#5 plastic cottage cheese tub...the bomb!

[DanOH]

I had tried dt powder coating with hf red using a Glad "to-go" container with rather poor results. It would take 2 coats to get decent coverage.
Today I cast up some Lee 225 tltc and tumbled using a cottage cheese tub. One coat, cooked 400 deg. for 15 minutes on non stick alum foil, wow...smooth finish... done deal.
#5 plastic made ALL the difference.
Thanks for the heads up!

[Beagle333]

Neat!!! I'm eating CoolWhip tonight. :wink: It's got a #5 on the bottom. :-D
Maybe it'll work better than my butter tub.


(got pitchers?):confused:

[DanOH]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96770&d=1392436549&thumb=1&stc=1


The reds on left were cast, dt coated and loaded today. On the right are some previously double coated (different type plastic container) with red then hf black. The texture of the red/black is much rougher.
These are loaded with 5.2 green dot and wolf lp.

I took a stab at watercolors earlier this winter and decided to conceal my bench mess by using one of my paintings for a backdrop....

[Walter Laich]

good looking bullets and painting.
When I feel like painting my wife picks the room and color

[bangerjim]

As I mentioned several times, there is something about the #5 poly plastic in Coolwhip and other containers that makes the stuff REALLY stick. I have tried all other kinds, round and square, tupperware and generic, but the old #5 works every time!

I love ES gun coating, but this really offers a good alternative!!!!!!!

Have fun!

banger

[kryogen]

that kind of white plastic creates a lot of static electricity. Probably why.

Ordered a gun though, will never try the cool whip thing.

[sparky45]

I just used a Ricotta Cheese plastic tub this afternoon, worked real well.

[Liberty'sSon]

Sparky, was it #5?

[bangerjim]

that kind of white plastic creates a lot of static electricity. Probably why.

Ordered a gun though, will never try the cool whip thing.

As you probably know from my many previous posts, I am an ES gun guy thru & thru.

But I like to experiment around and have found surprisingly good results with the coolwhip containers! Coatings are not as smooth and even as ES, but I shot a bunch (several hundred!) of DT's in 223, 9, 38, and 45LC this last weekend and there was NO leading. They were not as perrrrrty and were not black, but they worked well.

I use both methods and enjoy messing around with both.

bangerjim

[catman81056]

I looked and looked for a plastic container with a completely flat bottom, no luck. Then I noticed an old quart Tupperware container my wife had sitting around. Her face paled when I asked about using it to coat my bullets so I dropped the subject. To my surprise the next day she handed it to me and said Happy Fathers Day, OK. It works rather nice.

[Beagle333]

It's just amazing what people will discover when trying out different things for uses other than those intended. :-D
I like it!

Now, I am watching to see if some CoolWhip bowls will show up for grabs in the S&S forum!
That'll be a hoot! :wink:

[gefiltephish]

I checked last night, sure enough, the cottage cheese container I've been using happens to be a #5.

[sparky45]

Sparky, was it #5?

Sure was/is; and by golly they turned out real good.

[fattires]

Can't wait to try this method, I have a couple cool whip containers that I have been storing bullets in. When I first read the title I though 5# cottage cheese container, was thinking I was going to have to eat a lot of cottage cheese really quickly to give this a try.:veryconfu

[popper]

Banger - how was the 223 accuracy? Guy next to me was shooting factory 6.8 AR @ 50, asked me how it (mine) was shooting, I said IT is fine but I'm not. Had a startled look on his face when he saw what I was shooting and the groups @ 100. We know the coatings work fine in pistol but posts in the rifle accuracy thread will help convince others.

[bangerjim]

I was shooting reduced loads (~1200FPS) and the groups were pretty good......~2-3" at 50 yards. That is as far as we could get the targets away from camp! Nice quiet plinking load, no dislocation of your shoulder. The bench rest vise did not even move. A couple full FMJ factory loads made the vise move!

I shot 10 ES coated and could not tell the difference in accuracy.

banger

[popper]

That's why I like the nice unchecked 30/30 load. 16 gr 0f 2400 @ ~ 1500 & no pain, you can still see the target in the scope. The 308 is not so friendly. Can't wait to get the new mould from Tom. If it works it should cut groups down, especially in the 30/30, unchecked. Would be nice to get MOA from it. Mean time I'll coat some with HF red in the cheese container.

[fattires]

Tried my first dry tumble tonight with a #5 container and Harbor Freight red. First batch wasn't so great, I didn't get great coverage with my first coat, then got a really thick coat with the second. Also I don't think I baked quite long enough on the second coat.
Trying again with a longer tumble for the first coat and a little longer bake.

97506

Ugly aren't they?

These started with a diameter of 0.358 and ended with a diameter of 0.365 :shock:

[popper]

Seen a lot worse.

[fattires]

My second attempt was a bit better, still not great though.
98078

I am having a terrible time getting the first coat to cover the entire bullet, after the first coat the second sticks like crazy and goes on pretty thick if im not careful.
Here is what they looked like after the first coat.
98079

I was starting to get pretty frustrated with this method and was about to give up because it was taking a lot of time and work to coat these bullets. Then I decided to try a different container, the one I was using was a yellow #5 plastic that margarine came in, it was one of the larger tubs and I was only doing a small batch (~25 boolits) at a time.
This evening I decided to try a small white #5 cottage cheese container that I found in the cabinet. The results were much better! I think that one coat is going to be enough with this container. The first batch is baking right now.
I'm not sure if the white plastic vs yellow made the difference or maybe the size of the container for the amount of bullets was better? Whatever the difference is I am back on the powdercoating bandwagon if I can get this to work with a single coat.
Pictures of the single coat from the new container coming up shortly.

[bangerjim]

Coolwhip is the only one I have had success with and I have tried over 8 different plastics/sizes/shapes.

I do only 35-50 at time depending on caliber. And a VERY little bit of powder. Leave the lid off so you can watch to see if there are any thin spots....and add a tiny bit more powder. Only takes about 2 minutes of swirling.

banger

[sparky45]

Have you tried the Ricotta Cheese Tub? Works for me, but I'm going to get some Coolwhip to eat, I mean a Coolwhip Tub to use.

[popper]

Coolwhip is the only one I have had success It does have that slightly domed bottom without the edge on the domed part ( like the one I used). Some cottage cheese are made the same way. Need to find/get one of those as the ones I did with HF red came out GREAT (1" 30 cal). Looked like the ES-PC'd ones. Shot good and weigh within 1/2 gr. coated.

[Boogieman]

I think the shape of the container is more important than it's color. My first was a clear peanut butter jar It worked fine with HF red. Next I took white plastic jar, milk replacer for kittens, put a rod through it . made a scrap wood frame to hold it & allow it to turn end over end( Think bingo ball tumbler) put a hand to crank it. 5min. SLOW turning coats boolits evenly

[fattires]

I also am finding that slow tumbling works the best.
Here are the single coat batch I did in a small cottage cheese container.
98137

[jmort]

Looking good.

[fattires]

Looking good.

Thanks, I think next time I'm going to try warming the boolits a little first and see what happens.

[jmort]

I have been reading every thread/post on "coatings" for a while now, and dry PC has every advantage and no downside. Your results confirm what seems to be coming, dry PC coming from no where and dominating the "coating" field.

[russs]

fattires,
Your coating look nice.
I've only been tumble coating a short time, but unless the boolets are really cold I haven't found warming them make much difference. That being said, it doesn't hurt anything ether.

[Boogieman]

I've coated boolits that were in a 36f shop all night with out heating them, or the shop. they coated just fine. heating doesn't hurt if you don't over do it. If they are too warm the powder clumps & doesn't smooth when you bake them, Your boolits look very good.

[Rushthezeppelin]

I also am finding that slow tumbling works the best.
Here are the single coat batch I did in a small cottage cheese container.
98137

Perhaps I should try slow tumbling as well. I was using the coolwhip container but swishing them around rather vigorously. Just did up my first batch earlier this evening. They have some bare spots but I think they should at least shoot well enough to work up some loads that will cycle my 300blk.

[prickett]

My findings on pre-heating the boolits match the others' results: no difference between doing so and not doing so.