Powder coat 1st attempt - PBFTBBTDTFT!

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I was in La Crosse earlier this week and stopped at Harbor Freight and picked up a $6 bottle of red powder coat. I put about 60 or so boolits in a No. 5 cottage cheese tub with some assorted color Airsoft bb's. Shook it up - barely coated 'em. Added more powder, no go. Added some pellets of Styrofoam, not much help. Left it sit for a day, came back when weather was sunny (not rainy), and there was some improvement. Finally had a few boolits that looked like they had a healthy dose of powder.

Used needlenose pliers to stand on tray and baked at 400. Came back and all the "paint" turned transparent. The boolits look like they're covered with red snot. Glossy and you can see the gray lead underneath and a few spots where it is thick are red. Where did the paint go?

It stuck to the boolit since the paper lined tray had no signs of paint puddling.

So now what? Shoot 'em as-is? Try multiple coating? Toss back in the melting pot?

Do black air soft bbs really make that big a difference?

Or do I need more powder in the tub?

[boman250]

I am no expert, but I had exactly the same issue as you are describing. I never did try the Black BBs but I hear they do make a difference.

I ended up using my brass tumbler. A large handful of bullets, a dose of powder, put the lid on, setting a timer for 20 min. Then, dump them into a strainer to get the excess off and bake at 400 degrees for 20 min.

I get good coverage that way. I usually repeat to get a second coat on them but I doubt it is needed.

I live in a high humidity area and had almost no luck at all with the shake method.

[daloper]

For me, I tried the multi color BB and they did not work very good at all. I also tried Harbor Freight Red and Yellow. Both needs two coats to be close enough for me to use. As a rule I only use Smoke's paint on this board. I have used his BBs and they work fine. I did get some Black BBs from Wally Mart and they also worked. So people do not have a problem with the Harbor Freight paint but for me Not good. I picked up a couple of the silicon baking sheets and cut them in half so that I got two pans covered. This works best for me. and if it ain't broke don't fix it. I would got to Smokes page and order some from him.

[KenH]

Another note for Smoke's powder. I've only used his clear, but did try HF's red at start. Even with black AirSoft BB's the HF red didn't do all that good, but was "ok". Smoke's powder is MUCH better than HF, the clear at least. Not sure his black BB's are any better than what you'd get anywhere else, but the black is for sure better than the lime green colored BB's I tried.

While I'd still use lube for black powder (with BP the lube is important to help keep fouling soft), but for smokeless, it's PC only.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Yeah. Well I figured $6 ain't bad to risk for an experiment that might fail. $21 is a bit more.

If folks think that the color BB makes a difference, I may tell my kid to buy some black ones so I can pirate a few off him.

Or. . . we've had two days of sun in a row - maybe it'll be dry enough today?

Or . . . maybe I need to dump more powder in. I've read some threads that say it only takes a teaspoon or so - other people are saying they dump in a number of tablespoons.

[farmerjim]

I used HF red 1st try and it worked fair. Tried Smokes powder and have never looked back. All 100% with about 15 seconds of shaking in a #5 tub with black AS BBs.

[marek313]

Harbor Freight PC is not the best quality. You can use it with ok results but its harder to stick then better quality PC. I know many people do light coats and do couple coats but I'm able to do it with just a single coat. You PC should stick like it does in my pic below. After I stand those up I also sprinkle some additional PC on top to cover any misses. It takes time but I think my results are good. You'll be the judge.

[jcren]

Sounds like a powder problem. The pigment is not evenly dispersed in the clear resin base. Get the same effect intentionally when I add a pinch of junk powder to Smoke's clear to tint the bullets and use up the junk.

[popper]

I've used HF red for several years (changed to better powder but it is cheap) My guess, damp powder or boolits that get clumps of powder which doesn't flow much when cooked. I started with one of those containers but have better results with a roundish bottom bowl.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Well it was certainly a rainy day the first day I made an attempt. But if this method is THAT weather sensitive I think I will go back to VHT spray cans. It's not like I was out in the rain, and it's not like the powder container was sitting open for hours in humid weather. However, I noticed that Farmerjim is from Louisianna. So if HF red can work there it can work in central Wisconsin.

[farmerjim]

"However, I noticed that Farmerjim is from Louisianna. So if HF red can work there it can work in central Wisconsin. "
I do my PC in an air conditioned room. The humidity in that room is low. Get one of Smokes starter packs with 4 colors. You will be much happier than with the HF powder. I used HF powder once. It did work. It did not coat well. Smokes powder always works in one coat. I use cheep Rubbermaid containers with the black AS BBs. The up and down shake is as important as the swirl. 15 seconds does it fine. I use forceps to place the boolits on non stick Al foil.
I am an old grain inspector and they are part of my right arm.

[Grmps]

Clear spots don't necessarily mean the lead is not covered, It could mean there is no pigment in those areas.
Cheaper PC is more easily affected by climate.

Try the HF red on a day with low humidity and warm the boolits on top of your oven for 10 min. see if that helps.

[Gunslinger1911]

Another vote for Smoke's powder !
Yes, the black bb's seem to make a difference, humidity seems to make a difference with HF, not so much Smoke's.
Had used a few different colors Smoke's in the past - really wasn't into colored boolets I guess. Got some clear recently, figures came on a humid day ! Tried it anyway - worked great !

[jimb16]

I got some PC from a local paint shop. I used it the other day out in the garage during a rain storm. Now that is "HIGH" humidity. Worked perfectly with black ASBBs. Very good coating with a single application. I've also used HF red. Used it in dry hot weather using black ASBBs and I still get lousy results. Believe me, the quality of the PC makes a HUGE difference.

[Traffer]

I used HF Red for the first couple of months. Had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. Someone here said, "you are using too much powder, use only enough to coat them...1 teaspoon or so" I tried using just enough powder to coat them and PRESTO have never had a problem with getting the powder to stick since then.

[bangerjim]

HF red is my standard go-to powder.

Why in the wide world of sports would ever use styorfoam/multicolor pellets? We always say BLACK ASBB’s. That is what the BBDT technology was developed around. And YES....there is a big difference in the triboelectric constant of colored and BLACK pellets. Stick with what works. It WILL work. I use BLACK all the time and it DOES work perfectly. Every time! No guarantee on rabbit pellets , styrofoam pellets, yellow pellets, green pellets, gerbil pellets. Just use what we have proved (for years ) works.........ASBB BLACK! ONLY. Period.

Bangerjim

[Traffer]

HF red is a little different kind of stuff than the really good stuff (Smokes and probably Eastwood from what I have heard) Smokes is fluffy and puts a really thick coat on. BUT HF RED does work just fine also. When I use it i figure on a thinner coat (but still completely covered)
I would suggest getting some of Smoke's powder, then you can play with the opposite problem (too much powder on the bullets unless you shake it off in a strainer really well) but I think it is better to master the HF Red first. Don't bother trying HF White if you have trouble with the red. White is even thinner yet. Once you get the hang of it, you will think (man this is easy, everyone should be doing this) And you will get the hang of it. Like I said my breakthrough was realizing that I was putting too much powder in the tub when I shook them up...remember just enough to coat them.
I never tried any kind of BB's. I have tried little chunks of Styrofoam and they seem to help but really not necessary. Another thing I do is put those little silicone packets for drying stuff, in the powder containers so they absorb any moisture that gets in there. That I highly recommend in any humid location. I bought a hundred or so of them from China off of eBay for cheap money. I put them in my gunpowder containers too. Seems to help with static in there also.

[Beagle333]

Use black BBs. I have used HF powder for tumble.... usually takes two coats to get a usable finish. Stick with Smoke's powders and save yourself some headache. His powders just flat work. I do encourage everyone to experiment all they want, and maybe we'll find out newer and better things, but if you want a definite product with known results.... go with Smoke.

[Walter Laich]

I used HF red 1st try and it worked fair. Tried Smokes powder and have never looked back. All 100% with about 15 seconds of shaking in a #5 tub with black AS BBs.

+1
now that Houston has warmed up it becomes even easier than when temps were at 60°

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Why in the wide world of sports would ever use styorfoam/multicolor pellets?

Easy there fella!

I used the multicolor pellets because that is what was laying around the house - didn't have to make a special trip to Wally World, didn't have to wait for the brown truck to drop anything off. In fact if I was still waiting for the time to get to Wally World, I'd still be waiting.

I used the styrofoam pellets because I had actually read about the idea here on these forums as a method to increase the static charge. Obviously it must not have been one of your posts though. But who knows it may be that it works.

Actually the coverage seems OK before I bake them. It's hard to tell but my boolits look about as red as the other pictures before baking. And, yes the boolits are 100% coated with something - look like a glazed donut actually.

Interesting that one piece of advice is to only use a little bit of powder, that is how I started out.

I will soldier on.