Anybody here powder coating their cast bullets?

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Tommy Van Alen

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Yeah, just like your oven or refrigerator are painted at the factory.

You have an electrostatic gun and then there is a ground wire attached to a tray your cast bullets are sitting on. Then you bake the powder coat.

And there is another method too. Dissolving the powder coat in lacquer thinner or acetone. Then you tumble the bullets in it. Let the solvent evaporate off. Then you bake it.

Just go do a google image search for "powder coated bullets".
 
Well, if you read it on the internet??

It has to be true!

Right??

Bonjour Me'same!

rc
 
Jeesh... You guys are a lot of fun. It must be my low post count, eh?

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Fired_Group.jpg
 
O.K.
I'll play.

What exactly is powder coat paint pigment??

What is the coefficient of friction compared to bullet lube grease like Alox?

And how abrasive is it compared to plain old time proven bullet lube grease formulas like bees wax, or graphite in oil base grease that will not wear a barrel out in a lifetime of shooting?

So many questions.
So few answers so far.

Blue, gold, and pink bullets are nice.

But not as nice as a bullet lube that provides low friction, a retained film in the bore, and near zero bore wear.


I'm thinking if powder coat paint was a real good cheap way to lube bullets??
We would be buying Hot Pink and Day-Glow Green .22 LR & .38 Spl. ammo by now.

But we are not.

rc
 
Sure seems to stick well.
I'm interested in anything that prevents leading, but I too am concerned about barrel wear. If it's less abrasive than copper or brass they might be good alternative to plated or jacketed bullets for those who don't like exposed lead.
I'll wager it reduces smoke considerably.
 
I guess you haven't heard of the HI-TEK bullet coating, either, huh?


maxresdefault.jpg



It is being imported by Donnie Miculek of Bayou Bullets. It is originally from Australia. You might have heard of Donnie's brother, Jerry.

It has been all the rage in Australia for at least 5 years.

And colored bullets are in Europe:

colorbullets04.jpg
 
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There seems to be two main coated bullet camps right now, Hi Tek and Powder coating. I've only tired the Hi Tek but so far so good. Here's a pic of some 124gr's I've coated and shot by now.

Goldbullets_zps96713826.jpg


Now what's the upside to coating bullets? Velocity limits is the big one, you can push a softer bullet much faster than you can with a lubed bullet. I personally like them because it's cleaner then your transitional bullet when cleaning up.

As far as sizing goes, you size the bullets after you coat them it's some pretty strong stuff. One of the test is to smash the bullet with a hammer to make sure the coating doesn't chip off.
 
same as moly coat? I'm sold on moly coat (bear creek supply uses it). High pressure/temperature lube, stays on the bullet, no lead, higher velocities for same charge.

in 45acp anyhow.

edfardos
 
I've spent a good part of this summer developing loads for my latest addition/addiction to reloading; casting.
I had the casting down pretty quick, but have spent a lot of time with waxes, alox, and alox formulas.
It's just too hot for any luck with pan lubing, and I have given up on tumble lubes of any variety. Sticky, stinky bullets, gummed up dies, and filthy hands after shooting and handling bullets.

I have finally settled on the hi-tek lube, and I'm quite happy with it.
It's not any more expensive that just about anything out there.
A half liter kit runs $36 and will coat around 12,000 bullets.

It takes longer than most lube methods, but it's all just a hobby to me, so time doesn't matter to me.

My barrels are pretty clean, no goo all over the place, and smoke is greatly reduced.

As with anything, there is a learning curve with it, but if you read the threads carefully, there is more than enough info to get it right right off the bat.

I suggest this method to anyone, except those in an all fired hurry.
The hi-tek method isn't powder coating.

The powder coating looks a little more involved, maybe more time and expense too.
 
I like the Alox but coating the entire bullet is messy. I brush it on the shaft and leave the tip clean. The trick to Alox (if there is one) is letting it dry completely. That can take a couple of days.
 
same as moly coat? I'm sold on moly coat (bear creek supply uses it). High pressure/temperature lube, stays on the bullet, no lead, higher velocities for same charge.
Click to expand...

A true powdered moly coat, like you get with the Lyman moly coat kit, is awful on cast bullets.

The coated bullets like bear creek, precision, bayou and others only contain a small percentage of "moly".
 
I like the Alox but coating the entire bullet is messy. I brush it on the shaft and leave the tip clean. The trick to Alox (if there is one) is letting it dry completely. That can take a couple of days.
Click to expand...
Another trick is to put a small (1"X3") scrap of cotton t-shirt or similar on a piece of glass and lightly wet it with alox. Roll the bullets on it and only the bearing surface will be coated.
Keeps the alox out of your dies.

Warm them with a hair dryer then put them under the A/C vent. They will dry very quickly.
 
I bought a PC gun at HF a few days ago.

No one has come up with a step-by-step tutorial on it, so it sits until I learn on my own.

I'm currently running some Darr Lube and PB gas checks.
 
What is the coefficient of friction compared to bullet lube grease like Alox?
Click to expand...
What is the coefficient of friction of a bullet lubed with Alox?

What about the coefficient of friction of a jacketed bullet?

Do you know how they measure it?

I am thinking pushing them through something using hydraulics with a pressure gauge, that would give you relative numbers.

Let me know, as I still have a hand full of the powder coated bullets I could test.
 
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I bought a PC gun at HF a few days ago.

No one has come up with a step-by-step tutorial on it, so it sits until I learn on my own.
Click to expand...

Look at the first link of post #10, it is step by step of powder coating bullets.

The second link is step by step using The coating from Bayou bullets.

I would return the powder coat gun if you plan on doing very many. I can coat hundreds with the Bayou coating in the same time it takes to powder coat less than 50.
 
I have been using the lacquer thinner with Powder by the pound coating paint. It is great. Accuracy is good and the two biggest bugaboos of bullet casting are now out the door! You can ignore the dark arts of bullet alloys and secret lube formuli using eye of newt and frog hair. Simply cast you bullets with whatever lead you have on hand and powder coat.

Good to 3,000 FPS with no leading or powder coating left in the barrel.

If you are serious about this new method, follow this thread:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/66713-powder-coating-the-easy-way/
 
jaysouth said:
I have been using the lacquer thinner with Powder by the pound coating paint. It is great. Accuracy is good and the two biggest bugaboos of bullet casting are now out the door! You can ignore the dark arts of bullet alloys and secret lube formuli using eye of newt and frog hair. Simply cast you bullets with whatever lead you have on hand and powder coat.

Good to 3,000 FPS with no leading or powder coating left in the barrel.

If you are serious about this new method, follow this thread:

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/66713-powder-coating-the-easy-way/
Click to expand...
that's a good write up! Thanks!
 
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