Powdercoating Bullets

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Bwana John

Bwana John

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Has anyone tried it?

I am reloading for .310 Cadet, which uses a heeled, externally lubed projectile. It seems like powdercoating would solve the problem of icky-sticky externally lubed ammo. I have some old Kynoch ammo that won't even chamber without extensively scraping the old hard dirty lube off.

Any hints on applying or baking it?

My powdercoating guy is worried that powdercoat deposited in the bore and baked in there by the heat of burning powder might be impossible to remove.
 
I use powder sold in an array of colors by Smoke4320 on cast boolits. Shake them in a tub with some airsoft BBs, bake them for 20+ minutes at 400F in a goodwill convection oven, size as normal. Everything works great, even in a revolver that wants to lead up with conventionally lubed boolits.
 
If the coating comes off the bullet, even after impacting a steel target, it was done incorrectly.

The projectiles, like anything "getting paint", need to be clean of oils and debris.

A heeled bullet would eliminate the chance of scraping any coating off of the bearing surface during seating, so you have that on your side.

I do hearby and formally request a process and range report upon project completion.:)
 
Sounds like the ideal application for Shake'n'bake powdercoat. A 1# tub of Harbor Freight Red will last you for a looong time. A tupperware with 2 layers of airsoft pellets coats well; 2 thin coats is better than one.
 
edwardware said:
Sounds like the ideal application for Shake'n'bake powdercoat. A 1# tub of Harbor Freight Red will last you for a looong time. A tupperware with 2 layers of airsoft pellets coats well; 2 thin coats is better than one.
Click to expand...

Works just fine. Not something I especially enjoy doing as I first removed the regular lube from 1,000 MBC 230 gr RN, IMG_0538.JPG I only did one coat.

The coating a baking is easy. Use #5 plastic container. I use nitrile gloves and pick them up.
 
Rule3 said:
Not something I especially enjoy doing as I first removed the regular lube from 1,000 MBC 230 gr RN. . .
Click to expand...
HOW?

I tried that with some old grease-lubed bullets. . . it was long and messy. None of my collection of solvents seemed to cut it well, even after soaking.
 
I found the best way to remove lube is just bake it off. Put an old towel/rag in a tray, put bullets on it and bake in a toaster oven. (outside in garage!)
99% of the lube will then come off. You lay them on a clean towel and bake again to get all of it off. You will know when its done as it smokes a bit, Temp around 300-350 F
Let them cool and then rinse in brake cleaner, Coleman fluid or similar solvent. Coleman fluid is cheapest but be careful extremely flammable! I put is plastic container with lid and swoosh them around.

I first tried the boiling in hot water method and that was royal PITA!!.
 
Update...

My rifle really likes the powder coated bullets! Best groups yet with the old rifle.

I got powder and airsoft pellets from smoke4320, a polypropylene bowl, and a toaster oven, cast some .310 Cadet bullets out of mystery metal ( Old scuba weights) and had a go at it.

The powdercoat is not perfectly smooth, but after 2 coats the bullets were rough but fully coated.

I did not size the bullets, and have yet to recover a projectile to see if the heel is obturating, but the groups on target speak for themself.

It is a little time consuming compared to just tumble lubing, but the lack of a sticky mess plus the increase in accuracy in this case is totally worth it.
 
Steveo_1704 said:
you can also buy them coated...
Click to expand...

I can buy .310 Cadet ( 120 gr, .322 bore/.312 heel) projectiles prepowdercoated?

I did find a specialty lead bullet manufacture that sells the correct bullets that can be used for the 7.5 Swiss, 7.5 Swedish Nagant, or the 310 Cadet that come unlubed or externally lubed, but the RCBS .310 Cadet mold I bought matches my heel diameter closer.

I'm not sure the benefits with internally lubed lead bullets would be worth the extra time of powdercoating, I still will probably go with plated for that type projectile.
 
Rule3 said:
I found the best way to remove lube is just bake it off. Put an old towel/rag in a tray, put bullets on it and bake in a toaster oven. (outside in garage!)
99% of the lube will then come off. You lay them on a clean towel and bake again to get all of it off. You will know when its done as it smokes a bit, Temp around 300-350 F
Let them cool and then rinse in brake cleaner, Coleman fluid or similar solvent. Coleman fluid is cheapest but be careful extremely flammable! I put is plastic container with lid and swoosh them around.
Click to expand...
In my garage I have 2 large-mouth heavy HDPE containers (they originally came filled with cashews. YUM!), each about ¾ full of low odor mineral spirits. One is numbered "1" and the other, "2".

After burning off the lube and when the bullets are room temp again, I place them in one of those plastic small-mesh sacks that some fruit comes in and place them in "1" over night, agitating them a couple of times. Next day, I switch them to "2" for a night. The 3rd night they spend spread out in front of a fan after which I deem them ready to be powder coated & baked. :)

2v2u1UKsixAW38L.jpg
 
I have to say, I can't hardly pick up a Hi-Tek coated bullet. That stuff is so slick.
SNS and Acme and MBC.

And Eggleston has them in, like sixteen colors!:)

I neither cast nor coat my own, as the three companies above provide such wonderful product.
But there is night and day difference between a friends powder coat and Hi-Tek coating.
One a tough paint, the other an advanced bullet encapsulating lubricant.

Both work.
My barrel ends up cleaner.
But he is not known for patience or having fun.
He coats his brown, like his unshined brass.
(I think being clean or bright colors hurt his eyes...):D
 
I have Lee bullet sizing dies for .311, .313, .356, .358, .430, 452 and a stock of PC powder, so I will being running batches here and there in future.

I did recently buy 1k of HT-coated 158gr .358 SWC from MBC and have found them to be very nice ... but nowhere near as "pretty" as my PC bullets. :)

... o'course, when I factor in my time and effort, those HT bullets are a LOT cheaper.
 
Oh ya, forgot about ya gotta resize them.

I only did these bullets for "fun and excitement" NO it's no worth doing bullets that are already lubed. I am just tired of the mess and smoke lubed bullets leave, it's so "old school":)
 
Ayup, with the prices available for the HT bullets, home powdercoating as a primary practice just doesn't make sense (to me) anymore.
Click to expand...

I still do it myself just switched from PC to hi-tek.

Because I felt the same as GBExpat.

. I find that PCing the smaller calibers to be much more tedious
Click to expand...

Photobucket made the first thread all but useless but it was a new enough thing back then even the late great RCmodel made fun of me.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/bullet-coating.707641/

This is the one when I tried hi-tek
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/bullet-coating-part-ii.713642/

 
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