A partnership for powdercoating.

[VenomBallistics]

Parchment has been my friend in this from day one.
It'll take the heat and release beautifully.
The closest thing to the boiling powder method I can think of is something of a stuff hits the fan in a closed box kinda deal.
When we start getting into these sorts of contraptions, it's time for the spray gun.
Since that's the way I coat, I have a small amount of powder waste which ends up being a sheet of plastic foil that peels off the parchment.
I've noticed some of the properties of the waste foil gives a clue about the powders suitability. Seems the samples you can fold in half and crease without breaking seem to hold up better at high velocity.

 

[dunno556]

Yup on the Lee molds.

I think you're right about the contraptions vs just get an ES gun.
I already own a compressor, actually just gave away a small 4 gal one to my neighbor just to get it out of my over stuffed garage.

The remaining compressor would probably run at least 20 guns simultaneously.
60 gal. 175 PSI

I'm still hopeful I can get the hot tumble to work, even if it only works for just getting a nice coat on and then bake. I think it's an economical approach if one does not already own a compressor.
And the 1st attempt was not very shabby at all.

Of course you would still need something to spin the can.
But that could be accomplished with some PVC pipe for rollers and a make shift hand crank on one of the rollers.

I have also figured out how to see what my crappy oven is doing.
I have one of those oven thermometers that hangs from the rack to make sure your oven is really running at the set temp. It maxes out around 550° I think.

Was also thinking I could use the BBQ grill to preheat the boolits so I could try a larger batch of say 100 pcs., to see if a larger heat mass would help to get them melted without having to bake after coating "&" also have them not stick together.

But I have a feeling I will eventually buy an ES gun and make some caliber specific racks to hold the boolits and try to find a discarded BBQ grill to use for baking them. Grill parts are not that expensive.
And if you can find 2 or 3 junk grills I'd bet you could make 1 good one to use just for this purpose

Sorry if I seem long winded.
Just throwing spaghetti on the wall to see if something sticks

 

[Steve2md]

PC is a heat cure, so you will probably still have to bake them after each coat to get it to stay stuck on there.

 

[dunno556]

Yes it is Stevo.

However, as you can see in the top left corner of pic #3 in this post... http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=9562573&postcount=157

The coating is already melting.
So with some more tinkering I believe it's possible to do this without baking after coating

The biggest obstacle will be keeping them from sticking together.
But I think it can be done based on the trial run.
Maybe not... but I'm willing to waste a bit of time trying.
Especially since the rejects run perfectly at cast velocity w/out GC'ing or lube clouds choking me out at the range.

 

[VenomBallistics]

That is correct stevo, however, the tumble method takes two or three coats depending upon powder used as well as various conditions.
With his hot tumble method, and his willingness to iron it out, it's a one coat and done option for the beginner.
A noble cause by any measure.

nah dunno, you don't want open flame.
It's still cheaper to score a suitable sleazy bake toaster oven at Walmart.
Yeah, definitely add the Lee 200 grain mold to your git it list.
This one is almost a fail safe in 06.
If the practical upper limit is a solid 2200 before accuracy flakes out, you're still kissing the edge of full cartridge potential.

 

[Steve2md]

Hey, I'm all for experimentation. That's how we ended up with powdercoated bullets to begin with! Diggin the efforts btw!

 

[dunno556]

Originally Posted by Steve2md
Hey, I'm all for experimentation. That's how we ended up with powdercoated bullets to begin with! Diggin the efforts btw!

Yup, this is not, yet, a how to thread. More of a lets see if we can do it like this thread. Not everyone has compressors & ES guns, nor can afford them either.

I was only thinking the BBQ for the preheat Venom.
Wouldn't want a powder cloud in an open flame like that.

I would bet that a lot of folks don't even know that regular old baking flour can explode / is very flammable when in a dust cloud.
So I would imagine PC would be the same.

Gonna order the 7.62x39 mold for sure. The AK will take anything I throw at it.
They are quite bullet proof, pardon the pun.
I'll probably get the 150 FP as well, 200 RN on the wish list for now.
I'll definitely be getting it though. That's a nice chunk of lead, J or not

Did bds drill the mold out himself or send it out?
I have a cheap drill press I could attempt it with, just not sure how well it will come out.

A little tip about drills & holes.
Drill bits do not really make round holes. They are close, but not quite round
Not sure if they would be close enough for boolit making purposes.
Would be case by case depending on the drill bit quality and condition.
Might be close enough for the sizer to clean up though?

PS
Am I the only one who thought Brownells was have a 75% off sale from the advertisements below? LOL

 

[VenomBallistics]

The sizer can forgive a few sins. But the best ways involve lathes and mills.
since the average person doesn't have space for such things, another option it to drill undersize and finish out with rolled up sandpaper, and a final lapping done with a bullet and jewelers rouge.

Food for thought if you get tempted to ream one out.

 

[dunno556]

That's exactly where my mind is at right now Venom.
Since all the rifle molds are GC, & PC negates the need for GC's.
The reading I've done so far indicates that w/out a GC the accuracy drops
So this would be next on the list.

 

[boom boom]

Thanks to you guys. Been intrigued by the whole Powder Coating thing. Ddidn't have time to experiment with the different methods and loads like you do.

Given your data on rifles, seriously thinking about getting the HF pc gun and doing some loads for my milsurps. I try to treat them gently but lead fouling can occur as some of the barrel bores aren't exactly like glass.

 

[VenomBallistics]

True, however, old iron like a decent mil surp seasons up a whole lot easier than a fresh bore.
Wife's 357 Henry still won't fully warm up to traditional cast. Its deadly accurate with one of the Lyman swc hp's, but it lead lines the pipe without fail.
I will have to drag her to the range to liberate some brass.
Brass liberation has been a chronic issue standing in the way of my progress.
I just got every chunk of brass all full and happy, then I heard about powder coating.
Means more frequent range trips, so I guess I should find a real problem to rant about.

 

[dunno556]

Looks like the learning curve just threw me a curve.
Candy cane/striped bullets for Christmas anyone

 

[VenomBallistics]

Some might argue, but that'll work.
He's getting closer folks.
I just love this kind of stuff.

 

[anothernewb]

I've got quite literally piles of recovered range lead looking for a home. I'd be willing to donate some for the cause. I've been really interested in the coated bullets myself.

 

[dunno556]

Yes, I'm sure some would argue that point.
But ALL the bearing surfaces are coated, including the not pictured, but all important bottom surface.

I'm far from there though. Got about a 50% success rate that time.
Partly do to user error.

So some of them went through part of the process twice.
Some are waiting for another tumble in round 3.
Some, but not many are in the pot to be reclaimed.

Appreciate the offer newb.
But I'm doing OK with lead atm. Just mined 25lbs at the LGC today.
Not bad for an hours worth of gnat swatting

 

[anothernewb]

Yes, I'm sure some
Appreciate the offer newb.
But I'm doing OK with lead atm. Just mined 25lbs at the LGC today.
Not bad for an hours worth of gnat swatting

That's pretty awesome. they're leveling and rebuilding the berms at our outdoor range this year. Buddy and I scavenged about 4, 5 gal buckets worth from the first 2 just picking the stuff up off the ground when they spread the dirt. No one else seems interested in grabbing it - so we did. Figure there's probably 400# worth of lead/copper in them. There's 4 more berms to take down. He makes his own - but I have no interest in messing with lead melting. Guess it's one of the things I'm perfectly happy to shell out a few bucks for the convenience.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I didn't cast em (my equipment is in the mail) but I did coat em using eastwoods gun and powder.

I need to figure out how to keep the foil from sticking to the powdercoat and my bullet nose. Any suggestions?

 

[VenomBallistics]

Coat them base down, rack em like billiards nose down after the bake, spray the bases the, and use an iron and a sheet of parchment to set the base coat.
The gun works through a sheet of parchment if that helps you any

 

[R.W.Dale]

I need exposed lead at the nose to be legal to hunt with. And they need some kind of block not to fall over gettin them into the oven no matter how careful I was.

I just had regular foil. I'm hoping the non stick variety will alliveiate this

 

[VenomBallistics]

I assume you are using a plate with holes drilled in it.
Coat and bake directly on it.
Sand off the flash when you're done snapping them out of the plate.
Then use the previous suggestion for load development and general range use.
Should spare a lot of pain.

 

[Safetychain]

"I need exposed lead at the nose to be legal to hunt with."

I would have thought that a painted bullet would be considered a lead pointed bullet. I know that with these, we are in a newly untested area. I suggest that you call your state permitting agency and discuss this new tech coating/lubrication with them, and call it LUBRICATION. The lead point is there to assure good expansion and a more sure kill according to what I've read and the PC paint will surely do nothing to cause it to act any differently from lead when hitting your target. Consider if you moly coated your bullets which when I did it once turned them black. Would you feel you would need to tape the points to keep the moly off?

 

[R.W.Dale]

"I need exposed lead at the nose to be legal to hunt with."

I would have thought that a painted bullet would be considered a lead pointed bullet. I know that with these, we are in a newly untested area. I suggest that you call your state permitting agency and discuss this new tech coating/lubrication with them, and call it LUBRICATION. The lead point is there to assure good expansion and a more sure kill according to what I've read and the PC paint will surely do nothing to cause it to act any differently from lead when hitting your target. Consider if you moly coated your bullets which when I did it once turned them black. Would you feel you would need to tape the points to keep the moly off?

Lol you obviously have no experience with how the game and fish bureaucracy works.

Lol call them and explain. Lol that's outright hilarious


If it's not in accordance with the "book" I can assure you no matter how intelligent a phone conversation you had said activity is still illegal in the field and will get cited as such And yes the regulation book is chocked full of illogical guidelines.

 

[VenomBallistics]

yeah... just like the use of Teflon on bullets in some states.
the stuff is a godsend for what we are doing here and now.
its not 50 state legal though.
in fact, coatings in general might fall under fire in some parts of California.
I haven't read the law there as yet. Not particularly motivated to do so, and even less motivated to go and see.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Would dumping the bullets hot straight out of their baking tray into a quench before they have a chance to stick pose any issues for the powdercoat itself?

 

[VenomBallistics]

it may craze the finish some, but I really don't see any serious issues with it.
I don't really see a pressing need to water quench in most cases.
this stuff works some miracles.
Ive burned up more than a little of my powder reserve whipping the minions.

If a coating fails, it will deposit its lead fowling on the breach facing edge of the rifling.
I got that around 2500FPS with air cooled WW.
Play our cards right, and we can have some expansion too.