Colors and coverage?

[PNW_Steve]

Hey Everyone,

I have read a number of posts saying "powder X gave me better coverage than power Y".

Is there any consensus as to which powder/color give the best one coat coverage?

I am hoping to find something that gives me a good single coat coverage.

Thanks.

S.

[slide]

Ford light blue from eastwood

[mattw]

Smokes white and wine red mixed 50/50 same for his white and jet black. Alone, none of them work very well in our humidity.

[PNW_Steve]

Thank you for the suggestions.

I am inclined to stick with vendors that participate on this forum when I can. Of the colors you mentioned, is there one that you would pick above the others?

[Kraschenbirn]

I've been using Smoke's Clear for everything the last couple of years...not really a pretty finish but easy to work with (shake 'n bake) and yields a nice uniform coating. Did around a thousand .45 SWCs over the weekend and, after PC, they look like they just fell out of the mold.

Bill

[3GRacing]

Smokes Carolina Blue, Yellow Green and a 50/ 50 mix of each gives me great results...

[mattw]

I have never had my two mixes from above fail to work, even with humidity in the up 90% range, it works and makes a smooth coat and is not to thick.

[GregLaROCHE]

I bought a stock of powder from the internet before I knew about Smokes. Everyone seems to like his powders. I use red, blue and black. I don’t see any difference between them. Humidity can be a problem double bag powder and keep in tight sealing Tupperware if possible. I add silica gel packs to mine too. My workshop is in my basement that is humid, but I don’t have any problems associated with humidity. Maybe other brands and colors are more susceptible to humidity, but I can’t comment because I haven’t used others.

[charlie b]

I like the dense colors just so I can see if there are any flaws or thin spots. Never need more than one coat.

I started with Eastwood Ford Light Blue cause it seems to work for everyone. It certainly does for me, but, I live in the desert :) Since you are in the Pacific Northwest (PNW Steve) they you may have more difficulty with the shake and bake method, especially on those colder, misty days :)

[Txcowboy52]

I use a purple and a what I call slime green from powder 360 and have had great results, along with the eastwood ford blues.

[PNW_Steve]

Folks tend to assume that it rains a lot where I live and are surprised that I live in fairly arid country. Sage brush and rattlesnakes just down the road. Humidity is not an issue here. We get 16-19 inches of rain a year. On the other side of the state there are places that get over 100 inches annually.

Thanks for all of the input. I am going to snag a couple of the colors suggested from Smoke and the Ford Blue from Eastwood.

[white eagle]

Smokes orange usually works first time every time for me
as does clear.

[Dragonheart]

Powder paint is similar to regular house paint when it comes to coverage. Some colors in house paint just will not cove in a single coat, namely yellows to mention the worst. Darker colors and blues, greens, blacks usually cover the best regardless of manufacture. I have found the same holds true for powder paints.

to assure good coverage for those first getting into PC, do yourself a favor and buy your powder from "Smoke" because if it doesn't work and give good coverage is is something you are doing wrong, it's not the powder!

When you get the PC process down and feel the need to expand, if you ever do, I recommend Prismatic Powder, a large powder manufacturer selling over 6K colors and types of powder online.

I started with Prismatic back in 2012 because the professional coaters I talked with recommended Prismatic for quality powder; over the years I have never been disappointed with Prismatic powder or service. I also like that I can look up the specs on a powder, picking powders more suitable for my needs. I don't recommend resellers other than Smoke, not saying they don't sell good powders, but as a reseller they typically do not have the specs on what they sell. With Prismatic you can even talk to the Company Techs and get more information if needed. But I will caution that you need to know what you are buying, as all powders will spray, but not all powders will shake & bake. If you do shake & bake stay with the solid colors.

[blikseme300]

Here is a chart that will give some ideas of the different kinds of PC powders.

268622

[barnabus]

I've been using Smoke's Clear for everything the last couple of years...not really a pretty finish but easy to work with (shake 'n bake) and yields a nice uniform coating. Did around a thousand .45 SWCs over the weekend and, after PC, they look like they just fell out of the mold.

Bill

smokes clear here also

[PNW_Steve]

I see slot of support for Smokes clear.

I have a silly question........ How can you judge one coat coverage with clear.?

[Kraschenbirn]

I see slot of support for Smokes clear.

I have a silly question........ How can you judge one coat coverage with clear.?

By measuring drive bands before and after coating. Using Smoke's Clear, I get a (very!) consistent .0015"-.002" increase in diameter on everthing I coat.

Bill

[Dragonheart]

The Problem with choosing a powder is all the powders on the above chart will spray coat, but all will not shake & bake which is what I believe the majority here is doing. Shake & bake typically works well with Solid Color Polyester powders.

[Conditor22]

usually, the metallic, and darker polyester TGIC 80% or better gloss colors cover best. the whites and light colors are a turkey shoot.

these are the colors I know of that are good for 1 coat coverage

SHERWIN WILLIAMS:
SILVER METALLIC (nice with metallic flakes but it Doesn't blend well with other powders)
Other SW colors are great for spraying or blending

CARDINAL:
FLINT GREYBLACK
GLOSS SMOOTH PEARLESCENT STEEL GRAY
SEMI GLOSS HAMMER WHITE
SEMI GLOSS METALIC SILVER
SEMI GLOSS TEXTURE METALIC CHROME


TIGER DRYLAC:
SMOOTH GLOSSY GENTIAN BLUE
SMOOTH GLOSSY Graphite Black
SMOOTH GLOSSY MOSS GREEN
SMOOTH GLOSSY NUT-BROWN
SMOOTH GLOSSY Ochre Brown
YELLOW GREY

DU PONT:
RASPBERRY RED
SIGNALCARBON BLACK

IVC:
PLATINUM SILVER

and severe PBRP and Easwood PC's I can't remember off the top of my head

[charlie b]

Folks tend to assume that it rains a lot where I live and are surprised that I live in fairly arid country. Sage brush and rattlesnakes just down the road. Humidity is not an issue here. We get 16-19 inches of rain a year. On the other side of the state there are places that get over 100 inches annually.

Thanks for all of the input. I am going to snag a couple of the colors suggested from Smoke and the Ford Blue from Eastwood.

Yes, it was an assumption. Have spent a lot of time on the western side of the Cascades so I guess that narrows down the region you live in :) I always thought it amazing to drive across that part of the country, no moisture in sight, and then go over a bridge spanning the Snake River. Makes you wonder where all that water came from.

You can't go wrong with those powder choices.

[prs]

I am lazy. I let Smoke cull out the dud powders and I buy what he then recommends.

prs

[Tripplebeards]

Smokes clear covers like smooth glass. I use his clear on all my 100 yards plus rifle boolits. It even fills in my tumbling dings and dents. I also can see my lead so it gives more of a traditional look imo. For his colors Carolina blue always covers the easiest and best for me.

[gnappi]

When I get home I have to check my winners and losers against that chart. Thanks for that blikseme300.

In my limited experience I found that even powders from the same manufacturer can be different formulations and cover differently so the brand may not be an indicator of how good they cover on a particular material.

I bought some black paint that covers (with SnB) terribly on lead but beautifully on some steel swag lamp chain that I coated.

[mehavey]

Finally settled on three that take 90sec shake in Tupperware/airsoft beads container,
with perfect 1-coat coverage, all Eastwood, color-coded for alloy/quick ID:

- Lyman #2: Mirror Red
- 30-1 Soft: Mirror Green
- Pure Lead: Ford Light Blue

[Huskerguy]

I have four of smokes colors.

Carolina blue - works very well
Flame red - this one looks like it is not covering but it flows and covers very well
Clear - I really like this stuff, sticks quickly and covers well. Goes on white, cures clear.
Traffic Orange - a friend likes the orange and I do his PC but this stuff is marginal, seems to provide a thin coat, not as nice as the others. I would not recommend.

[dryflash3]

https://i.imgur.com/W4lXZczl.jpg

I'm partial to what Smoke calls bacon grease..

I call it FDE

[monkey wrangler]

Finally settled on three that take 90sec shake in Tupperware/airsoft beads container,
with perfect 1-coat coverage, all Eastwood, color-coded for alloy/quick ID:

- Lyman #2: Mirror Red
- 30-1 Soft: Mirror Green
- Pure Lead: Ford Light Blue

That is the first time I heard that one. I use different colors for different molds. So no accidental mixing of different size / weight boolits. Don't want a hot or squib load by accident.

[Dragonheart]

When I first got into PC a polymer physicist told me that for my bullet coating he estimated that using a hard polyester powder would be the best choice for my needs. Since PC from 2012 I have found he was right, even though he had never coated a bullet, he knew his polymers. A "Solid Color" Polyester works the best and the best coverage is typically with blues & greens. All the solid colors I have tried will tumble coat. You can check your specific powder for hardness, but I go with 2H+. A polyurethane powder will go even harder and like all powders it sprays well, but may not tumble coat.