PC experience. Think I’m going back to Hi Tek - Pics inside

[psychbiker]

I initially did hi Tek about a year ago and finally, after getting married, was able to get time to cast and coat again. I decided to give powder coating a try because of the colors and the assumed one time coating. Well after coating about 60lbs of bullets I think I’m going back to hi Tek.

I might just need to sort through some variables with the PC. My first batch without bb’s, shake and baked for 17 minutes. That came out good. Those would be the three on the right. I tumble and dump then bake and drop in bucket of water. Smash test was good. Used a large costco protein container or the white container in the photo.

I then tried the orange powder with BBs in the walmart #5 tub and can’t get an even coat. I plan to coat them a 2nd time. I’m using a #5 tub with lid from Walmart, the one with the blue lid in the photo. Maybe it’s a powder type or the container but I wasn’t able to get good coverage with the orange using the Walmart #5 container. I got better coverage using a some bb’s and taller white protein container. I did that with 452 SWC bullets, the orange in the back left. One coat, shake, bake, and dump.

I also got better coverage using a big protein jug with lid, swirl 30 seconds and dump.

I’m gonna try the orange again and maybe more powder. Might even try some in baggies in a tumbler.

The green 454 colt on the left was with bb’s in a taller narrower container. It’s not a #5 but came out pretty good.

The two front orange bullets were shake and bake and dump on a grate. I even tried standing a batch up and they still came out somewhat blotchy.

I might go back to hi Tek because I think the coverage is easier and I can coat a bunch, let them dry for an 30-60min and then have a baking session.

The powder I got from a local shop I called asking if they'd sell. I looked the powder up and they are Prismatic Powders. No clumps and were sealed. Probably over a year old though by looks of he label.

[Rcmaveric]

I have found BBs make a thinner even coat. Also waming the bullets first helps a lot. I preheat the toaster oven. Then set a tray of bullets on top of the toaster oven and get them warm to the touch. Then tumble them.

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[Dragonheart]

Prismatic Powder is a commercial company that makes over 6K colors and has several different polymer bases. It is the company I first started with years ago and they do make quality powders. With that said all their powders will spray bercause that is what the commercial industry uses. Not all of their powders will tumble coat ot tumble coat well. This is the reason I recommend those first starting out using the "Shake & Bake" get their powder from Smoke just to get your process down then do whatever you want after that. If you start out with Smoke's powder and it doesn't come out it's not the powder.

As far as PC the whole process is really easy, but there are stumbling blocks along the way. First your bullets must be completely clean! I recommend doing an air cool out of the mold and store the bullets in a clean container. Use a clean#5 recycle code plastic container with a good sealing lid. Dump in a handful of bullets, a couple of teaspoons of powder and a handful of black airsoft BB's and shake for 30 seconds. If you are not getting complete coverage and you have done everything as outlined above then you probably have a high humidity killing the static charge. Either move your operation to an air conditioned environment or start bu putting the clean bullets in a pan and heat to 120 degrees in your oven. Then do the shake with the heated bullets. For this to work you need a good thermometer in the oven to accurately monitor the temperature. This is needed when you cure also.

[psychbiker]

^^ Agree the process is easier than Hi Tek. I think it's a matter of fine tuning and being patient. I was reading that a 2nd coat is not really necessary that the bullets are likely coated with the polymer but maybe not the color.

I'm northern california bay area, east of San Francisco with relatively low humidity around 30% or less.

I'm going to try a batch of burgundy color with half the batch heated up in the sun and the other batch not heated and see what covers better. I tried to preheat earlier in the week and got clumps BUT think I had them in to 200+ degrees.

Powder wise, I was trying to get resourceful and find powder inexpensively compared to the $15/lb Smoke's are. I may just have to order from him and and scrap the orange if I can't get it to work. The other 3 colors I have seem to be good. I'm also inclined to stand my 308 and blackout bullets up since I won't be shooting those as much as 9mm. No way I'll be standing up 223 if and when I cast for them, that just seems like torture.

I also need make more rigid wire mesh baskets that I can pull in and out. The flimsy ones I used I used for my smaller toaster oven are a pain.

[popper]

Anything with a yellow in it doesn't work well (shake). Don't let some un-named universities see the 'orange'. Actually smoke's powder is cheap compared to HiTek, both last a long time. I get better results with PC in 308W pushed hard, vs 3 coats Hitek. I don't cast/coat more than 10# at a time so PC is easier. I stand the 308 up for cooking.

[fatelk]

Has anyone else found that the coating gets easier/better as your BBs and container get “seasoned”?

I really struggled when I started. I had bought cheap Harbor Freight powder and didn’t know what I was doing. It was terrible. Then I bought a pound of Smoke’s powder and picked up a lot of better techniques. Now I mix Smoke’s powder with the Harbor Freight powder just to use it up (even the yellow and black that I foolishly bought), and get excellent coverage every time, any time of year.

[Traffer]

I find that humidity is the very very very big factor in powder coating. In the winter powder coat seems that it can't go wrong. In the summer it is often very difficult to get good coverage. No matter what technique I try.

[mattellis2]

I’m pretty new to it all, but opted for smoke’s powder coating as my first attempt over hi-tek. It seems like there are fewer variables with PC and the solvents used in hi-tek aren’t exactly inexpensive.

[Petander]

It seems like there are fewer variables with PC and the solvents used in hi-tek aren’t exactly inexpensive.

Please excuse me but there are no variables in Hi Tek procedure at all,it's completely repeatable time after time.

Where I live,acetone in small amounts costs €7/liter. Used per instructions,that liter coats 20.662 pcs of my 210 grain 45 APC bullets TWICE,ready to shoot.

[jmort]

"Please excuse me but there are no variables in Hi Tek"



People have issues with both. I read the posts.
Use what floats your boat.
There is good advice in this thread.
For PC, use warm bullets and Smokes powder.
That is a solid start.

[Petander]

"Please excuse me but there are no variables in Hi Tek"



People have issues with both. I read the posts..

Well people have issues with everything. I use both coatings and there are zero variables in my procedures with either.

[WheelgunConvert]

In general, I use HITEK in the late spring through early fall. Winter is PC only.

[David2011]

You gave lots of details of the many processes you used with various batches. One observation over the years is that orange doesn’t cover any better than yellow with any medium.

When I started powder coating I went “by the book” as written in this sub-forum. Nothing but Smoke’s powder, only black BBs and #5 tubs, verified the convection oven temperature and baked for a full 20 minutes every time.

I don’t want to sound harsh but honestly, you might have had better results if you had stuck closer to the known good procedures. If you live in a humid area you might be better off with Hi Tek. I used to shoot with Donnie Miculek and know that he lives in a very humid sub-tropical climate. Hi Tek work for him every day. If you want to continue to try PC, go with the established “known good” process and see if it works better.

I left South Louisiana several years ago before PC became commonplace but had Donnie coat my boolits with his coating. I’ve been living in the desert for years now. I’m moving back to the Texas Gulf Coast and high humidity in a few weeks so I get to learn PC all over again. If it’s too troublesome I’ll use Hi Tek.

[fatelk]

I sure understand how climate affects coating. I went through this some years back with a work project. I was responsible for coating some industrial glass vessels using a fluidized bed. I had the process dialed in perfectly and it worked great, here on the west coast. It rains all the time but we don't generally have the type of humidity here that you have in some areas.

Later I went to Taiwan to help set up the same process there. It was a huge pain. It just wouldn't work no matter what I tried: bubbles and poor coverage. They eventually had to set up a special room for it that was fully climate controlled.

[Lloyd Smale]

what I learned was ditch the bbs. Use a vibrating tumbler and don't be chincy with how much paint you put in or how long you let them rattle around. I usually do at least 20 minutes. You basically cant use to much paint and you can dump the leftover back in the container when your done. I just dump them in a basket to separate the paint and shake it a bit to get rid of excess, dump them on parchment paper and bake. Pretty rare not to get perfect coverage.

[cwlongshot]

Not all Powders or even all colors are the same!!!

I have never had good luck with Red Orange or Yellow. Red is OK but even then some are better than others. Blue green and purple always seem very good multiple manufacturers.

The ENTIRE DEAL with shake n bake is static!! Anything that inhibits that will be detrimental to coverage.

For some rainy days are a problem. For others hi humidity of summer is a problem. Try to keep powders sealed from Elements as much and as quickly as you can. If you have humidity issues maybe dump Old Powders that have been allowed to absorb moisture.

What Im saying is no one knows your exact conditions.

1) So Know you want clean untouched bullets.

2) You need to create static electricity.

3) You want as dry a powder As you can use.

Good luck!

CW

[Lloyd Smale]

very true and your black bullet bares out my results. Its a kind of finicky color. I just mixed what I had left with mustard yellow and got military green and it covers real well.

Not all Powders or even all colors are the same!!!

I have never had good luck with Red Orange or Yellow. Red is OK but even then some are better than others. Blue green and purple always seem very good multiple manufacturers.

The ENTIRE DEAL with shake n bake is static!! Anything that inhibits that will be detrimental to coverage.

For some rainy days are a problem. For others hi humidity of summer is a problem. Try to keep powders sealed from Elements as much and as quickly as you can. If you have humidity issues maybe dump Old Powders that have been allowed to absorb moisture.

What Im saying is no one knows your exact conditions.

1) So Know you want clean untouched bullets.

2) You need to create static electricity.

3) You want as dry a powder As you can use.

Good luck!

CW

[kevin c]

Hi, psychbiker, congrats on the nuptials. Where do you shoot? I'm at RRGC.

[psychbiker]

Hi, psychbiker, congrats on the nuptials. Where do you shoot? I'm at RRGC.

I go to RRGC and might go there tomorrow to break in a Uberti 45 colt yellwboy and some new castings. Used to go to USI every saturday.

I did have the wife take the USPSA qualifying course with at RRGC so her and I can do matches soon. Had to buy her a glock 34 and mags though, shuck right? haha!

[kevin c]

Not everybody likes Glocks, but they're a solid platform: reliable, shoot well, are easy to upgrade, and don't break the bank. Gen 3 34's are what I use for USPSA shooting.

Back on topic (sorta...), HiTek is the way I go. I'm getting the hang of fairly high volume production in casting and coating. I never did PC: I might be doing the process an injustice, but HiTek seemed easier, and I was familiar with the product from buying commercially coated cast bullets from Bayou.

I'm out of town for a few weeks, but I'll see you at RRGC sometime. Good luck with which ever coating you settle on!