powder too thick?

I had previously done powder coating with a harbor freight gun. Got rid of it thinking I was done with powder coat. Anyway, I decided to start again. I didn't want to spend again on another gun, so decided to try the shake and bake method. Tried it last evening, and my coat does not look nice and smooth at all. I am wondering if I should shake them off harder before baking?? Would that smooth these out? This was with Eastwood maroon powder. I only did about 30 to test. When did shake them, coverage looked blotchy, not even at all. Any help/advice is appreciated.
https://i.postimg.cc/c1m6JVdX/pc-bullet.jpg

Questions that need to be answered. Did you clean all oils from the bullets? How long did you bake them? What temp? I am sure there will be others.

I figured I was forgetting something! Rinsed bullets off in acetone before PC. Baked at 400 (according to a oven thermometer) for 20 minutes. Oven was preheated before bullets were put in.

Hmmm, I was reading old threads, etc. and wonder if I found my problem. I had read about pre-heating bullets so thought I would do the same. Did not want to mess with the dial as I had it where it needed to be for 400, so I stuck the tray in and turned it on. Thought that it would take time to heat up (like a bake oven) and figured 3-4 minutes in there should be about right. I wonder if maybe I got them too hot. Even before I baked them (post shaking) they looked rather blotchy/uneven. I wonder if that was due to the heat. I might try again without the pre-heat method.

Please let us know how the next batch turns out.

Based on what I read from Smoke 4250, I SET My TRAY OF UNCOATED BULLETS ON TOP OF THE oven to warm. Once coated I shook them off in a mesh tray, before baking. I have very limited experience with PC, so following this thread. hc18flyer

How cold is too cold? It was about 40 degrees in my shop when I tried and it was a dismal failure...

Tony

40° is a bit cold. Warming them up would be good. I've had success putting them on a heating pad for a bit

I usually let my body tell me when it's OK to PC. If I'm too cold then it's too cold to PC

I've had that problem if the acetone is not completely dry. If you pre heat, they are too hot if you can't pick them up with a bare hand to put in the powder. I pre heat the oven to 400° then put in the batch, wait for the powder to start melting then set the timer for 20 minutes. I've also cooked boolits when it is below 30° in the garage and had no problems.

It was 30 degrees outside and I'm sure the powder and boolits were no more than 40 before I put them in the oven. Next time I'll try warming them up. I do sit on a heating pad when I work at the bench on cold days but everything else is still cold.

Tony

Second attempt. I skipped the acetone and preheat. I also noticed I had made a novice mistake last time. My toaster has 2 racks, a normal mesh type and a solid pan type. The pan was on the top, mesh on the bottom. Last time I had set my thermometer on the top, bullets on the bottom rack. This time I removed the top pan entirely and placed the thermometer on the same tray as the bullets. It seemed to help. I wonder if my temp was/is marginal? I plan on trying again and bumping temps up by 50 degrees.
https://i.postimg.cc/mgRk5Cxk/bullet-3.jpg

The powder cost looks pretty heavy, did you shake them down good after you coated them?

Don't trust the dial on the oven. I have to set mine at 350 in order for it to be 400 degrees in the oven.

I've learned to not put too much powder in the dish. I'll put like half a teaspoon, then shake, check, add more if needed. I do mostly 125-150 grain boolits, 150 at a time.

The powder does look like it was too thick.

If you preheat the bullets before coating, only get them up to a warm room temp. 80 would be fine. As stated above, if you can't hold them in your hand they are too hot.

Only put one pan in the oven. I also make sure there is some space between the pan and the door. You want good air movement in the oven.

400deg F And use an oven thermometer. If your oven has a temp scale on the dial ignore it. Empty oven and put the scale on the tray. Set the dial at 400 and wait for the oven to be steady. Read the thermometer and adjust the dial. Wait a bit. Read dial again, etc, etc. When the thermometer reads a steady 400F put a mark on the dial scale.

Keep in mind some oven thermometers take a couple of minutes to settle.

And it is always good to go back and read this excellent article on 'shake and bake'.

https://www.mp-molds.com/tipstricks/...ble-dt-method/

2 issues I see that COULD be the problem..
first if using acetone to clean you have to let the bullets completely dry (much longer than you think and not to the touch) or the acetone will out gas and cause bubbles/blisters
second is either your temp is not correct ( too low) or not in oven long enough at full temp to get the powder to flow properly