i'd use acetone.
I have been powder coating bullets for 308 Winchester. I size to 308, powder coat, and then size to 309. initial sizing is performed with case lube as a lubricant through a Lee push through size die. then I use dish detergent and water to wash them, and rinse several times. then when they are completely dry, I powdercoat, bake, and then use a Lee push through sizer to size to 309 using no lubricant.
my alloy this far has been wheel weights with 2 percent tin. after shooting several dozen, my boar actually appears to be cleaner than when I started. so far the only downside I have seen is I have not been able to exceed 3 moa.
I recently cast some more bullets out of 50/50 wheel weights and Lino type. once I get them coated loaded and fired I will post my results.
Last edited by olaf455; 11-21-2012 at 03:34 PM.
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Well I could not take it anymore , just ordered a 300 blk parts kit. I can't wait to try powder coating bullets for it!
DUH, HUH, WHAT? Where have I been? I knew they had plastic coated bullets, but didn't know you could brew your own at home! Where can I learn the process?
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Wallenba, Im gonna powder coat some tonight and take pics along the way. I will post them after I cook up some. I have the powder sitting right here on my desk and Im waiting on UPS to drop off the gun any minute. Im gonna powder coat them over a screen mesh so hopefully some of the powder will fall right through and not make the "fillet" at the bottom.
great thread.
i have a powder coating set up that i have only used few times. i think i'll be powder coating boolits tonight.
Mike, I've got a few of these here at the house if you wanted to try some out. I'm in the same boat as you though waiting out rifle season. As soon as season is over I'm going to load up some of the 312-155-2R's that Ken was gracious enough to coat for me to test. The boolits are ACWW and will be tried with and without gas checks.
Stay tuned.
You should try other colors. I took bright red ones to a local IDPA match and got a lot of funny looks.
Thats the only color I got for now....I bought the flat black for the 230 gr 300aac bullets
Awesome! Did you have any issues with the little "fillet" of powder coat (once cured) around the base, or getting them off the aluminum foil? They look great!
Just a suggestion (if you haven't already) but put the powder in a plastic jar (preferably a new one, not a used one.) Drop in one of those "do not eat" silica gel packets to keep the powder dry, otherwise it will cake up and be useless unless you sift it. I found some nice plastic jars at the hobby store (Hobby Lobby) for $2 or so.
Ken73 thanks!! I had a little fillet on some...just gonna take some 320 grit sandpaper and spin the end of the bullet on it to remove it. Everyone is thinking its so much work to do...its really not. I could coat 30 bullets in about 2 minutes. Thanks for the tip on the preserving the powder, I didn't even think about that. The flat black looks mean!!!
You do have a point, they do look cool in a stealth fighter kind of way!
Wonder if you can powder coat without the. Gun, much like a dip into tumble lube and only coating the bearing surfaces? I powder coat jigs and buzz baits using a heat gun and for those who want to try this, I bet this technique would work. Maybe I will give it a try....I wonder too if some colors work better than others and I suspect the ones with glitter would introduce an abrasive that wouldn't be good...interesting thread.
Tonto I think it would be too thick but it is def worth a shot. When you use the gun it doesn't build up much. All mold lines are still clearly evident after applying and baking.
Last edited by wwboolitmaker; 11-22-2012 at 11:48 AM.
I tried that coating was clumpy, and I could not achieve good results. It is worth a shot though.
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So far I had some function checks I had to do; the first ones I cast had some serious issues, which turned out to mostly be the follower in my magazine tilting (apparently I grabbed the only mag in my set that didn't have an anti-tilt follower.) I got that fixed but haven't had time to test. I'm going to try shoot some this week though.
What few I've shot (around 50 or so?) I've shot at a steel target and I'm easily able to nail it at 50 yards. No leading, nothing left in the barrel.
I've got about 25 loaded up that I wanted to send over the chrono to see how well they work.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |