Done with the shake and bake method

[hickfu]

I started doing the shake and bake back when we all started PC'ing our bullets 8 or so years ago but I moved 3 times since so I hadnt even cast in that long. Well now I am in Oregon and it sucks to do the S&B up here with all the humidity so I started looking for my Harbor Freight PC gun I purchased right before I started moving. I also remembered that Popper used a PC gun so I looked at the pics of his bullets from years ago and decided that YUP that is what I am going to now.

So I read through threads that people drilled holes in sheet metal or wood and covered with the "NSF" so today I was bored and went to the dollar store and got some cheap cookie sheets. I went to Harbor Freight and got some Pop Rivets as well. I then laid out a grid pattern on the cookie sheet and used a screw and hammer to punch a divot into the sheet to drill (the rivets are .123 so I picked a drill bit that is .124) I drilled out the holes in the pan as well as the primer pockets of some 9mm cases that were crappy ones that I never use.

I then used the pop rivets to secure the 9mm cases to the pan



Here are the rivets I got from HF



So now I can powder coat my 35 Rem GC bullets without getting the GC coated as well.


Im going to do the same thing to some 45acp cases to PC my 45-70 GC bullets


And some 40 S&W to do 45-70 PB bullets so that a part of the tip is not coated


KUDOS to Popper for making the best looking bullets I have seen and finally convincing me to go the HFPC method.

[bangerjim]

Even though I worked with many other fine folks on here back in 2013-14 to develop and refine the shake-n-bake method, I switched 100% to an ESPC gun several years ago for powder coating boolits and just about anything & everything that needs a hard durable paint coat and will fit in my big Oster oven! A complete world of difference in quality and ease of production.

Welcome aboard the "real PC train"!

banger

[popper]

Doc - do whatever works for you. ESPC works fine even in humidity but I've changed to shake & bake now. Still get good results. I even gave up on HiTek - it works just fine when you get it right. Shake & bake just so easy once you figure it out. Older I get, easier I want it.
Thanks for the allocade about my cast but you didn't see the ones when I was learning! Or my targets!

[hickfu]

I want bullets that look like this!!! you cant get this with shake and bake

[ironbrew]

You guys... I am just getting the fixings for powder coating and you guys go and up the ante...

I have access to the eastwood stuff up here through KMS tools. We don't get harbor freight, unfortuneatly. I'll start out slow and cheap and work my way up. I'll be watching how you set up for gun coating though.

BTW - we can get Princess Auto up here. I haven't heard how the quality compares.

[popper]

Pretty close? He shoots good too.

[bangerjim]

You guys... I am just getting the fixings for powder coating and you guys go and up the ante...

I have access to the eastwood stuff up here through KMS tools. We don't get harbor freight, unfortuneatly. I'll start out slow and cheap and work my way up. I'll be watching how you set up for gun coating though.

BTW - we can get Princess Auto up here. I haven't heard how the quality compares.

Don't let our talk of ESPC throw you off you path to coating! Do what you can and need with what you have. Shake-n-bake done properly turns out some really nice boolits. Remember, we are not is a photo-modeling contest here. I have shot some really ugly coated boolits with perfect success. And they all still go SPLAT on the other end! No matter how smooth and shiny they are!

banger

[dverna]

Echo what bangerjim posted.

Looks are secondary to performance and ease of use if you are a shooter. A great looking bullet that does not perform is only good for pictures.

I will NEVER stand bullets up to coat them because I am lazy plus I know I will spill them moving in/out of an oven. But if it works for you than is all that matters.

[fredj338]

It seems like a lot of work & waste, just buy better powder than HF??

[bangerjim]

It seems like a lot of work & waste, just buy better powder than HF??

These days, I now use HF, Smoke's, PBTP, Eastman, and other powders I can find all the time. With ESPC, you can use ANY powder because ALL powders were engineered to be applied with an ESPC gun, not in a plastic tub. Makes no difference with 40+KV of constant electrostatic charge behind the powder! It all sticks. Perfectly. Every time. Rain or shine. Regardless of the phase of the moon or how you hold your mouth.

banger

[FLINTNFIRE]

Funny my powder coating using shake and bake with bbs works here in washington , do use better powders that are known to work , I have no need to make special trays and or worry about phases of the moon or any other arcane beliefs , I do stand them up and put as many into oven at a time as I can when coating as I want to get done with that end of it , spraying is fine with some and others of us have no want or need to , I try to keep all my casting and coating activity in a fairly small space .

Good luck on your coatings , and I understand with the gas check bases what you are doing and the special trays and that does look like a good set up .

[Txcowboy52]

I’ve been powder coating for several years now, shake and bake works well for me . Shake them up pour into a wire mesh basket and into the oven . Never had one that didn’t pass the hammer and anvil test .

[Conditor22]

You need to figure the extra mess and powder you waste using a an ESPC gun compared to ASBBDT.

Not knocking them I do have a HF and Eastwood 2 stage gun.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Talking with a friend today about powder coating, "I tried that and it didn't work" he said.

"I still have 4 packets of powder from 10 years ago. would you like it?"

Red, blue, yellow and black, tried a batch and they bake perfectly.

Much like a lot of my casting gear, gents try a new idea without success and just give up.

[rototerrier]

I want bullets that look like this!!! you cant get this with shake and bake

I'm getting pretty darn close with shake and bake!

[hickfu]

Ok, let me change my original statement "Im done S&B on rifle bullets" I dont think it really matters on pistol bullets because im only firing them out to maybe 25 yards, Rifle bullets go out a couple hundred yards and I dont like seeing powder built up on one side or filling up the crimp groove. a slight wobble can through a bullet way off.

I have only been using powders from PBTP, not HF powders and havent been able to get good coverage on the first go so I always have to do a 2nd coat no matter the color.

I can reclaim the powder that doesnt stick to the bullets because I wouldnt put my PC tray into the oven, I will be taking the bullets off and putting them on a different tray with some smooth tweezers so no wasting powder.. Yes it will be much slower but im disabled and have the time and shaking stuff around hurts so there is a plus to spraying.

Ive had the PC gun in a box for 8 or so years now so I might as well use it.

[gnappi]

That rig for GC's is just so clever. Wow!

[Dragonheart]

I won't take sides because on rifle bullets I do Both! The first coat is sprayed with the shank of the gas check stuck into a drilled and reamed pan that holds the shank and keeps it clean, so checks are easy to install. I do a partial cure on the first coat then I do a shake and bake clear coat over the entire bullet, thereby increasing the thickness of the jacket and welding the check in place. After all the best and most accurate at distance full power rifle bullets I have ever seen was made by "Bama" and he coats the entire bullet.

The spraying is an old photo I now spray indoors in a spray booth using an Eastwood gun. The old HF gun still works, but I don't have a lot bottles for it. The Eastwood bottles are cheap so I can have many colors available.

[white eagle]

I use the SB method for all my boolits
I have never done gas checked boolits any different from
non gas checked boolits
never had issues installing checks

[Dragonheart]

I use the SB method for all my boolits
I have never done gas checked boolits any different from
non gas checked boolits
never had issues installing checks

When the a GC shank of a bullet is coated, getting the check on or perfectly set is problematic. A GC that is not set perpendicular and with a perfectly flat base is useless from an accuracy standpoint.