOL.) I came close to trying PC but realized I had no need for the benefits it offers...at least in my very limited use of cast bullets. To clarify that, I use a lot of cast bullets but my applications are limited and mundane. My "triggers" for anything to do with casting/reloading are performance, and productivity. Cost is almost immaterial as I value my time and ease of use.

I trust my question was not seen as critical in any way.....in fact it is the direct opposite. If you are experimenting with PC, I know there is a very good reason and it intrigues me.

Don Verna

PS: I even read every post of the Extreme Bullet Lube thread looking for knowledge, but laziness won on that too. In the end I ordered 20 sticks from Lars. LOL

[swheeler]

R5R powder coating........... you're screwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwed now!

[BrutalAB]

2. my 358091's will get immediately stuck in the 358 size die with PC on them.

I have not had this happen until just now. Next thing I know my powder will only be good for one tumble batch and I'll have to start matching quantities of powder to boolits....

[runfiverun]

to be fair they do cast over 359, I know this is unheard of with today's lymans.
I thought about sizing them first, but that would just lead me to pumping lube in the groove and forgetting about powder coating them.

part of what I'm working on here is being able to predict coating diameters.
we know fitment is very important to accuracy and very, very important to accuracy at high velocity's.
if a predictable amount of powder can be applied and cooked into place time after time.
then it could be applied to a fitted boolit mold cut undersized to adjust the final diameters.
but the shape could remain flexible such as it does now.

there are a few others doing the same thing but they are relying on the powder coat to do too much of the work.
if you get the powder coat to function WITH the boolit [I think] your chances of matching jacketed accuracy and velocity's increase greatly.
and at the lower speeds your accuracy potential should increase also.

but I have to start at the bottom and work my way through the process one step at a time before I can get up to the running part.