Old PC powder

[RP]

I have not been PC anything for just about a year and my powder seems to lost it magic not wanting to stick to the bullets. I use a spray gun and I am sure it is moisture that caused the problem along with age. Did I toss the powder heck no I am to cheap to do that but there is a trick for the guys that spray and their powder has lost the magic.
I load up a tray of bullets and put them in the oven until they are good and hot. Then I spray the the powder starts melting on contact static or lack of is no longer a problem.
I have seen no side effects of doing it this way and my powder is being used not trashed. I have a full size oven for baking now so having trays on one rack heating while trays on the other rack baking.
One thing I have found out I need more trays with the full size oven but man I am putting out some PC bullets now 6 1/2 gal cans this weekend only about 2 gal worth of bullets left to go and I am done with PC until I start casting again.
I also clean up my over spray and use it too until it lands on a bullet or my hot tray its going to get used again lol.
Hope this helps someone out that may have the same problem.

[popper]

I've heard that slowly baking the H2O out of epson salts is a cheap desiccant. Haven't tried it yet, moisture seems to be the bane of PC.

[farmerjim]

I keep mine in vacuum sealed jars to prevent this. Seal the powder in a moisture proof container with a desiccant to dry it back out. Also check your gun to see if it is putting out high voltage. I would think it could still charge moist powder and make it stick if it is dry enough to not clump.

[RP]

OH YEA the gun has voltage checked it twice man those things make your arms feel funny do not ask how I know lol

[OS OK]

I wonder if our gone bad powders couldn't be dried out in an oven at 100*F. or so for 1/2 hour? Surly that would drive the moisture out without melting it.
If I had some bad PC, I'd try that because I tumble instead of spraying.

EDIT: You know, I forgot about this but Back in the day I took an old industrial size first aid wall hanging cabinet and mounted a 60 watt light in the bottom of the cabinet, I put my stick rod, welding rods on the shelves above and it kept moisture from fouling the flux coatings. Worked like a charm...maybe some of you guys that have high humidity could try that for PC stowage.

[popper]

I bring my bowl in under the heater vent (with a porous cover) and shake every once in a while. Helped some.

[Walter Laich]

after an especially damp PC session I brought my bowl in and sat it under a ceiling fan on low setting so nothing got blown around.
left it overnight (AC was on). Seemed to do better but not sure if that was me hoping for a good outcome

[Pawpaw757]

Just a thought but you may want to open the container of paint and place it in a sealed container alongside some Damp Rid. The Damp Rid may pull the moisture out for you. Again, just a thought.

[RP]

Not bad ideals but my powder did not want to stick and I wanted to PC some bullets and when I am ready to do something I have to do it then one of my flaws.
My Brother took a old mini freg and put a light bulb in it with a thermostat to store some of his stuff he uses out in his shop. Maybe not a bad thing to do for PC since its sealed and the bulb would keep it dry.
BTW I did not say it was HF powder my high end powders stilled sprayed fine.

[rsrocket1]

One of the problems with PC powder is that it does pick up moisture and even loading 10k+ bullets per year, a pound of powder can last several years.

Try this.
Mix in some rice and when you want to use the powder, strain the rice out with a mesh strainer just before you use it.

[RP]

Hey now that is a good point I know when my boys kept getting their phones wet we would put them in a bag of rice to draw the moisture out.

[Dragonheart]

I found a number of years ago that commercial powder coaters typically preheat components before they are sprayed. I have used the same technique powder coating a number of things other than bullets, but the process works quite well on bullets. One of the benefits of a preheat is you can see the results immediately as the powder melts on contact. So there is no reason to toss out old powder; use it to coat your tools.

As far as spraying the big problem for most is moisture in your gun's air source. I would bet if you are having problems like clogs, uneven spray, powder not sticking, it is due to too much moisture in the air.