Powder coating cast bullets process

[mookiie]

Hi all,
I got everything I need to do some powder coated bullets today, except I have never done it so I want to be sure I have the process straight.

First I want to confirm if you size them then powder coat or powder coat then size them?

Next for gas checked rounds do you put the gas check on before or after pcing?

Now for the process I think it goes like this:

Mix bullets and PC with black airsoft bbs in a #5 type plastic container.

Then heat toaster oven to 400 degrees.

Then bake pced bullets for at least 10 minutes

Then cool and size?


Let me know if I have this all wrong.

Thanks!

[runfiverun]

mookie, dude.
we have an entire section devoted to powder coating a few doors down from this one.
the processes and out comes are all over the place in there.
the shake and bake method you outlined sounds about right to me, but your time and temp could be off just a little.
I'd definitely check the other section and see what others there are using.

[Beagle333]

Size after coat. You can size before if you want, but definitely after as well. I only size before coating if the mold drops much over the desired size as-cast.
Gas checks should go on when they fit best. If the shank is tight, you had better put it on first or it might not fit after coating. If it is a loose shank, it might fit perfect after coating. I have some molds of each type.

After coating the bullets, put them in the 400° oven and wait for the coating to get shiny (start to gloss over), that is the point where you start the 10 minute timing. Go for a full 10 minute bake after the glossing-over begins.
Then cool and size.

Happy Shooting!!

[bangerjim]

You are in the wrong thread section for those questions.

Go to alternate coatings thread and read on!

All your questions have been covered and answered many many times.

banger

[mookiie]

You are in the wrong thread section for those questions.

Go to alternate coatings thread and read on!

All your questions have been covered and answered many many times.

banger

Super helpful.

[mookiie]

Size after coat. You can size before if you want, but definitely after as well. I only size before coating if the mold drops much over the desired size as-cast.
Gas checks should go on when they fit best. If the shank is tight, you had better put it on first or it might not fit after coating. If it is a loose shank, it might fit perfect after coating. I have some molds of each type.

After coating the bullets, put them in the 400° oven and wait for the coating to get shiny (start to gloss over), that is the point where you start the 10 minute timing. Go for a full 10 minute bake after the glossing-over begins.
Then cool and size.

Happy Shooting!!

Thanks for this response. I will test the gas check fit before I PC! Also thanks for pointing out it is 10 minutes AFTER the coating looks glossy, I missed that in my original post.

[mookiie]

mookie, dude.
we have an entire section devoted to powder coating a few doors down from this one.
the processes and out comes are all over the place in there.
the shake and bake method you outlined sounds about right to me, but your time and temp could be off just a little.
I'd definitely check the other section and see what others there are using.

I am on mobile and have a hard time navigating the site, not to mention I am a new caster and not entirely sure what section I should be posting in. Thanks for the reply.

[Maximumbob54]

I'm actually shocked the anti coating league hasn't jumped up thumping their chests yet. But yes to size last as sizing first may even interfere with the coating sticking and I gas check before coating as coating may make the shank too large to seat the check. I didn't want to break out the lube sizer to seat the checks so I got silly with a Lee push through sizer. My .30-30 bullet of choice is a flat nose so I set the check on the base and set the bullet nose down and pushed it in just enough to set the check. I then took a Philips head driver and tapped the bullet back out again. It did leave a tiny dimple in the check but I'm not critical enough to worry about it as it's not on the edge. Worked like a charm but was admittedly slow. I worried about coating on the check but it doesn't seem to be a factor at least at the hundred yard range I shoot at all the time.

[jcren]

Don't sweat it, these same questions have been asked so many times (even by me!) that some get a little short about it. If you look to the top right of the page, between the vendor banners is a google advanced search box. Type in asbbdt powder coated and you will find more than you want, including common trouble shooting. Main thing is the process is simpler than it sounds so give it a go and you will sort out the details quick enough.

[mookiie]

OK some of the issues I faced. I believe I put to much powder coating on the first batch as they all were sitting in puddles of pc after baking. These proved so hard to size I broke the press of my bench...twice. How much of a coating should I be looking to get or did I just cook them too long? Also how do you seat a gas check and not size at the same time?

[bangerjim]

PC adds 0.002. Anymore and you asking for potential problems sizing.

You should NOT have puddles of PC on your NSAF. Tap your boolits on the side of your bowl to knock off excess powder B4 setting on your racks.

Cook 10 min AFTER the powder turns shiny @ 400F. Check your oven with a good oven thermometer. Do NOT trust the dial on the front.

You run the boolit thru your sizing dies to put on GC's. Why are you trying to do it without sizing? They will come off generally if not crimped on by the die. That is part of the normal process to crimp the check on. I do some nose first, other base first. Depends on which way does not go crooked (nose design) and scrap PC off one side.

[mookiie]

PC adds 0.002. Anymore and you asking for potential problems sizing.

So if you are aiming for .309 do you cast .307? Or do you cast at .309 and the +.002 PC in diameter but is lubricating?

Either way I had way way to much PC on that batch, going to tap next time and try again. Had to scrap them had all kinds of problems trying to size.

I am using Lee push through sizing dies, I don't see a way to add the gas check before I powder coat them, does anyone know of a method I could use to just add the gas check and not size before the powder coating or should I be sizing them before and after PC?

[Beagle333]

You cast at desired diameter and coat, then size back to desired diameter. It isn't possible to perfectly coat the boolit symmetrically with the powder, so you size it back down to be perfectly round.

I size before and after PC. Some do not. There is no one right way.
Good luck!

[popper]

Yes, get a larger sizer die to slightly crimp GC. PC and size to what you want. I use a mould with reduced nose dia. so the PC thickness doesn't bother me. I can size the bands to whatever I need.

[bangerjim]

Snap/tap the GC on the bare lead boolit. Run thru sizing die nose or base 1st. GC will be crimped on.

OR......

PC. Then (if lucky) snap/tap GC on and run thru die. Most of the boolits I have will not allow the check to be put on AFTER PC due to the thickness of the PC.

Best advise: just do it and do not overthink it. You will find out REALLY FAST what works and what does not.

Reading/thinking is good. Too much reading/thinking can really get in your way. Do-overs with cast boolits are VERY easy.

banger

[mongoose33]

When I started PC'ing, last year, I had both the Harbor Freight ESPC gun kit as well as some powder. Rather than set it all up and do ESPC right off the bat, I decided to tumble-coat the powder so I could figure out the baking part of the equation.

The boolits came out ok (I only do handgun calibers currently, waiting to get a good mold for my .270), though the coating was a little uneven and blotchy--and there are always marks where I pick them out with tweezers or hemostat.

I like the way ESPC works better, because the coating appears smoother to me. I have enough trays that as two bake, I'm setting up boolits on the other two trays, PC 'em, and when the baking ones are done, I'm ready to put the next batch in.

***************

One of the beauties of asbbdt is that in five minutes, you can have them on either Non-Stick Aluminum Foil (NSAF) or parchment paper, put them in the pre-heated toaster oven, and see what you've got in 15 minutes of baking (more or less). In other words, you can try it out in a hurry, figure what's working and if it's not working, and proceed from there.

BTW, heed well what BangerJim noted--get a GOOD oven thermometer and use that to calibrate your dial on the toaster oven. On the first toaster-oven I used, I *melted* boolits because while the oven dial said 400 degrees, the actual temp inside....well, would melt boolits.

So check.

Good luck!

[4719dave]

I had a hard time sizing some boolits after pc .I ended up using Dillon lube then sizing .this batch I sized prior to pc much better .

[mookiie]

I had a hard time sizing some boolits after pc .I ended up using Dillon lube then sizing .this batch I sized prior to pc much better .

@4719dave - I also found that if I coat the inside of the sizing die with a tiny bit of my imperial sizing die wax most bullets are sliding right through. I did also reduce the amount of PC by tapping excess of before baking.

[mongoose33]

I had a hard time sizing some boolits after pc .I ended up using Dillon lube then sizing .this batch I sized prior to pc much better .

@4719dave - I also found that if I coat the inside of the sizing die with a tiny bit of my imperial sizing die wax most bullets are sliding right through. I did also reduce the amount of PC by tapping excess of before baking.

I hate when I can't remember who gave me a tip online and I can't credit them.

Anyway, I use Lee sizers, the push-through kind. I read someplace that one can take some isopropyl alcohol, add some lanolin, and spray (mist, really) the boolits before sizing. The alcohol evaporates leaving the lanolin, and it's enough to lubricate the boolits as they go through the sizer. I use a 13" round cake pan, cover the bottom in boolits, mist them w/ the spray, stir them up with my hand, mist them again, then pour out on a rag to dry. Takes maybe 5 minutes.

Where do you get the alcohol? Some sort of gas line antifreeze additive is what I use. I use maybe 1 or 2 ounces of lanolin to a bottle of that additive.

You can buy small spray bottles at Wal-Mart in the trial-size, travel-size aisle. They're about 99 cents each.

[bangerjim]

90% isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) is available EVERYWHERE! Check any drug department of any store anywhere. Get the more expensive 90% rather than the 70%. Do NOT get it a the 99 cent store.....that stuff is <50%.

Or you can get denatured alcohol in any paint department in most stores by the quart or gallon. I buy it by the gallon!

banger