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Thread: Basic powder coating question

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    Basic powder coating question

    I know that most guys go find a cheap, used toaster oven from Goodwill or similar. I have two basic questions about the process though; where are you running your oven and what do you place your bullets on when baking them?

    As far as where you run your oven, what I'm getting at here is does the PC put off any dangerous gases during baking? If I could avoid going outside to do it, it would be nicely convenient. I have an issue in that I don't have a good place to do some of this work. I've got a Lee pot that I take outside and sit on the tailgate of my truck (it has a plastic bedliner, so if some lead splashes and gets on that, it's not like I care...I can get a new bedliner easy enough should I need one). Casting in the open is fine as a safety measure, but hauling the equipment around gets to be a pain in the neck. I basically have to relocate my entire set up twice every time I cast (dragging everything off my workbench in the basement outside, set up, drag it all back inside). I shudder to think of adding a toaster oven to that process. Further, my reloading bench is already ram jam full with no place to even store anything else, such as a toaster oven.

    When actually powder coating, what do you set your boolits on? My thought was an old used cookie sheet, but I'm concerned that whichever part of the boolit is resting on the sheet won't get coated as well. Is there a better alternative?

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master OS OK's Avatar
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    Don't you have a basement window you could use as a vent? Yes the powder does off gas but I haven't a clue how bad it is. I set my fan in the garage so it causes a draft and it pulls everything outside and I don't smell anything, even the Pb pot when I wax flux...it all heads outside. Maybe a shelf below a basement window and a small fan in the window would do it for you?

    I set my casts on parchment paper (the wife stocks that stuff...I requisition it on the five finger discount), it doesn't stick to the PC and the bottoms of the cast coat perfectly...just not glossy, they are a matt looking finish. You get 4~6 uses out of a piece of paper but you need to watch the temperature of the ovens, they will go awful high without your realizing it if you don't have a digital oven or a glass thermometer. If your parchment turns dark brown like biscuit bottoms your temp is ranging too high.

    There's a ton of information here if you search a bit for it. Lots & lots of threads just about PC'ing your casts. Here's a link to one of my threads about it...it's comprehensive... http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...lt-lt-lt-lt-lt
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    Good questions all. Let's break off into that. I already had one, Black and Decker, but they just aren't that expensive at Wal-Mart. I run my oven in the garage, and yes the out gassing is toxic. That is why you never bake food in an oven that has baked Boolits. I started out by using the trays that came with the oven with a tray liner made of galvanized flashing cut to fit.

    I was using a Harbor Freight PC Gun, then a Sears type PC gun that is more like a blow dryer, needs no compressor. Then I started covering the tray liner with non-stick aluminum foil and sprayed with the Boolits right on the tray. Now, when I spray, I do so on the tray in a cardboard spray booth and transfer to a baking tray covered with parchment paper. I use the tray with a plastic flourescent light defuser that has 1/2 inch squares, that was cut to fit the tray. When transiting the sprayed boolits from the booth to the oven, the grid keeps the boolits from touching. Carefully remove the grid, set the oven to 400 degrees (oven thermometers you place in the oven are $5, I set mine at 385 which is actually 400) because you can't trust the dial on the oven. (I set mine at 385 which is actually 400) I don't preheat the oven. It takes my oven about 5 minutes to come to temp (powder starts to liquify) and 10 minutes to bake. Set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes. When it goes 'ding' go turn your oven off, and either open a door or walk away until the oven cools. If you are going for volume, you can pull the trays, walk away, and go dump them in water. Personally, I turn off the oven, open the door, and walk away for at least 5 minutes. BTW, %99 of the time I 'shake and bake' rather than spray. More on that later, or read the thread.

    Years ago, I used to cast on the tailgate of my truck. Not wanting let splatter and sprues go everywhere, I picked us a canvas painter's tarp which went over the tailgate and under my folding chair. I have 2 10lb Lee 'drip-o-matic pots, 1 I bought when I got back into casting, and #2 when the first one died (it took 25 years). I bought a new heating element and fixed the first one. I have since modified both by attaching a small angle bracket to help support the weight of the pot.

    My current casting station is mobile, and I cast in the doorway to my back porch. The casting station is outside and I am seated inside. Plenty of ventilation, and luckily the prevailing winds are blowing away not toward me. During the winter rains I am out of the weather and have never had rain hit my pot. The tinsel fairy is scary. Casting station consists of the Harbor Freight version of a Black and Decker Work-Mate. I built a top for it that slides on and off, but is held in place by expanding the 'jaws' to fit into the lip under the top. I put my pot on an old cookie sheet, and place that on the station. I use a wooden TV tray covered with an old folded towel, and push the TV tray to where it is slightly under the casting station. This places the pot a bit higher so I can see the spout, and a barrier (TV tray over my lap) for added safety. I keep my casting gear in the garage so there is not a lot of setup/tear down. Heck, when done I place the cookie sheet, pot and all on the towel covered TV tray right near the back door, with all my casting acreutrement on the cookie sheet.

    I have one Lee mold 356-125RN, that has cast over 600,000 Boolits. I had to rebuild it twice by replacing the sprue plate screw by re-tapping the hole and replacing the original screw with a stainless hex bolt. I lost track of how many molds I own, but have a list on my tablet, not this PC. Wow, I've rambled, but I hope I have answered some of your questions. Frank
    Common sense Gun Safety . . .

    Is taught at the Range!

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by OS OK View Post
    Don't you have a basement window you could use as a vent? Yes the powder does off gas but I haven't a clue how bad it is. I set my fan in the garage so it causes a draft and it pulls everything outside and I don't smell anything, even the Pb pot when I wax flux...it all heads outside. Maybe a shelf below a basement window and a small fan in the window would do it for you?

    I set my casts on parchment paper (the wife stocks that stuff...I requisition it on the five finger discount), it doesn't stick to the PC and the bottoms of the cast coat perfectly...just not glossy, they are a matt looking finish. You get 4~6 uses out of a piece of paper but you need to watch the temperature of the ovens, they will go awful high without your realizing it if you don't have a digital oven or a glass thermometer. If your parchment turns dark brown like biscuit bottoms your temp is ranging too high.

    There's a ton of information here if you search a bit for it. Lots & lots of threads just about PC'ing your casts. Here's a link to one of my threads about it...it's comprehensive... http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...lt-lt-lt-lt-lt
    I do have a basement window, they are the well type, up quite high from the floor. Finished basement though, wife might not let me do this . Not even certain those windows would open, and I'd have to pull the plastic window well cover for venting.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master




    bruce drake's Avatar
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    parchment paper worked perfectly for me last night for my first PC effort. I bought a used Krups Convection Toaster Oven at Goodwill for $10 and I bought an oven thermometer to ensure the temperature read what it actually was. In a test run in the house, it ran true to temp gauge on the dial but the first run in the garage around 40 degrees showed it was colder in the oven than the dial indicated so I was able to easily adjust it up to 400F proper.

    Venting...Yes, I ran my first run last night and I had a bit of a headache after it was done. This morning when I did the bullet's 2nd coat, I vented to the outside and had no problems at all with the fumes.
    I Cast my Boolits, Therefore I am Happy.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    I probably need a "casting cart".

    I've had a vague idea in my mind for a while on this. I'm thinking wooden cart with casters that can lock, shelves on the bottom and pockets on the side for tools and molds. The heavy stuff like the pot and toaster oven bolted down to the top so nothing falls of when I haul it up the stairs. I'm thinking I'd want a "bullet drop area" to the right of the pot walled off with wooden boards a half to one inch high. I'd keep wetted down rags in that as a soft spot to drop bullets so they don't deform when they land.

    It's a nice idea with three problems. First, I have almost no woodworking tools...I'd at least need a jigsaw or something. Second, the last time I built anything out of wood was in 7th grade shop class. It was a bird house. And it kind of sucked. Third, I already can't pry enough time away from other responsibilities to reload as much as I'd want, much less this.

    Wisdom is probably to just buy the hi-tek coated boolits from Missouri Bullet Company or Dardas Cast Bullets. Due to cost, this largely locks me out of 45 ACP on a semi permanent basis. I'll need to be looking for a 9mm 1911 if I want to keep shooting that style handgun.

  7. #7
    Banned
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    I use a kitchen vent hood and vent it outside, it covers both my casting pot and convection oven.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Dec 2011
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    Montana
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    Good questions! I wear a resperator mask when handling powder because I have dust caused lung disease and am very sensitive to any dust. Even when doing things like casting outside and in my garage I use, a fan as the mask only protects against particulates, not fumes. I'd recommend these precautions to everyone because breathing isn't an optional activity. Silicone cooking mats work well to stand up rifle bullets and nitrile gloves don't affect the coating much if you are careful and have a good electrostatic bond along with a good quality powder.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
    CastingFool's Avatar
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    If you are going to buy coated boolits, check out our fellow brother Casting Machine. He's a vendor here. I've bought some of his 9mm coated boolits and they arevery good, imo.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    I use a piece of 1/16 al sheet cut to fit in the tray portion of my convection oven. It set on the wire frame about 1" from the side wall to not mess with the air flow. On top of the Al sheet I use something called oven liner which is similar to the mat used on outdoor grills to cook vegetables. I have used the oven liner for several thousand cooks and it is still almost as good as new. Bullets do NOT stick under any condition I have found. Make sure you have a good oven thermometer to monitor your cooking temp. The settings on oven are not very reliable. I originally got a really cheap oven that was not convection and slumped(big pool of lead running over side of tray) a batch. Reread posts and saw mistake--got right oven and no problems since--it pays to listen to what is written in posts--at least a little.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    I bought a $50 conv pizza oven from Wally. I bake in small wire baskets used for drawer organizer. I can get 4 baskets on the two shelves & do 400+ bullets a pop. The bullets stick a tiny bit to the small ga wire but just a tap omn the conc frees everything up. I do my casting & coating in my garage/relaoding work space.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check