What powder coat ?

[willy]

Looking at videos on powder coating bullets.
And thought ,,why not ask those who actually do it.
What powder do you use, and where is best place to get it?

[pworley1]

I use Eastwood.

[kungfustyle]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?252509-VS-Hi-Quality-Powdercoating-Powder-For-sale
Smoke's powder coat works very well and he's a member here. Chick the link above.

[Hick]

I use Smoke's clear

[Minerat]

I use Smokes. Have most of his colors.

[willy]

Thanks for the info guys!

[KenH]

Why even ask, just use Smoke's stuff. I like the clear so my bullets look like bullets rather than lipstick :)

[cwlongshot]

Yup Smokes is one of "us". Start there!

https://youtu.be/vzSMkpf5SCY

[murf205]

Smokes for me too. Everybody has their favorite color or lack of it, but it doesn't matter because it has been a game changer in some instances. It makes cast boolits slide up feed ramps in auto pistols where they were "grabbing" and causing jams.315044

[Iowa Fox]

Make it easy on yourself and do what I did to get started. Get a smokes sample pack, his BBs and follow his easy instructions. You will hammer out perfect bullets on your first shot.

[WardT]

I started with Smokes Clear.
Very user friendly !!!

[Tripplebeards]

Smokes clear for a new user. He is a member here. Use to be $22 shipped for a pound and some air soft BBs. It goes on easiest, most even, and smoothest out of everything I've tried.wouldnt recommend anything else. It also looks traditional. His traffic blue is the easiest color to get an even coat with as well. Every other color is humidity sensitive for me.

[firefly1957]

These are my notes on coating bullets do not get stuck on just one method , Lately I like spray enamel paint baked on.

I have been using paint starting with powder coat for sometime now these are my notes on bullet coating so far i really like the process.
First method was to wet the powder with acetone and shake and roll bullets in it it until it stuck as solvent evaporated.
Next i used the electrostatic sprayer.
Last i used spray paint Kylon in my case.
All bullets should be degreased no matter how you do the coating some like dry tumbling i have not tried that.
When you bake a batch ALWAYS smash one bullet to make sure the coating does not flake off if it does bake longer and maybe hotter.
You will see a difference in the paint when it is "Cured" it becomes a thin plastic jacket around the bullet.
Some people have had great luck with liquid enamel paint they degreased the bullets and add them to a container with a bit of paint and roll and shake until coated.
NEVER bake in a oven food will be cooked in .
I like spray paint as i can paint them and then handle them , i usually use three coats while they stand on there bases.
Wet application requires handling and can be messy while electrostatic spraying needs to be done on the pan or jig you are baking them in as the powder will fall off if touched.
Do not let bullets touch while baking they will stick together.
Of the methods i use the three coats of spray paint is the thinnest and works best on rifle bullets with long noses. The other two methods are thick enough to engage the rifling of my 30-30 making chambering hard. I shoot the lee 309170 cast soft at 178 grains to an average speed of 2040 fps with good results . I have also shot cast and swaged .38 bullets in the 1700 fps range fromA a ten inch contender with good results. Most of my loads are common 38& 45 acp velocities no loads that have been properly "CURED" have leaded my bores.
I have also started loading higher levels for the 45-70 shooting powder painted or powder coated bullets to of 405 grains (417 as cast) at 1900 f/s and the Lee 330 grain mold cast soft (354 grains as cast) @ 2168 f/s both these loads shoot under 2" at 100 yards

IF You use the powder coat paint wet, I use acetone but other solvents that evaporate will work . I put about a teaspoon of powder in a can or jar add a bit of acetone to make the paint wet (runny wet) then wash the boolits in acetone or alcohol dump the liquid and add them to the can/jar with paint shake and roll until they are coated then remove the lid and roll until the paint sticks well. At that point i dump them out stand them on a baking tray on non stick aluminum foil or wax paper and bake them near or at 400 degrees for an hour . They are sized after they cool. Do not bake in oven that will be used for food again the foil or wax paper is used to keep paint from tray if temperatures go above 400 wax paper can darken and get brittle. I now use a silicone baking sheet some paint does stick to it but it works well for me the bullets are stood on points or bases not touching to bake .
Paint has very little mass bumps and blotches seem not to adversely affect accuracy i should test this further but have not yet as i get all the accuracy i need for now .
I have since swaged some coated .185 lead wire and made .224 bullets they did not lead the barrel at about 3000 f/s my dies burr the bullet base and accuracy was awful . I used the cup from a large rifle primer and swaged the core into it as a gas check to get rid of burr accuracy improved quite a bit.

[rr2030]

I am new to this PC thing and like all newbies I am experiencing some difficulties getting the powder to stick to the bullets. .38 148g WC. I wash in Acetone, dry, preheat the boolets to approximately 100° Place 60 boolets in a plastic jar, add 1/4c powder, close the lid and shake / swirl to exhaustion. I dump the bullets on a wire mesh to separate the powder from the boolets. What I end up with is coated lube groves and a light dusting on the boolets themselves. It was near 100° with low humidity here when I did this. I am using HF flat black , the only option available there.

Can someone bump me in the right direction? Thanks

[cwlongshot]

I am new to this PC thing and like all newbies I am experiencing some difficulties getting the powder to stick to the bullets. .38 148g WC. I wash in Acetone, dry, preheat the boolets to approximately 100° Place 60 boolets in a plastic jar, add 1/4c powder, close the lid and shake / swirl to exhaustion. I dump the bullets on a wire mesh to separate the powder from the boolets. What I end up with is coated lube groves and a light dusting on the boolets themselves. It was near 100° with low humidity here when I did this. I am using HF flat black , the only option available there.

Can someone bump me in the right direction? Thanks

First off, Get proper powder coat. Smokes of avalible to you right here on the board!

https://rumble.com/vtz57g-pt-1-powder-coating.html

https://rumble.com/vtz723-part-ii-powder-coating.html

CW

[rr2030]

Then as I understand it; my issue of the powder not sticking to the boolet is due to not using the correct brand powder (Smokes), when many here use HF, and some have pointed to videos of expert instruction where they are clearly using HF. idk.

Thank you for the reply

[redriverhunter]

My understanding is smoke will try and ensure his powder works before he will put it for sale here. I like smokes because it works.

[rr2030]

I just used Eastwood, same results. Paint sticks to the container (#5 in the triangle). Moving on to the vibrating case cleaner...

[Sam Sackett]

Then as I understand it; my issue of the powder not sticking to the boolet is due to not using the correct brand powder (Smokes), when many here use HF, and some have pointed to videos of expert instruction where they are clearly using HF. idk.

Thank you for the reply

Weeeeellll. If you buy some of Smokes and use the same procedure you used before, that may give you different results. If it does, let us know. Did Smokes do better or not? Then you’ll know.

Not trying to be a smartie, but you really won’t know til you try.

Sam Sackett

[barnabus]

I use Smoke's clear

smokes

[firefly1957]

rr 2030 did you read my post?

I would try tossing them in the H.F. black wet with acetone see if you get results , H.F. red is the easiest to use I have used all four colors of H.F. paint some need longer baking time than others .
As my notes say I have never tried the "shake and bake" method I would see if cheap spray enamel is available in your area and give it a try

[rr2030]

I did read your post. I had a nice long detailed reply but when I selected post reply it disappeared. Bottom line, I am cutting my losses and decided powder coating is not for me.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I did read your post. I had a nice long detailed reply but when I selected post reply it disappeared. Bottom line, I am cutting my losses and decided powder coating is not for me.

Smart move, when you look at all the time it takes to PC, all the special equipment, all the mess, and dealing with all the failures during the learning curve, it's just easier to use bullet lube. That's my experience anyway.

[P Flados]

I did read your post. I had a nice long detailed reply but when I selected post reply it disappeared. Bottom line, I am cutting my losses and decided powder coating is not for me.

I hate to see someone try and fail. It really is not that hard, but there are some very specific "keys to success".

One item is to not even try HF black. HF black was proven as "no good" for shake & bake very early on in the PC effort. Like many I started with HF red and found it to be ok. Then they stopped selling it.

Next item is that when using Eastwood or other similar sources, some colors work and some do not. When first starting, use only "proven" powders. Smokes is a good source, but with a little research, specific choices from other sources should be ok.

Also note that the use of black (and only black) air soft bbs was part of the original "secret to success".

For me, I also have to pre-heat bullets to 140 °F "on occasion" when the powder does not want to stick.

No need for acetone wash, and you only want a tablespoon or two of powder in a quart sized container.

[firefly1957]

rr2030 That was what happened to me when I tried copper plating bullets I surrendered I just could not get any bonding then I tried powder coat wet method and was very happy.

If you have a oven that has been used to cure bullets give spray enamel paint a try before totally giving up ! The bullets do still need to be rinsed in a solvent even when freshly cast .

[rr2030]

Thanks all that responded. I had a little better luck with a large cool-whip container and less paint, They still needed 2 coats. Im done for a while.