Latest PC Techniques

[Traffer]

The next time I have a free weekend day, I'm going to be doing my first powdercoat run. And I AM going to use the black BBs, Smoke's powder, and shake the bullets in a #5 container. Mostly because it's my first time, and this is a well proven technique. And if I find later that it's not imperative to do it this way, I'm fine with that. But I understand how the basic technique works, so I'll start using that.

I spent quite a while researching things like which plastic #5 is made of (polypropylene), and so on. Black Airsoft BBs are ABS - it's naturally black. Smoke's paints are polyester based. There's some science behind using these specific plastics together, mostly based on the level of surface static each plastic builds, which helps transfer and adhere the paint to the bullets. I'm not saying it won't work with different materials, nor that leaving out the BBs is a bad thing, just that there's good science behind the whole, very simple process.

If the humidity is low you will have remarkable success. If it is high you will have marginal success.
by high I mean over 75%.

[OTShooter]

If the humidity is low you will have remarkable success. If it is high you will have marginal success.
by high I mean over 75%.

Is this because of the entire technique, some part of that technique, or something else?

[Conditor22]

Humidity makes it harder to create static

If the humidity is high pre-warm the boolits no hotter than you can touch barehanded.

Some PC's will work fine in high humidity.

[P Flados]

Other than powder (I am still using the no longer available HF Red), I have had great luck with the ASBB approach discussed in this thread.

I live very close to the Atlantic ocean and deal with high humidity often.

Preheating the boolits to between 120 °F and 140 °F makes it easy to get good coverage even when it is very humid.

[cwlongshot]

I have placed a single layer of bullets atop the oven for ten minutes before dropping in powder bucket. Works well for me WARMING. IMHO over 100 is too hot you want WARM, not hot.

CW

[OTShooter]

Got it. I live in San Antonio Texas; humidity is a thing here, but it’s quite manageable most of the time. Pre-warming the bullets makes sense.

[cwlongshot]

Last night it was a drizzly soaker rain. Started last afternoon. When I got home it had been rainin for hours. I turned on the oven and let preheat for 20min. I bake in steel baskets so I poured out two single layers in two baskets set on top of the oven.

When It dings, I dump the bullets in the bucket and start swerlin’ and re filled empty basket. After less than a minute, I had well Coated bullets. Back in a basket, and into bake. 20/400. Out of oven into the quench and out on a terry towel. DONE! Coated beautifully.

CW

[Traffer]

Last night it was a drizzly soaker rain. Started last afternoon. When I got home it had been rainin for hours. I turned on the oven and let preheat for 20min. I bake in steel baskets so I poured out two single layers in two baskets set on top of the oven.

When It dings, I dump the bullets in the bucket and start swerlin’ and re filled empty basket. After less than a minute, I had well Coated bullets. Back in a basket, and into bake. 20/400. Out of oven into the quench and out on a terry towel. DONE! Coated beautifully.

CW

Just to make sure I have it straight: You put the bullets on top of the toaster over while it preheats for 20 min. Then into the plastic with the powder coat ...then back into the toaster oven to bake?

[cwlongshot]

Yup! Its as easy as that!

Dont forget to swirl the bullets in the powder!!

CW

[cas]

I usually coat in one of my tumblers with BB's. "Shake and bake" attempts didn't go well for me in the past. Recently I tried the shake method in an old powder container. They coated very well, but they were bullets with a large hollow point and the BB's got jammed deep into the hollow noses and could not be removed. I tried the same bottle without the BB's and it didn't work as well. Which got me thinking... so I dug out another old powder containers and cut it up into quarter size pieces and have been using them, both in the tumbler and in a powder container. Seems to be working well. As I empty more cans, I will cut them up as well and make more "chips".

[JohnForrest]

Thanks for this post and answering your own question when you figured it out.

I wish there were more "up to date" topics covered. Might eliminate all the repeat questions and make it easier for the new guys to get up to speed.