PDA

View Full Version : Powder Coating using Elvis Ammo "140 for four" application method.



riverrambler
11-27-2018, 06:20 PM
https://youtube.com/MRVXic3-ztE

231100231101
Finally tried powder coating for the first time. I used Pro-Tec fluorescent orange jig powder because I had some on hand and I read here that it works. I'm computer stupid so I don't know if the video will play. In a nutshell, after
cleaning a small batch(50) of bullets in acetone, I put them on a mesh tray and heated them in a toaster oven for four minutes @ 140 degrees.
Then I dumped them in a tub with powder in it, put the lid on and immediately shake and swirl it for ten seconds or so. Dump the bullets back onto the mesh tray, powder falls through onto a piece of cardboard below the tray. In the video, he gets good coverage with one try. I didn't, perhaps because of the different powders, so here's where I varied from the video. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, put the bullets in and only cooked them for five or so minutes past point of flow, took them out to cool and examine. The coating was thin and there was scarring from the mesh so I repeated the 140 for 4 routine for a second coat only this time when I dumped them in the tub I continued swirling for a minute or more till I thought the bullets would cool enough to not get clumps of powder on them. This time I picked each one out one at a time with tweezers, grasping at the lube groove and placed them on a flat tray lined with non stick foil. I preheated the oven to four hundred, put the tray in and when the temp on the thermometer showed 400 degrees, several minutes past the point of flow, I cooked them for twenty minutes. After cooling, they still look opaque in spots but there is 100% coverage. They sized with no issues, I reckon the shoot will tell.

Grmps
11-27-2018, 06:48 PM
If the video is on youtube you could post just the link

nothing wrong with those boolits.

They will shoot fine, the opaque areas are covered and just missing the pigment in the clear

riverrambler
11-27-2018, 08:17 PM
Tried to fix the video. The URL it gives me is https://youtu.be/MRVXic3-ztE.
I think it should be https://youtube.com/MRVXic3-ztE, but what do I know.
In any case it's you tube Elvis Ammo, powder coat in half the time.

reddog81
11-27-2018, 11:43 PM
There's no need to clean with acetone. There's no need to preheat to 140 for 4 minutes before swirling if using the appropriate materials.

For me the long part of the process is individually placing each bullet onto the tray. I'm sure I could use the mesh tray, but for me I'd prefer to just stand them up and not worry about bullets being stuck together or voids in the PC due to the mesh.

Dragonheart
12-01-2018, 03:01 PM
If you are having trouble getting a single coat coverage its contaminated bullets, poor powder selection, high humidity or a combination. I would suggest you save a lot of time and effort by starting with a powder you know will work, like Smokes. Then just do a simple shake and bake at 400 degrees for a minimum of 10 minutes after the bullets come up to that temperature. The whole process is as simple as that.

cwlongshot
12-07-2018, 03:29 PM
Generally I don't have problems with coverage... At least past known problems like high humidity, known problem colors or manufacturers and elementally exposed powders...

BUT nearly every time I have had to "wash" bullets in a solvent, NO MATTER what solvent or how long I waited. What DID fix things was good hot soapy water wash AFTER the solvent. Sometimes a few times till the water was clean after washing. TOO MUCH TROUBLE with poor results. I don't do it anymore. If it needs cleaning, it dosen't get PC.

FRESH CAST is best way to go with PC. That and absolute to NO direct contact with the bullets. (I do water quench all. Both newly cast and newly PC'd.)

CW

Dragonheart
12-07-2018, 03:51 PM
A water quench after casting is a good way to contaminate your bullets.