I think I screwed this up

[armoredman]

Alright, I was given a "shake and bake" setup by a buddy, including a toaster oven. So today I cast up a few boolits to try it out.

I don't think I did this right.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/casting%20stuff/20141027_160516_zps98a77d04.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/casting%20stuff/20141027_160516_zps98a77d04.jpg.html)

I used that with 50 124 gr Lee 9mm boolits, sirwled them for about 10 minutes while the oven heated up. Even when I was putting them on the foil it looked really thin. But what the heck. Baked for 25 minutes on "toast".

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/casting%20stuff/20141027_153226_zps282ccb06.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/casting%20stuff/20141027_153226_zps282ccb06.jpg.html)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/casting%20stuff/20141027_153341_zps2ef9abaa.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/casting%20stuff/20141027_153341_zps2ef9abaa.jpg.html)

That didn't look right, so i did it again for a second coat, then, as the instructions said, I sized them again through the lee push through sizer...is this what they're supposed to look like?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/casting%20stuff/20141027_183836_zpsc1d9016e.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/casting%20stuff/20141027_183836_zpsc1d9016e.jpg.html)

It almost looks like the sizer wiped away the second coat...some of these looks REALLY blotchy, not pink, but almost white with som red patches. Was trying to do the breast cancer awareness boolits again, but methinks I did something wrong.


Thoughts?

[Spawn-Inc]

i'm going to suggest that the powder is a mix of red and white and that the white stick better then the red, hence the splotchyness.

that being said, it looks like a solid coating on them. i would shoot them full power without hesitation.... in a glock!

[armoredman]

Just for grins and giggles trying some of the same cast in yellow right now...

[LAGS]

@ Spawn Inc
You are correct, the powder was a mix, and both were HF powder.
They do tend to seprate even when ESPC with a gun.
But like you said, they are coated.

[LAGS]

I gifted Armorman a simple PC Shake and Bake set up, so he can enjoy the benifits of what we are all doing.
It is Bare bones Basic Starter Kit, with left over HF powder, and a Minimal requirement Toaster oven I found at Goodwill.
But you see it works, and with your guys help, I think Armoredman will be satisfied with his results.
Walk before you run, as they say.
But I think he is Hooked already, and will want to progressivly upgrade in the near future to a bigger, better oven, and better powder once he gets the hang of it.
But it looks like he is catching on real fast.

[LAGS]

You might also try taking the Powder Blend, and grinding it thru a Tea Strainer if you have one to grind it and mix it a little better.
With the HF stuff, at least all the lumps will be the same size . LOL

[popper]

Naw, just clean the SS tube & barrel of the gun & shake in the jar to mix. When mixed it does turn pink. Different colors of HF flow at different temps. Probably going to take a lot of shaking to get them to mix using BBDT before adding boolits.

[armoredman]

The SS tube of what gun, and what is BBDT? The method I am using does not have a sprayer attached.

[Beagle333]

... and what is BBDT? ..

There's now a sticky for just such questions!:bigsmyl2:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?257663-Commonly-used-Acronyms-in-Boolit-Coatings

[crashguy]

I would suggest that you would be better served ..and get better result if you use 400 degrees for 10min after the boolets glaze over to get the best cure with HF powder....unless of course you determined that "toast" was 400 degrees. In that case I would not mix the powders till I got a better handle on the process. I use an oven thermometer to determine the oven is at 400 degrees and give the at least 10 min to cure.

[LAGS]

Before i gave the Bargin Basement Goodwill Special oven to Armoredman, I did check to see how it performed.
The Toast setting turned on both the upper and lower heating elements, and when Heating up, it would just barely reach 400 degrees after 10 minutes of Pre Heating
The oven only has a 15 minute timer, so you have to reset it once durring the baking .
I determined that the performance was a Bare Minimum of what would be needed to PC small batches of boolits.
He was interested in getting into PC'ing, but with out any first hand knowledge about how it is done, he was shy about investing in something he didn't have the time to use, or if it really fit his needs.
I think I have got him Hooked, to a small extent, and will probably see him investing or at least looking around for better equipment in the future.
I am glad he is asking questions of you all, and sharing his results with you guys.
This is the exact reason I gifted him the set up.
Not just for him, but to open the eyes of others of you, that PC'ing can be done on the Cheap, and with minimal investment.
Isn't that the basis for this forum, To help each other, and Share what we know and discover.
Remember, I just started PC'ing a little over a month ago, and I still have a lot to learn too.

[armoredman]

The single problem I have right now is the uneven lumpiness - this can't be conducive to long range accuracy. If only making "Jeannie" boolitss, no problem, (LAGS gets that joke), don't need to expect much, but if I want to try PC some 7.62x39mm boolits to see how well PC stands up to the semi auto action on my SA vz-58, I'd like to make it even enough to not throw them off target at 200 yards.

Thoughts?

[LAGS]

My suggestion is to shake up your powder before you put it into the tub with the ASBB's and maybe even put something like a couple of boolits to guve it some agitation.
Then Shake your boolits more , rather than Swirling them around in the tub with the ASBB's
It will keep the powder mixed up more.
Also , when you pick the Boolits out of the powder, give them a gentle tap on the side of your tub to shake off any heavy spots.
Tap the Tongs, Hemostats or pliers against the tub, not the actual boolit.
You probably have resigned to the fact , that you are going to have to double coat your Boolits for now, until you can buy some New, Or Better Powder.
I think I gave you some HF Red that is not a Mixed color.
Try that for a comparrison.

[Spawn-Inc]

if your after long range accuracy, i would stick with 1 powder and not mix any to get a different colour. leave that stuff to pistol rounds which shouldn't be effected by any lumpiness.

[LAGS]

OK , The PINK Stinks.
I had the same mix that I gave Armoredman, and gave it a shot Shake and Bake style tonight.
I got the same results as he did, untill I added more Red to my mix, and even that wasnt too great.
Before I comdem mixing powder, I will give spraying it one more go.
But the S&B seemed to still seperate no mater what I did, and the White seemed to stick better than the Red.
So they ended up pinkish white with Red spots.
The Yellow and Red mix to make orange worked Ok, but I do remember, if I used salvaged overspray powder, I had to add more Red eventually even when I sprayed it or it started coming out a lighter shade of orange the second or third time I used the powder.

I think I will just stay with the factory colors, and place an order with Smoke.

[Beagle333]

I haven't mixed HF powders. I have mixed PBTP and HF. It makes nice speckles that are fun.

I haven't mixed any of Smoke's yet, just solid colors. He has a lot of colors and I haven't used them all just as they are offered. His powder is definitely the finest (fluffier than the others) and best coating of all I have used.

[LAGS]

I will have to place an order then, and let Armoredman try some of it, before he gives up on PC'ing

[StromBusa]

I'm very interested in the "splotchy" effects, I want to work up a pastel "camo" effect (or a few). Fern green, tan, cream....tan brown cream....when I get some time. Mottled, or splotchy coatings will be key, but I want to work up three color variants. I guess a couple more loads of firewood, bottle some more honey, get the maple syrup pavilion done....shoot some more ducks....well...one of these days:veryconfu

[el34]

I tried mixing a few colors for either a camo or zombie-something blend but the ES gun has never given me big splotches, just dots. The forum examples I remember were mostly the results of DT, sometimes separate bakes for each color.

120821

[snuffy]

People have to change their mindset about the difference between normal liquid paint and powder coatings. Powder coat will NOT mix in the dry state. It won't mix while curing either. The ONLY way to mix it is to dissolve it in a thinner, then spray it and cure it. Is this not the piglet method?

Think about it, the colors are individual chunks of uncured PC that are held against the boolit by a static charge. There's nothing there to cause it to mix, no agitation or swirling motion to cause it to flow together. So you get the mottled effect, each color by itself to give the suggestion of a third color, like white and red, to give a sort of pink.

I'm going to stick with solid colors myself. I finally broke down and got the HF ES gun, and some liquid black and Harley orange from PBTP. It works fabulously. I already needed a compressor, have needed one for years for gun cleaning, so the only added expense was the fittings and the ES gun.

[StromBusa]

I noticed that when I ES'd boolits, I could then "sprinkle" them with different powder(s), then cure...lot's of ways to mix it up. I think I'll try a flour sifter....

[LAGS]

I was going to try spraying Puffs of powder with a plastic squeze bottle to put accents or different color .
I was going to try it during Baking.
Once the powder glazed over, then dust them with a different color and finish baking.

[rwsem]

I used a dusting of HF Red from a Qtip for my "Zombie" boolits.
121121

[Beagle333]

:goodpost:I really like that effect!!

[1911KY]

Alright, I was given a "shake and bake" setup by a buddy, including a toaster oven. So today I cast up a few boolits to try it out.

I don't think I did this right.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/casting%20stuff/20141027_160516_zps98a77d04.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/casting%20stuff/20141027_160516_zps98a77d04.jpg.html)

I used that with 50 124 gr Lee 9mm boolits, sirwled them for about 10 minutes while the oven heated up. Even when I was putting them on the foil it looked really thin. But what the heck. Baked for 25 minutes on "toast".





That didn't look right, so i did it again for a second coat, then, as the instructions said, I sized them again through the lee push through sizer...is this what they're supposed to look like?



It almost looks like the sizer wiped away the second coat...some of these looks REALLY blotchy, not pink, but almost white with som red patches. Was trying to do the breast cancer awareness boolits again, but methinks I did something wrong.


Thoughts?

Just a little observation, from what I have done. That is a lot of powder in that bucket and probably too few BB's. Here is a pic of some clear that I just did last week so you can see my ratio. (I do put a few small scoops of powder in and swirl to coat the BB's before tumbling any bullets)

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p628/jamesearnett/Mobile%20Uploads/20141031_223423_zpsmpqdpv3x.jpg

I would dump that powder, wash your BB's and let them dry over night on a towel. Clean your bucket as well and let it dry over night. Start over with only the HF Red in a much smaller amount. Also, I haven't had to swirl for more than 45 seconds to a minute to get good coverage. Once they are coated the static charge is pretty much gone.

I hope this helps.

[1911KY]

I did do some double coats early on to get the speckled look, but have stuck to solid color single coats lately.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p628/jamesearnett/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140903_234504_zpsfrux3fw8.jpg

[popper]

armoredman (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?3108-armoredman) - just a comment for those that ESPC & want mixed colors.

[armoredman]

I did get some BBDTHF red out to the line today...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1601_zps09aa5cd8.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1601_zps09aa5cd8.jpg.html)

Always gets a glance or two, since nobody reloads 7.62x39mm, certainly nobody CASTS for it, who would ever imagine anyone powder coating them! And who but who would shoot them in a gas operated semi-automatic rifle!!! Utterly improbable! Yep, that's me. :holysheep



Didn't do to terribly bad.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1604_zpsb349eec9.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1604_zpsb349eec9.jpg.html)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1603_zps05cf8349.jpg (http://s16.photobucket.com/user/armoredman/media/vz-58%20targets%20and%20pics/pc1603_zps05cf8349.jpg.html)

Picked up a sample of Smoke's Red powder from LAGS, will try that soon on the 129 NOE boolit that rifle really likes.

[StromBusa]

Nice!

[PalmettoProjectiles]

try hitek, you can't beat the quality or performance.