Powder Coating Boolits

[trixter]

So, if we are going to PC boolits now, is there any need for lube grooves?

[Beagle333]

If you have a mold that casts a boolit with lube grooves, you have the option of going either way. The PC doesn't need the grooves, but they don't hurt the performance if you already got em on the boolit.

[trixter]

If you have a mold that casts a boolit with lube grooves, you have the option of going either way. The PC doesn't need the grooves, but they don't hurt the performance if you already got em on the boolit.

That was what I was thinking.

[kenn]

Question: What factors affect how smooth the powder coat is in terms of "flowing". I coated my first batch tonight in HF red and other than the small bare spots on the nose cone from the hemostats, I feel like I got really great coverage. A couple of them are not "high gloss" in a couple of areas on the bullet and less smooth. What would cause that? Too much heat? Too little heat? Too much powder? I knocked the excess off some and not others to compare. I used a decent black and decker toaster oven was set to 400 for 10 minutes after warming up fully. I have a casting thermometer but no way to check actual temp so I'm going to have to guesstimate.

I sized them after and out of the 20 boolit test batch, 3 had PC flake off of the band in a small area. I'm not sure if that's because I used the "green" type of mineral spirits to clean them of oils before I PCd or not. I'm going to get some real mineral spirits this weekend and do about 50 more and see how it goes with sizing. If I keep getting scrape marks, I might give them a light shot of Hornady one-shot before sizing and see if that ends the flaked off areas.

[WallyM3]

Most of the PC vendor instructions indicate that the bake time begins when the PC begins to melt and flow. I give it 15 to 20 after that glossy appearance.

[Smoke4320]

kenn
Three issues I see that affect flow..
Powder Quality.. (HF Red does fairly well DT or Spraying)
HF Black will not dry tumble .. Their white and yellow do not cover well either way .. do 2 coats and you get a fairly good coverage ..
2. Actual Oven Temp.. You must get ACTUAL oven temp between 380 and 400 degrees and Be there Before putting bullets in .. my Oster convection oven takes approx. 8 minutes to get to 400 degrees and then only drops 15 degrees during a complete on/off/on cycle so I am getting real consistent results .. I learned all this by talking to professional shops then trying to duplicate their process in a small scale.. my first oven (tried to go cheap cheap) just would not get the consistency needed..and did not have a fan
3. and Air flow so there are no hot/cold spots in the oven.. IE a convection oven is best..

depending on how good your oven distributes and holds the heat will determine much of the finished product

[rondog]

On the subject of trays - here's a thread I did recently. I found some "grilling trays" at Dollar Tree for $1 that have 127 holes punched in them. I plan to enlarge the holes just enough for GC .30 bullets to sit in, and go from there. I also plan to put non-stick aluminum foil on the tray first so the tray doesn't get PC'd (I prefer to ES spray them), then poke the holes in the foil with a pencil, set the bullets and git after it. I should mention that I use a full-size oven, not a toaster oven.

For pistol bullets I just use a big old cookie sheet covered with foil and arrange the bullets in rows, since they won't fall over like rifle bullets.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-rifle-bullets

[kenn]

Thanks, Smoke. Is partially lumpy coating usually too much powder or not hot enough? I actually did three rows -- All DT with black airsoft in cool whip. First row I tumbled and placed it straight on NSAF with hemostats. 2nd row I tapped the hemostats on the side of the bowl and powder clearly shook free. It seemed to stay coated. Third row I gently dropped the bullets on the NSAF from a few millimeters above the tray and the powder "fell" off around the boolit. I agitated the tray a bit to move the powder away from the base to not have flashing.

Results were that while the first row of boolits had more powder and a thicker coating, they also had a couple of lumpy spots. The other two rows were super slick. That would lead me to believe either it was too much powder OR too much powder to fully melt in the oven while it was just hot enough to melt the thinner coating.

I'm satisfied with the thinner coat as there is very little lead to see so I'm going to do that from now on out... Just curious about the few less than slick areas.

[trixter]

I visited the local wally world yesterday and no black airsoft balls, then to Sportsman's Warehouse; they have black, but looked very dull (just the appearance). Could someone please PM me the brand or a photo of the black AS balls (container) you are using.

Thanks

[Beagle333]

Link to Air Soft BBs that I am using... I wanted a smaller jug, but my WM only had this size in black as well. They had other colors in jars about 1/2 this size, but only the big one in black.
http://www.amazon.com/Crosman-AirSof...%27s+25g+black

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Yep those are the ones I started using. The only thing that kept me from experimenting with PC was the mess from the gun. With the new DT technique it is so simple, easy, and cheap it is foolish for me NOT to try. Hope they shoot well.

[bangerjim]

Question: What factors affect how smooth the powder coat is in terms of "flowing". I coated my first batch tonight in HF red and other than the small bare spots on the nose cone from the hemostats, I feel like I got really great coverage. A couple of them are not "high gloss" in a couple of areas on the bullet and less smooth. What would cause that? Too much heat? Too little heat? Too much powder? I knocked the excess off some and not others to compare. I used a decent black and decker toaster oven was set to 400 for 10 minutes after warming up fully. I have a casting thermometer but no way to check actual temp so I'm going to have to guesstimate.

I sized them after and out of the 20 boolit test batch, 3 had PC flake off of the band in a small area. I'm not sure if that's because I used the "green" type of mineral spirits to clean them of oils before I PCd or not. I'm going to get some real mineral spirits this weekend and do about 50 more and see how it goes with sizing. If I keep getting scrape marks, I might give them a light shot of Hornady one-shot before sizing and see if that ends the flaked off areas.

I have coated thousands of boolits and have never once washed/cleaned any of them in any kind of solvent! If your hands are not greasy, there will be nothing to cause contamination unless you are using dirty containers. If you feel you are having grease on your new cast ones, mabe check for lube carry-over from your mold. I use both beeswax and 2 cycle blue motor oil. Neither will cause wrinkles as many swear about, but will cause carryover for PC. Those that still use grease lubes do not even know about it or care, but we sure do.

I can pound, drop, & size any of my coated boolits as hard as I want and nothing EVER comes off.

Check your oven with a know accurate (very important) thermometer. I bet that B&D (relative cheeep) oven t-tat is a bunch off. And do not start your timing until your PREHEATED to 400F oven starts turning your boolits shiny. Guestimating will only lead to poor quality coated boolits. And if your oven is NOT a convection style, it can have hot & cold spots even though the t-stat or t-mometer says 400. Take my word for it, if you are having problems like this, it is probably the oven. Others belittle the importance of convection but it is pretty much the most important aspect of this whole process. Others can say what they want, bit I have throw away two "good????" standard ovens that gave me poor quality B4 investing in a quality ($100+) convection unit.

Good luck. This is NOT rocket science......you just need to proper tools.

bangerjim

[C. Latch]

Well, after recovering from moving, yesterday I coated a couple of trays of bullets. I tried nonstick foil for the first time, and I'm sold on it. No more using little nuts, etc, etc to raise the bullet off the foil; just sit them on the foil, coat, bake, remove, shoot.

I also learned that if your powder clumps up because the box your coating kit was in got wet while moving, you can just crank up the air pressure and blow the clumps out.

[jebb45]

where can I find the copper colored metal flake powder coating, this is what I would like to have......thanks

[Smoke4320]

Depending on what the actual material of the metal flakes are, not really sure you want metal flakes being left in your barrel.. That will happen as the grooves will be cut in the bullet as it slides down the barrel.. just my opinion

[WallyM3]

I wonder if microscopic abrasives don't exist in many pigments (titanium dioxide is a very common white pigment). Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of PC and use it exclusively now. But Inquiring minds might like to get a handle on it.

[Smoke4320]

All I shoot now is PC'ed Bullets when I can .. Sill waiting on a 6.5 Grendel mold ..
But I personally would stay away from metal flake Till I know for sure that the "metal part" was something soft like tin foil..
you could easily add orange to the copper color and get an almost metel flake look..
PC powder does not mix like liquid paints so you get a speckle finish..

[bangerjim]

I would imagine the "metal" in the metallized powders is the same pigment used in paints......extremely fine divided bronze powder. I have a bunch of the stuff in different colors I use for antique restorations and you cannot get off your fingers! Very similar to fine graphite. Coats anything it touches. Do NOT confuse it with the cheap colored mica powders being sold today for the same paint purposes. They do NOT work, as mica is a lube and prevents many things from sticking.....like PC! Metal powders are deemed hazardous to your health so....BINGO....environmentally safe mica powder appears on the market! Garbage.

They may use something else. Check the MSDS sheets for the powder you are looking at. They will tell you.

I personally have shot enough Cu jacket stuff that I do NOT want to see any copper colored PC anywhere in my shop.

bangerjim

[Davidbrant]

Has any on tried 6.8 spc for ar I would like to go that route for my next rifle but I have to justify the cost for reloading this would do that if anyone has tried it please let me know. If you have tried it what were you findings.

[Rick45Colt]

I finally took the plunge it coated my first batch tonight. I used the HF Red. Below is a picture after baking.