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Thread: Of the three companies I am aware of, which do you recommend for PC?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Huskerguy's Avatar
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    Of the three companies I am aware of, which do you recommend for PC?

    I am just getting started in PC. Like a lot of people I started with the Harbor Freight red and had OK results with one coat, better with two. I didn't find a single problem with the single coat when shooting but would like better overall coverage and appearance. So for those who have "tried them all" which company and colors work best for you. I will tumble them.

    The companies I know of are: Smokes, Powder by the Pound, Eastwood
    I am interested in probably four different colors for the main calibers I shoot. A red, chartreuse green, purple, chrome, black, blue - pretty much anything as long as it sticks, covers well and flows well.

    Whatcha got? Also, I hear the shipping for some of these places gets pretty high but I haven't got that far to find out just yet.

    Thanks In Advance

  2. #2
    Boolit Master




    bruce drake's Avatar
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    Smokes is a member of the forum and stands by his product. I use Eastwood paints and I heartily recommend NOT using Harbor Freight powders.
    I Cast my Boolits, Therefore I am Happy.
    Bona Fide member of the Jeff Brown Hunt Club

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I currently have hf red and pbtp virginia tech orange, pbtp is way better, hf just isn't really worth it, your saving a very tiny fraction of a penny per boolit and probably getting half as even of coverage. it works for some but they might have the perfect climate or something for it to stick well.

    I don't know if many people have bought a bunch of colors from each company cause that would be enough to supply a small army with coated boolits. have you seen the sticky thread on which powders work id probably just look through that to help pick

  4. #4
    Boolit Man 415m3's Avatar
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    I've been trying various Smoke colors with his Sampler 1/3lb packs. Red, orange, black, blue, purple, and pink have all been great with 1 coat tumbled with ASBB. Bacon Grease...it's a tad thin but still better than HF

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I only use smokes. It works. Period.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Smoke

  7. #7
    Boolit Master

    rancher1913's Avatar
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    smoke is the only one that has a list of what powders tumble and what powders only spray
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  8. #8
    Boolit Master BNE's Avatar
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    Smoke is great. I have not tried the others, but Smoke is one of us, so he knows exactly what we are after.
    I'm a Happy Clinger.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master


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    I agree supporting those who support us so I have used and like Smokes powders too!

    But credits due to others as well as you asked what works.

    I have had good luck with Eastwoods, Smokes and Tiger Drylac. I find colors more than manufacturers. Shake n bake is different then spray gun. Spray gun dosent have as many short comings as shake n bake.

    For me, metallics are very very thin and shot poor coverage. When mixed with other colors they exhibit same tendencies. So If I have a bulky powder a pinch of a appropriate metalic can help. Too much and often it dosent take much... can ruin the batch.

    Yellows inclusing orange and some reds are usually problematic. Yellow especially for me. I have bought three differ et brands all work about the same for me.

    Greens seem to be great tho! Blues and purples work well. Whites tend to be hot or cold. A good one looks great and works awesome as a mixing color.

    Blk is same as white for me. 100% good or JUNK. I HAVE MAYBE FOUR OR FIVE BLACKS AND TWO ARE useable.

    Eastwood ford blue. Smokes Carolina Blue are real good colors.

    Two other places to buy are The Powder Coat store & Powder by the pound.

    A pound of powder is gonna last you quite a while. Keep them tightly sealed. Dont leave them out in the air longer than necessarry and I like to double zip loc bag my powders. I have not had much problem with leaving powder in my buckets. But if I do I just toss it. Your only putting a table spoon in as a little can go a long way coating. And never put used back in bag. Just toss it away.

    Good Luck and have fun!

    CW
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  10. #10
    Boolit Master



    WebMonkey's Avatar
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    I tried quite a few colors from smoke.
    All worked well.

    I've settled on smoke's clear.

    Goes on white, cures clear.

    All I use now.
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  11. #11
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    I use many different companies PC the work well.

    I started with Smokes
    Now I'm a Big fan of:
    Cardinal
    Tiger Drylac
    Eastwood
    I also like:
    Powder By the Pound
    The powdercoat Store
    SHERWIN WILLIAMS
    DU PONT
    IVC
    PPG


    IF you get a polyester (usually TGIC) PC in gloss or high gloss you should be fine

    I've found that Many of the whites and light colors don't cover as well

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    I used hf red for the past year. Works fine. Got in on smoke's fourth of July special last week. Works way easier. I'll never buy hf again. I've also tried some pbtp and it's better than hf but not as good as smoke's.
    I'm a Smoke4320 lifetime groupie on account of his recent sale. You can't beat a 10-20 second tumble with great coverage. HF takes a couple minutes and isn't as good of coverage.

    Edit: also there's that thing where he's one of us and we should be supporting each other.

  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    Since I've started using Smoke's clear and shake & bake I won't use anything else.

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    These threads pop up from time to time. So, why not support a guy who supports this forum? I just don’t get it. Sure there are a lot of companies and paint to choose from but Smoke has done the legwork and testing so it’s a no brainer for me.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Well, I ordered 4 lbs from Smoke. To be honest, only three are for me, one is for a buddy. I went with the Flame Red and Carolina Blue, buddy went with an orange as he is an Allis Chalmers fan. Thanks for the input guys. I talked to Smoke today and it will be shipped on Friday so all I need now is some time.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
    Dragonheart's Avatar
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    I have tried all three of the companies you mention and others. If you are first getting into PC and plan to tumble coat then out of the three, pick Smoke's definitely. The reason is all his powders have been tried by many, including myself, and they do an excellent job. If you go no further into PC then that's all you need to know.

    However if you get deeper into PC, obtain a spray gun and start doing other PC projects I would recommend going with the company recommended to me by three different applicators when I started PC in 2012 and that is Prismatic Powder. They carry over 6K colors with different base polymers. Not all of these powder will tumble coat, but all powder will spray. Prismatic is a full service company found online and will sell you one pound or a hundred. Orders are usually delivered in 2-3 days. Sale and discount items come out a regular basis. The Prismatics techs know all about commercial applications and the powders, but is not the place to ask questions about shaking bullets in a Cool Whip container. You need to get some hands on time to learn the PC basics and Smoke's is the place to go for that.

    One final note, FOLLOW THE POWDER MANUFACTURER'S CURING SCHEDULE! I can assure you there is not a single person on this site, and not even the Elvis Videos that knows more about polymers than the companies that make the powder.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master


    Walter Laich's Avatar
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    It's amazing how well PC has developed figuring the number of us that started with HF.

    We didn't quit, we kept looking for better PC

    I've been luck enough to be a Beta tester for some PC but find Smoke's hard to beat. I'll stick with him

    Also check his vendor site as he has some nifty plastic products for reloading.
    NRA Life
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  18. #18
    Boolit Master


    Burnt Fingers's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Conditor22 View Post
    I use many different companies PC the work well.

    I started with Smokes
    Now I'm a Big fan of:
    Cardinal
    Tiger Drylac
    Eastwood
    I also like:
    Powder By the Pound
    The powdercoat Store
    SHERWIN WILLIAMS
    DU PONT
    IVC
    PPG


    IF you get a polyester (usually TGIC) PC in gloss or high gloss you should be fine

    I've found that Many of the whites and light colors don't cover as well
    This has been my experience too. I have yet to find a white that covers well.
    NRA Benefactor.

  19. #19
    Boolit Man
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    I buy my powder where smoke does,they make great powder for our purpose.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Some colors just do not cover well, like white and yellow. To get a tumble single coat coverage with those do a preheat at the upper limit, close to 150F. Or if you spray do a high preheat in the range of 350F to 400F degrees and spray on parchment paper. You can see when you have good coverage as the powder flows on contact.

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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