what poly coating powders have you used successfully with the "swirl in a tub with Airsoft BB's " method?

[Lesliet]

Apologies if this has already been answered recently, but I want to powdercoat bullets, and not sure which powder to buy. Hoping to get some bright blue and green so a dropped round is easy to see. I'm wondering which brands of powders work with the static cling method, links to suppliers would be outstanding! Thanks!

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[Tilos]

I buy mine coated but have read a lot about the process here:

Coatings and Alternatives

The Place to Discuss Epoxy Coatings, Powder Coatings, Plating and all such Coatings

castboolits.gunloads.com

Look around, lots of good info and there's a guy that sells powder too.
I would start reading this thread on the last page to get the most recent info:

simple Hi-Tek coating - Page 668

First coat, ready for oven. Now a boolit is a bullet. Yes! http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/5ED6CC8B-6E48-4F93-A11D-0A0BBD5D743C-13419-00001140DEEDF35F_zpsceca6680.jpg Mixing stuff...

castboolits.gunloads.com

 

[Eveskcige28]

Dont get harbor freight brand. I've had success with it on the hottest driest days of the year but any other time the humidity kills it. I bought mine from "smoke" on the cast boolits forum. I dont have a link but hes pretty popular and easy to find via google. If I'm not mistaking he buys from "powder by the pound" so you could buy straight from them. But I know smoke only lists powders that have proven reliable on cast bullets. I've tried 3 different colors from him and all worked great! Which is good because i was so fed up and frustrated with the harbor freight red i was ready to give up!

 

[Eveskcige28]

And something noteworthy. With any of the 3 colors I got from smoke. They cling VERY easily to the bullets. So much so that i tossed the airsoft BBs to the side. A lot of people doing the shake and bake method say to shake for a minute or 2 or shake this way then that way. I toss em in and shake for MAAAYBEE 15 seconds and that's plenty!

 

[Hatman1793]

Buy the Eastwood *Ford light blue* powder. It offers great coverage & the colour is pleasant.
As for powder coating, use Elvis Ammo's 4/140 method. Here's how it works:

Heat your unsized, unlubed cast bullets in a toaster over for 4 minutes @140F.
when you can safely hold a few in your hand without discomfort, dump them in a suitable plastic container, say, 100-150 bullets.
(this is where I differ from EA)
Add just enough powder, about a 1/2 tablespoon of Ford blue to the bullets & swirl for 30 seconds. Separate them on a toaster oven tray lined with parchment paper & bake for 13 minutes @ 375F.

 

[Lesliet]

Sweet! Thanks for the info!

 

[ageingstudent]

And something noteworthy. With any of the 3 colors I got from smoke. They cling VERY easily to the bullets. So much so that i tossed the airsoft BBs to the side. A lot of people doing the shake and bake method say to shake for a minute or 2 or shake this way then that way. I toss em in and shake for MAAAYBEE 15 seconds and that's plenty!

Eastwood is very good also. Good place to do business with and never mind the bbs. Very high quality. I haven't found a color yet that doesn't work well and it goes a long way.

 

[ageingstudent]

Buy the Eastwood *Ford light blue* powder. It offers great coverage & the colour is pleasant.
As for powder coating, use Elvis Ammo's 4/140 method. Here's how it works:

Heat your unsized, unlubed cast bullets in a toaster over for 4 minutes @140F.
when you can safely hold a few in your hand without discomfort, dump them in a suitable plastic container, say, 100-150 bullets.
(this is where I differ from EA)
Add just enough powder, about a 1/2 tablespoon of Ford blue to the bullets & swirl for 30 seconds. Separate them on a toaster oven tray lined with parchment paper & bake for 13 minutes @ 375F.

Dark Ford blue is my favorite it matches my rig

 

[gtivan]

I use harbor freight red. No issues so far after firing a couple thousand.
I do plan on picking up another pwder of some sort this summer just to switch things up and see if I am missing out on something.

 

[Papercidal]

I use hi tech it is really easy to apply, works great for pistol, economical, and is made for bullets not lawn furniture. The US distributor is Donnie Miculek who is great to deal with.

Hi-Tek Powder Coatings

Bullet Coating

hi-performancebulletcoatings.com

 

[Lesliet]

I use hi tech it is really easy to apply, works great for pistol, economical, and is made for bullets not lawn furniture. The US distributor is Donnie Miculek who is great to deal with.

Very interesting, I was not aware that Hi-Tek was not poly powder coating, sounds like an epoxy type coating. Can't say I'm super keen to work with acetone, even with a respirator, but it's obviously very effective, looking at your output! About how many bullets are you able to coat with one of those 15 ounce containers?

 

[ageingstudent]

I use harbor freight red. No issues so far after firing a couple thousand.
I do plan on picking up another pwder of some sort this summer just to switch things up and see if I am missing out on something.

The red definitely works the best. I still have some from when I first started and for me it's always worked well. I'm really partial to the Eastwood stuff now though. Tons of colors and like I say it sticks and fills in well.

 

[ageingstudent]

Dont get harbor freight brand. I've had success with it on the hottest driest days of the year but any other time the humidity kills it. I bought mine from "smoke" on the cast boolits forum. I dont have a link but hes pretty popular and easy to find via google. If I'm not mistaking he buys from "powder by the pound" so you could buy straight from them. But I know smoke only lists powders that have proven reliable on cast bullets. I've tried 3 different colors from him and all worked great! Which is good because i was so fed up and frustrated with the harbor freight red i was ready to give up!

50-60% humidity or less seems to work well with hf red. I had a dehumidifier and a monitor in my old shop so I was kinda cheating.

 

[Papercidal]

Very interesting, I was not aware that Hi-Tek was not poly powder coating, sounds like an epoxy type coating. Can't say I'm super keen to work with acetone, even with a respirator, but it's obviously very effective, looking at your output! About how many bullets are you able to coat with one of those 15 ounce containers?

I get 5 batches out of one of the little 3.5 oz containers and one batch will put 2 coats on about 5000 9mm bullets.
I bought one of the big containers once but dropped it and cracked the can open all over the floor so since the little cans are about the same price by volume I just get several of the small ones to put my eggs in multiple baskets as it where.

You are only using 6mls of the mixture for around 300 bullets so while you will smell the acetone as it flashes off it's not over powering fumes and as long as you have some airflow you will barely notice it.

 

[Lesliet]

I get 5 batches out of one of the little 3.5 oz containers and one batch will put 2 coats on about 5000 9mm bullets.

Wow, that's a lot of coverage! So, 25,000 bullets from 3.5 oz of powder.... that's pretty attractive. I shoot a lot for training, typically loading
about 1000 rounds at a time, subject to primer and projectile availability. May have to give that method a try, too. I ordered some green and blue from
Eastwood to try the PC method already, but your method looks pretty easy to do. Thanks for the info!

 

[Papercidal]

Wow, that's a lot of coverage! So, 25,000 bullets from 3.5 oz of powder.... that's pretty attractive. I shoot a lot for training, typically loading
about 1000 rounds at a time, subject to primer and projectile availability. May have to give that method a try, too. I ordered some green and blue from
Eastwood to try the PC method already, but your method looks pretty easy to do. Thanks for the info!

If Uspsa matches ever get back to normal I could bring enough down to the Albany match for you to make up a batch to try.

 

[Lesliet]

I appreciate the offer, Papercidal! I went ahead and ordered some "Zombie Green" to play with, looks like Midway finally shipped my melter, and I got the MP molds here already for some "gamer " bullets. Should be able to try this out in a week or so.

 

[Lesliet]

+1 to Papercidal, just ordered my second tub of Hi-Tek. Super easy to use, the coating came out perfect on the first try. Just need a different color for my 9mm slugs.

 

[BWH]

Harbor freight red and a blue from powder by the pound....did the air soft shake and bake, worked just fine!

 

[Papercidal]

+1 to Papercidal, just ordered my second tub of Hi-Tek. Super easy to use, the coating came out perfect on the first try. Just need a different color for my 9mm slugs.

I'm glad it worked well for you. I started by using hi tek on my first casts and it works so well and is so easy I can't think why I would try anything else.