Mixing powder with acetone or lacquer thinner?

[rondog]

I just read something about some guy that mixes his powders with either acetone or lacquer thinner into a small amount of thin "paint", then adds his bullets and swirls it around to coat them. Then bakes as usual.

Has anybody heard of this? Or is anybody doing this? I'm just not that impressed with either shake 'n bake or electrostatic spraying, and would be interested in alternative methods.

Thanks!

[#40Fan]

I tried it because it sounded a whole lot like the Hi Tek method. I ended up with blotchy results, but it might have just been me. Did leave a thin first layer that will more than likely need more on top of it.

[dikman]

A guy in my club mixes his with thinner and sprays the boolits. Works for him and they look good. He tried Hi-Tek but couldn't seem to get it right so went back to spraying pc (he's a spray painter/mechanic by trade so knows a lot about spraying different stuff).

[rondog]

So here's what I found - mix 1 part powder with 2 parts acetone or lacquer thinner, mix well, add boolits and coat well, place on tray with NSAF and bake as usual. No spraying or shake 'n bake. Might want to let the coating evaporate a bit before baking.

I'ma gonna try this! Gotta cast up some more boolits first.

[rondog]

A guy in my club mixes his with thinner and sprays the boolits. Works for him and they look good. He tried Hi-Tek but couldn't seem to get it right so went back to spraying pc (he's a spray painter/mechanic by trade so knows a lot about spraying different stuff).

I'd like to know more details if you could ask him please, type of thinner, amount of powder, etc.

[dikman]

Ok, if I remember I'll ask him. I didn't pay much attention before 'cos I'm a Hi-Tek man .

[waco]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Piglet-Method

[rondog]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Piglet-Method

Thank you sir! Appreciate that! Thought I was hearing about something new.

[bangerjim]

That is a very VERY old technique that predates the BBDT and ESPC methods we all developed on here several years ago.

Some powders will dissolve in acetone/laq thinner......most won't. Every one I tried ended up in a globed mess as stated above.

Stick with what you KNOW works........BBDT or ESPC. I use both with 100% success every time.

Banger

[dikman]

Rondog, I asked him about his method yesterday. He dissolves the powder in lacquer thinner until he gets the correct spraying consistency. He said it takes a while for the powder to dissolve. He uses a (small) detail spray gun with the correct nozzle for lacquers, finer than would be used for enamels/acrylic paint, and sprays at about 30 psi (he thinks). The boolits are standing on a piece of cardboard and he does one coat vertically, one horizontally and two more diagonally, once it's flashed off he stands the boolits on their noses (round nose flat point for SAS) and sprays the bottom, then bakes. He said the critical thing is to clean the gun fairly quickly and uses a lot of lacquer thinner! I've seen the results of his work and it's very good. But then he's a professional sprayer.

[Beagle333]

I have used Piglet with some success, but you have to have the right powder. As Banger said, not all powders will dissolve. If yours does though, it works just fine, although messy. But my boolits worked great and didn't lead at all. I still think one of the dry ways is superior, but I can't say it doesn't work wet.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

This is pretty much like what a lot of commercial sprayable paints and aerosols actually are. But if you want to make up your own, I think you would do better with finely broken-up celluloid objects. Unless the technology has changed in the fifty or so years since school could make me play ball games that didn't involve lead, anybody who plays table tennis may have a box of dented ones.

There was a recent thread about heat-shrink tubing, which got me to thinking about the process which has now been rather upstaged by powder-coating, in which finely powdered molybdenum disulphide and carnauba wax were tumble-polished onto the bullets. Teflon powder could be applied the same way, or if the commonly available 1.6 micron is fine enough, incorporated into a spray lacquer.

[bangerjim]

This is pretty much like what a lot of commercial sprayable paints and aerosols actually are. But if you want to make up your own, I think you would do better with finely broken-up celluloid objects. Unless the technology has changed in the fifty or so years since school could make me play ball games that didn't involve lead, anybody who plays table tennis may have a box of dented ones.

There was a recent thread about heat-shrink tubing, which got me to thinking about the process which has now been rather upstaged by powder-coating, in which finely powdered molybdenum disulphide and carnauba wax were tumble-polished onto the bullets. Teflon powder could be applied the same way, or if the commonly available 1.6 micron is fine enough, incorporated into a spray lacquer.

TFE coated boolits are a NO-NO! Illegal in many states because they can penetrate Kevlar.

[dikman]

Beagle, I don't know anything about the powder my mate is using, other than it was readily available, but his coating looks perfect, nice and smooth with no blemishes. The common method on here of pc-ing appears to be using airsoft bb's to generate the static to cause adherence. Down here airsoft is illegal (!) and that includes the bb's because they would be classed as ammunition. So we have to find other ways of applying it.

I'll stick with Hi-Tek 'cos it's simple to apply.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

TFE coated boolits are a NO-NO! Illegal in many states because they can penetrate Kevlar.

That was due to the infamous "cop killer bullets" media hype, produced mainly because someone marketed bullets with teflon coating on solid brass and unusually pointed bullets. I don't know if powder coating or lacquer which includes the stuff would count as such, as it would surely depend on the wording of the law, and when does anybody ever get that exactly right? But there are presumably states where it wouldn't be a big no-no.

[M-96 Hunter]

My issue is bore rider boolits. If you PC the whole boolit, they won't chamber. Wondering if there is some other medium (Alcohol, water, soapy water) that won't dissolve the powder ? The powder would float on it (like oil on water) and the boolit dipped in base first just to get PC on the part that is normally lubed ?

[bangerjim]

My issue is bore rider boolits. If you PC the whole boolit, they won't chamber. Wondering if there is some other medium (Alcohol, water, soapy water) that won't dissolve the powder ? The powder would float on it (like oil on water) and the boolit dipped in base first just to get PC on the part that is normally lubed ?

Just build a jig that exposes only the part of the boolil coated. Several on here have done that. Even used old brass casings fastened to an Al plate with noses sitting in them. That means you MUST invest in an electrostatic gun. You cannot BBDT and only coat part!!!!!!

[M-96 Hunter]

That is one way, but what about my question ?

[DerekP Houston]

I did the piglet method for awhile when starting, the hf red just wasn't sticking enough with houston humidity. It works *ok* but is a bit blotchy and thick. Once I bought smokes powder I no longer needed to bother with it, just bb's and shake and bake.