Basic instructions for shake and bake?

[Charlie Horse]

I'm new to powder coating. Where are the basic instructions for the shake and bake method? I can't find it. Or is there some other method a total newb should be following? Thanks.

[charlie b]

In a day or two there will be a post here with all the details needed for shake and bake. Heed them.

For some reason I thought there was a sticky on this, but, alas, no there is not. Something should be done about that.

The short answer is:
1. Buy powder from Smoke or start with Eastwood Ford Light Blue.
2. Get a batch of black airsoft BB's
3. Plastic tub. I use the Ziplock tubs with the blue screw on tops. The tubs that butter comes in work well.
4. Oven, check temp with a separate temp gauge to get precisely 400F and 450F.
5. Make sure bullets are clean of all oils/greases/etc.

Mix powder, BB's and bullets in tub. Shake for 1 or 2 min to generate the static electricity needed for the powder to stick.

Place in oven and bake, usually 400F for a bit more than 20min (yes, it stinks. Use of kitchen over not recommended ). Use powder mfg instructions on bake temp.

Let cool, load and shoot.

[Dom]

As above. I use old , clean cool whip containers. Make sure you swirl & shake the bullets & powder a good 2 to 3 min. You want to build a strong static charge so the powder sticks to the bullet with a "goood" coating. I use non stick aluminum foil on the tray of my $59.99 Walmart oven. Use the air bake if the oven has it. This gives a more even distribution of the hot air. I stand most of my bullets up on end. You can just lay them down so as to not touch each other.Attachment 285842Attachment 285843Attachment 285844Attachment 285845 When the timer goes off get them right out of the oven on to a cooling tray. Swirl them around ( wear gloves, HOT ) for a little bit so they do not stick to each other. A min or so will do it. If it's a GC bullet I install GC & crimp on before I coat or I can not get them on. Once cooled I size. Easy once you have done it a time or two.

[Dom]

Almost forgot. Do not touch bullets with your bare fingers or the coating will be removed. Use needle nose pliers or wear the blue ( can't remember the name ) thin rubber gloves you will find in the painting section of Walmart or a hardware store. Do not use the white thin gloves. Found them.
NITRILE" is what the proper rubber glove is called.

[Frank H]

Both of the above methods work. Look up Elvis ammo on YouTube.

[charlie b]

Just don't follow his take on baking temps (unless he has retracted his short bake time and/or lower temp process).

[sureYnot]

Just don't follow his take on baking temps (unless he has retracted his short bake time and/or lower temp process).

Agreed. Tried it once. No bueno.

[hoodat]

Yeah, I've got a few hundred of the low temp nines to burn up. Trouble is I'll have to brush my barrel about every twenty shots. jd

[Gamsek]

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

Everything you need to know for start. I use it, it works

[Charlie Horse]

OK. Thanks. My powder is suppose to be here tomorrow.
I have some bullets I cast and stored in a bullet box. They haven't intentionally been exposed to lube or oil, but who knows? Should I wash them with acetone or lacquer thinner first?

[reddog81]

OK. Thanks. My powder is suppose to be here tomorrow.
I have some bullets I cast and stored in a bullet box. They haven't intentionally been exposed to lube or oil, but who knows? Should I wash them with acetone or lacquer thinner first?

No. In my experience no normal level of contamination will have any effect on PC. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...Adhesion-Myths

I have a feeling people that mess up the PC process use "contamination" as a scapegoat for errors somewhere in their process.

[Conditor22]

Not everything is equal in powder coating.

Powder Coating creates a Polymer coating/shell around the cast boolit
.....a) it helps protect the boolit from the barrel
.....b) it works as a lubricant between the boolit and the barrel
.....c) it protects the user (and user's kids) from the lead

Different atmospheric conditions can limit static or dampen the powder.

1) the powder must be kept dry ----I use double zipper bags in the NW where we get a lot of rain, store my powder in a garage with a gas furnace and WH
2) the boolits must be kept clean --- IF I'm not coating the boolits right away I put them in plastic zipper bags --- NEVER QUENCH before PCing!!!
.....a) baking the boolits will take most of the hardness you gain by quenching out of the boolit
.....b) quenching is a good way to contaminate the boolits so the PC won't stick well
.....c) quenching after PCing gives good results
.....d) touching the boolit with oily hands can/will affect the coating --- wear nitrile/plastic gloves or use a clean spoon or ? to move the boolits



PC can be dried out in an oven KEEP the temperature below 150° F (leaving the container open in an airconditioned room works) IF the PC is lumpy after drying it will quickly become powder again when you start swirl/shaking [I Rarely ever shake the container when PCing -- the containers don't last long when I do and just swirling gives me good results

3) the oven temperature must be checked with an oven thermometer (or 2) and the dial adjusted to where the thermometers read 400°
.....a) the oven temperatures will change with the surrounding air temperature due to location and type of sensor they use
.....b) toaster ovens work but only for smaller loads and have a tendency to have hot spots (some of the boolits can/will melt)
.....c) conventions ovens have been proven best because they have a circulating and the evenly heats all the boolits ---you can safely bake full trays of boolits

4) If the air/atmosphere is really damp you may need to pre-warm the boolits --- I use an oven set at 150° F or you can set a pan of boolits on to of your hot oven
.....a) the boolits must not be hotter than you can comfortably touch with bare hands or you can get PC clumping-- starting to cure

5) not all PC needs BB's/poly pellets to work --- this is a trial and error thing

6) polyester (usually TGIC) PC works best for me, I get better results with higher gloss powders

7) white/light colors generally don't cover well but adding a little of another color usually helps

8) COATING BOOLITS:
.....A) BOWLS
..........1) coating bowls/containers need to be plastic #5 or plastic #2
..........2) larger diameter bowls allow you to swirl/build up static faster thus cool whip bowls do such a good job
..........3) lids: if the bowl doesn't have a screw-on lid make sure you hang onto it or the lid will come open
.....B)STATIC BUILDING MEDIA: Normally cover the bottom of small bowls with 2 layers large bowls with 1 layer
..........1) ASBB (Air Soft BB's) black BB's are proven to work I've found camouflaged BB's that work also. It has to do with the hardness, what the BB's are made out of as to how well they help build static. even nonstatic building BB's will help even out the coating
..........2) Poly pellets normally black or white, haven't found any poly pellets that didn't help
.....C) Boolits:
..........1) use a minimum of 12-15 boolits -- enough to build up static
..........2) maximum no more than 2-3 layers deep in your bowl
.....D) Powder: This will vary on bowl size and number of boolits being coated
..........1)Ziploc Twist 'n Loc, after the BB's are coated, no more than 1 teaspoon per batch see how much PC is left in the bottom of the bowl after coating.
..........2) Cool Whip after the BB's are coated 1-2 teaspoons per batch see how much PC is left in the bottom of the bowl after coating.
..........3) Too much PC will prevent good static build-up
..........4) Too little PC will result in thin/spotty coating --- it's easy to add a little more and swirl a little longer
.....E) blending/mixing different PC is not like dealing with paint, white and black don't always make grey more often you get spotted/splotchy boolits
a) blending/mixing a little good PC with a bad PC often makes the bad PC work
b) blending/mixing multiple PCs can give you amazing results but the results will change with each batch you coat
c) some powders stick faster/better than others, the blend color will be heavier with that color to begin with then taper of when the color is used up in the bowl
.....F) SWIRLING: Screw or hold the lid tight and swirl the bowl holding it flat to verticle and back to flat, continue until all boolit are coated
.....G) preparing coated boolits:
..........1) REMOVE ALL EXCESS POWDER
.................a) Sift PC/boolits/BB's in a colander with something to catch the BB's and powder when they fall through the colander removing all excess PC
........................1) after all the PC/BB's are sifted off pick up the boolits with tweezers or fingers wearing surgical gloves (dipped in pc first to prevent sticking)
.................b) Pick up- dump PC'd boolits in a tray or? pick them up with tweezers, tap the tweezer on the side of a container to remove all excess PC
.....H) preparing to bake: Use a pan lined with non-stick paper/foil/bake mats or screen (1/4 hardware cloth)/wire basket (office supply)
..........a) stand short fat boolits up on their bases using finger or tweezer method
..........b) place taller boolits in silicone ice cube trays or use a metal grid to keep them from falling over
..........c) Dump method dump the sifted boolits in screen (1/4 hardware cloth)/wire basket (office supply) [this doesn't work well with all PC's you can get bad sticking
9) Baking PC the manufacturer states Bake for XX minutes at XXX° AFTER this condition exists
.....a) bake for XX minutes AFTER the boolits have reached XXX°
.....b) bake for XX minutes AFTER the PC starts to flow on the boolits
.....c) PC will look good after it flows and may pass the smash test BUT unless bakes to factory specifications IT IS NOT FULLY CURED
*****I have found that baking the coated boolits in an oven preheated to 400° for 25 minutes meets or exceeds all manufacturers requirements*****

10) Testing PC for adhesion/sticking using a smooth-faced hammer
.....a) flatten the PC'd cool boolit to 1/2 its original height seeing if any PC cracks or flakes off
.....b) hammer the PC'd cool boolit into a cube seeing if any PC cracks or flakes off
.....c) just because the PC passes the hammer test doesn't mean its fully cured, just that it is sticking well

11 SIZING
.....a) PC'd usually boolits size easily; if not, a little spray case lube can be used
.....b) IF PC is scraped off when sizing polish the entrance to your sizing die
..........1) with fine sandpaper made into a cone with the grit on the outside
..........2) with a Dremel tool, a felt boolit shaped polisher and some fine polishing compound --- I like Flitz
.....c)*** I like running a felt polisher in the sizing die for a few seconds to smooth the machine marks and make sizing easier
12 LOADING:
.....a) PC is normally loaded to regular cast boolit loads
.....b) GC usually aren't needed with PC's boolits until you reach 1600 - 2100 fps depending on the gun, powder, and boolit
.....c) PC'd boolits can work with a softer alloy and be pushed faster/harder than regular lubed boolits

***I like using different colored boolits to designate different diameters or powder charges***

[sureYnot]

Yeah, I've got a few hundred of the low temp nines to burn up. Trouble is I'll have to brush my barrel about every twenty shots. jd

Just cook them again at the right temp/ time. Worked for me.

[Charlie Horse]

Thanks^^^^^!

[charlie b]

No. In my experience no normal level of contamination will have any effect on PC. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...Adhesion-Myths

I have a feeling people that mess up the PC process use "contamination" as a scapegoat for errors somewhere in their process.

Sorry but leaving some residual lube from sizing screws up the PC. It flakes off in the smash test. Remove the lube and PC sticks well. Other oils can mess it up as well. Had that happen when I stored some bullets in a container that had been used for lube.

[Smoke4320]

Pre heat Convection oven to 400 degrees

The way I Dry Tumble is to get a plastic container with snap on lid that has a triangle and #5 stamped on the bottom (this is VERY important to get acceptable static) I have gone to using Ziplock S Round (2 cup) twist lock containers (Rubbermaid equilavent will NOT holdup) , Others use cool whip containers
add enough BLACK 25 gram Airsoft BB's top cover about 1/2" deep on bottom .. (2 to 3 layers deep)
add 1 teaspoon of powder for cool whip containers (for the first load ONLY). 1/2 teaspoon is more than enough for S Round Containers
add 50 to 100 bullets . The smaller ones like 223 would be 100 larger like 45 ACP 230's might only be 30 at a time
snap on lid and swirl the container to the count of 30 then shake fairly hard up and down to the count of 30
lift lid, Pick up bullets one at a time with long needle nose pliers .. Tap pliers on container edge to shake off excess powder back into container
Just started doing this with double layered bowls glued together
Speed up process, knocks off excess powder so you don’t have to tap bullets on container, and leave just the bullets in the bowl for easy pickings
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-from-the-BB-s

Put bullets on cookie sheet lined with Non stick foil (will last many many cycles)
Put in oven for 25-35 minutes . pull out let cool and put in a bullet box

Oven .. You need to be sure what temp the Oven is actually cooking at... your aim is between 375 and 400 degrees
Oven needs to be preheated before putting bullets in .. I found my oven take approx. 8 minutes to reach 380 degrees
do a few small batches say 10 bullets till you find what temp YOUR oven gives a nice even flow to the powder.. too cool and you get clumps.. to hot and you get nice looking colored clumps melted lead puddles..
a convection oven with a fan to distribute the heat evenly throughout the oven will give you an almost sprayed slick look..

Blue Nitrile gloves can be used to pick up bullets .. So far other gloves have proven to not work ( they will remove powder everywhere the gloves touch )
Or you can always buy a Harbor Freight Electrostatic PC gun for about 59.00 on sale.. This will give you the smoothest finish.. just more setup and cleanup time

[murf205]

Attachment 285942Attachment 285943 Here is the #5 ( I don't mean to imply that you don't know what a #5 looks like-LOL) on the tub you are needing and the BB's that have worked for me. I use needle nose pliers and stand the boolits up on their bases on a layer of non stick aluminum foil in the bottom of my pan. 380-400 degrees for 20 min is plenty. Like 'Smoke said, You need to know your oven temp so an oven thermometer is a good tool to have. I do not water quench and have never had a bad batch when I did my part. Good luck and show us the pics.

[reddog81]

Sorry but leaving some residual lube from sizing screws up the PC. It flakes off in the smash test. Remove the lube and PC sticks well. Other oils can mess it up as well. Had that happen when I stored some bullets in a container that had been used for lube.

Lube isn't what I'd consider normal contamination from sitting around in someones house.

[Charlie Horse]

I did it!
Thanks guys. Only took me two tries. First time I set the toaster oven to 400 and put the bullets on the top rack. They melted. Using a thermometer I got the temp down to 400 and put the tray on the bottom rack. Eureka!
It's a Lee 105 grain RN 380 bullet. I sized them to .358 and loaded them in 357 cases over 7.5 grains of Unique.
Going to try them tomorrow out of my 10" Contender.
Thanks again for breathing new life into my hobby.
(My wife laughed at them.)

[charlie b]

True 'Lipstick' bullets. Slip one in her makeup drawer

Nice work.