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Thread: HY-TEK help please

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    HY-TEK help please

    I have been following and reading up on HY TEK for some time. I ordered the black powder from High Performance Bullet Coating last year. I gave it a try last year without success. I didn't have a lot of free time, and I had a good stock of lubed and powder coated boolits. I want to give HY TEK coating another try for the rounds that I shoot the most of, like 38 special, 9mm, 40s&w, and 45 ACP. I just takes too much time to stand them up to spray them with powder coat.

    I mixed a new batch of the solution per the instructions. Coated the boolits, 5ml to 5lb of boolits, and let sit overnight in the wire mesh pans that I made. Heated my convection oven to 400 ish degrees. I used an oven thermometer to verify the temperature. Placed the boolits in oven and started the timer on the oven after it reached back to temperature. This batch failed the smash test but passed the wipe test.

    Next batch I had read the recent thread of contaminated alloy and the use of acid to leach the contaminates. Ok this batch I soaked the boolits over night in acid. Rinsed thoroughly and let dry for a few days. Coated the boolits with 4.5-5 mil of solution to 5 lb of boolits. I let these sit overnight. And baked them in the same manner. 400ish degrees with the timer starting after the oven reached back to temperature. Once again failure.

    Now a few question.
    First what difference does using MEK vs acetone make and any suggestions on brands. I have used the acetone sold at Walmart, so im wondering if its compatible (purity)

    I have read several times that it's more of a stain and too thick of a coat will cause a failure. All the pictures that I have seen is a finished boolit and couldn't find one of a freshly coated but not cured boolit. Can anyone help out with a picture of what the "stained" boolit looks like. My research on failures suggest that I am adding too much solution to the boolits, but Im using the ratios listed in the instructions. Would it be better to try adding say 3 ml to 5lb of boolits or adding a little more acetone to the mixture. Something like 110ml acetone to the 20 grams of powder. No problem with having to use multiple coats.

    On all occasions the solution was mixed at least an hour before use and was shaken prior to use. Im using a children's Tylenol syringe to measure the solution.

    One thing that I did notice about the powder was that there was small brown looking clumps in it. Not many just a few. They were present when I first tried it last year also. The powder had been stored in the house since I got it. Any chance that these clumps are the catalysis and it has separated from the dry mixture?
    Last edited by emorris; 07-23-2018 at 11:39 PM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    slide's Avatar
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    Give Donnie a call at Hi=performance. Move this up to the hi-tek thread and you will get lots of help.
    Put a bullet in your solution bottle to help break up clumps. 1 ml per lb is what most are using.
    Boolits !!!!! Does that mean what I think it do? It do!

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
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    first, you should use a little fan and let it blows on the boolit till they're drydrydry....if you feel they're still just a little sticky,leave them under the fan more.they must be dry .completely. this process shouldn't takes more than 15 minutes at worse.

    also, when you swirl them, you shouldn't wait till the sound change for a mat sound.they must be dropped on the tray STILL WET.yep,still wet.do not swirl for more than 10 seconds. when you FEEL that most boolit got in contact with the product,stop the swirling and dump the batch on the tray for the fan part of the process...


    ....as for the mix, consensus is that , you should go with 10 grams of powder for 54 ml of acetone,instead of 10grams for 50 ml. OR, 108-110 ml of actetone for 20 grams of powder....

    it's way better to have a little more diluted product than too thick.

    the first baking is the most important: if you get the 1st layer nailed,then the 2nd should stick no matter what.

    it is very crucial that no deposits of any matter make its way on the boolits.

    as example, i don't water quench anymore,because the minerals and micro deposits may prevent a sufficient bonding of the product.

    then the oven must be cranked out to 450F,then when you're ready to put the batch in the oven at around 400F ,temp will not drop too much when opening the door to slide the tray in . put the tray in the center of the oven,and try to make sure the heating elements won't radiate directly on the boolits. a layer of non stick foil,or the crumb catcher coming with the oven should be hooked on the lower level of the oven. the baking time is anywhere between 10 minutes and 15......past the first 10 minutes, it's a matter of the kind of color tone you wants to achieve,at 10 to 12,the baking is completed.

    ok. try my way of doin it,use it as a guideline.

    me,i'm cooking 16pounds at a time.BUUUT,i use 8 pounds in my 5gallons bucket for the swirling part.

    weight 8 pounds of boolits. using a seringe for a precise measurement of the product is recommanded. pour 8 ml of the mix recipe i've described earlier on 8 pounds of boolits .swirl for 10 seconds ,no more; when you see that most boolits got in contact with the product,dump it on the tray STILL WET .proceed to another 8 pound batch,dump in the same tray,so now 16 pound are in the tray for baking. put a fan over the boolits for 15 minutes till they're completely dry with NO sticky feel left . then proceed to the baking process.

    there's no reasons, except unwanted deposits on the boolits prior to the process, OR an incorrect mix,OR waiting too long before dumping the boolits in the tray,the acetone completely flashed.

    otherwise it's a very easy process.don't overthink it . clean boolits exempt of foreign matters-deposits,a correct mix recipe,the right swirling technique......the baking is really the easy part.

  4. #4
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    I mix 10 grams powder for 50 ml. acetone and 10 ml denatured alcohol
    I add less than per pound on the first coat
    dump boolits before they change noise
    dry on racks in front of a fan until completely dry


    dry for 1 bake cycle on wire grate on top of a hot oven


    test oven with 2 thermometers on the shelf you will bake on, adjust temperature until the thermometers on the shelf read 400°

    cover bottom of the oven with heat retaining substance ( I use ceramic BBQ briquettes, others use firebrick or?? (this get the oven back to temperature much faster)

    bake for 12 min

    cool on the rack in front of a fan, coat with 1 mil per pound, dry on the rack, warm on the oven, bake

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    How large a mix are you doing??
    10 grams to 50mls Acetone is the smallest you should mix.
    Hooroo.
    Regards, Trevor.
    Australia

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    The mix is 100 ml of acetone to 20 grams of powder. I didn't know if I should try a different brand of acetone or try using MEK instead of acetone. Any suggestions on the best brand of acetone to use? Also the boolits are freshly casted and air cooled. Also was wondering if there was any thoughts on adding less solution on the first coat? I know for a fact that they were completely dry before baking. They sat for at least 20 hours, in my hot shop, before baking. I even used latex gloves when handling them to avoid contamination.

    glockfan wrote: as for the mix, consensus is that , you should go with 10 grams of powder for 54 ml of acetone, instead of 10grams for 50 ml. OR, 108-110 ml of actetone for 20 grams of powder....
    This makes since to me because it will give a lighter coat and it seems that a light coat is key to success.

    I'm thinking that my next steps are to
    Use a different (better maybe) brand of acetone.
    Try Glockfans suggestion of 110 ml of acetone to 20 grams of powder.
    First coat add just shy of 1ml of solution per pound.
    Oh and first cast some more boolits.
    Last edited by emorris; 07-24-2018 at 10:21 PM.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    When you mix the powder/Acetone.... are you leaving it to re-act for 30 mins before using??

    The Acetone should be UN 1090
    Hooroo.
    Regards, Trevor.
    Australia

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by emorris View Post
    The mix is 100 ml of acetone to 20 grams of powder. I didn't know if I should try a different brand of acetone or try using MEK instead of acetone. Any suggestions on the best brand of acetone to use? Also the boolits are freshly casted and air cooled. Also was wondering if there was any thoughts on adding less solution on the first coat? I know for a fact that they were completely dry before baking. They sat for at least 20 hours, in my hot shop, before baking. I even used latex gloves when handling them to avoid contamination.

    glockfan wrote: as for the mix, consensus is that , you should go with 10 grams of powder for 54 ml of acetone, instead of 10grams for 50 ml. OR, 108-110 ml of actetone for 20 grams of powder....
    This makes since to me because it will give a lighter coat and it seems that a light coat is key to success.

    I'm thinking that my next steps are to
    Use a different (better maybe) brand of acetone.
    Try Glockfans suggestion of 110 ml of acetone to 20 grams of powder.
    First coat add just shy of 1ml of solution per pound.
    Oh and first cast some more boolits.
    i tried every possible recipe mods before settling for a more diluted mix,as the final result is a much more smoother finish ; no more rough spots ; it also gives more lattitude, and gets me a larger margin for the swirling part. for me the key is the diluted mix,and the swirling time. i'm only now trying to get an optimum coverage in the shortest action possible. i shake them up for barely 10 seconds,and over anything ,i'm dumping them still wet,not waiting for the acetone to flash entirely ,which is important for the best results possible.

    i don't think there's that much margin in quality from one brand to another. acetone is only it,acetone.........i never tried with MEK,but honestly,i don't see the gains it would provides since the acetone part is of 0 problems at all.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    In this hotter weather I use a 125/20 mix for the Candy Apple Red for the first coat and 100/20 mix for the second.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    Ok I casted up another batch this weekend. 158 grain .358 lee fn and 230 grain .452 Lee tc. I got some new acetone. same brand as I used before. First thing
    I noticed was the immediate reaction that my measureing cup had with this acetone. It began to dissove the plastic as i suspect acetone would. Looking back I thought it was strange that the other didnt effect the cup at the time, but I didnt think anything about it.
    Anyway I mixed 110ml of acetone to 20 grams of hy tek black. Used just shy of 5ml to 5lbs of bullets. Then baked for a little too long with a little too much heat. My homemade PID controller crapped out, so I had to let the oven control the temperature. So far it looks good. I just cant seem to attach a picture.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by emorris View Post
    Ok I casted up another batch this weekend. 158 grain .358 lee fn and 230 grain .452 Lee tc. I got some new acetone. same brand as I used before. First thing
    I noticed was the immediate reaction that my measureing cup had with this acetone. It began to dissove the plastic as i suspect acetone would. Looking back I thought it was strange that the other didnt effect the cup at the time, but I didnt think anything about it.
    Anyway I mixed 110ml of acetone to 20 grams of hy tek black. Used just shy of 5ml to 5lbs of bullets. Then baked for a little too long with a little too much heat. My homemade PID controller crapped out, so I had to let the oven control the temperature. So far it looks good. I just cant seem to attach a picture.
    if it pass the smash test,you're good to go .

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