Powder Coating Curing

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  • Last Post 04 February 2019
BigMan54 posted this 22 December 2018

I've done my 1st powder coat.

How long to cure that 1st Coat? Before you can add another coat ?

How long to wait after Coating before you can size ?

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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tucumcari_kid posted this 04 February 2019

When I first did two coats, I followed the partial cure guidance.  It was like 10 minutes until the flow started and then remove, cool, recoat.  Since then, when I want too coats I do the process twice.  I started cooling in water out of the over, which is a bit easier to separate and they are ready to go again as soon as they dry.  I haven't really seen a difference.  The process is quite forgiving and robust, however there is also a lot of room to really be able to manipulate the coat and make predictable results.  I'm not entirely there yet....

Mike

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tucumcari_kid posted this 04 February 2019

+1 HF Red isn't too bad - until you try something else.  The quality of Eastwood PC, for me, really outshined the best I was getting from HF.  HF covers well, but the Eastwood's is finer, but well covered.  If you know what I mean.

Mike

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Reeferman posted this 03 January 2019

Though it is more expensive Eastwood powder is also excellent bullets come out perfect every time. 

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Johnshandloads posted this 03 January 2019

The Harbor Freight powder is probably why your coating is spotty. I did the same thing you are doing and had batches go well and had batches that would not coat well. When I switched to Smoke's powders they were much easier to get a good coating with. You can try a little in a container (even without the bbs it will coat better than HF powder). With the bbs the coating is much more even and less clumpy. Try the better powder you already have and you will be glad you did. I was very happy when I tried the Smokes powder. I use it exclusively now. 

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BigMan54 posted this 26 December 2018

Tried another batch of HF Red with #452190, 33 bullets. Same container flat 6"x6". Left all the powder from the 1st & 2nd trys. And added a 4th tablespoon of BB's.

Got full coverage in about 1 minute. Still shook hard for another minute. Tapped the dish hard and fished out all 33 .45's & 1 .38 RN from the previous batch. 

20 Minutes 450degrees. Got full coverage but not very thick.

Still got more to learn, but I gain experience each time.

Thanks to all for the good advice.

 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Lee posted this 26 December 2018

I've used Smoke's Carolina blue. The bullets come out looking good. His powders work very well. I've used HF powders, not so good. Chalk it up to my being lazy but I don't use BB's because I don't like to separate the BB's from the bullets. With Smoke's powders I don't have to use BB's.

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BigMan54 posted this 26 December 2018

GP,

Thanks for the info.

As I type this my Oven is on the patio heating up. Going to try some more HF Red with more BB's. If this works as I hope, then I'm gonna try some of Smoke's Carolina Blue. But I think I'll have to buy more BB's. I'd rather get a decent technique down before I use the GOOD Powders.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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GP Idaho posted this 26 December 2018

When using the tumble method, I place the bullets in a #5 plastic container along with black air-soft BB's About 1/3 the volume of BB's to bullets Add a teaspoon+ of powder (Clear works best for me) and shake and rattle the contents for about thirty seconds. I pick them out of the bowl with hemostats and place them on an  aluminum plate cut to the size of an oven rack and covered with a silicon baking mat. These are placed in a preheated convection oven at four hundred degrees for twenty minutes, I've forgotten to remove them and let them bake twice that long with no harm done. Twelve to fifteen minutes is enough with some powders. Do your self a favor, ditch the Harbor Freight powders as it is the same fine quality as the rest of the items they sell. On a properly coated bullet you will NEVER need two coats with one exception, that being if you are trying to gain that little bit extra girth for a proper fit. Contact Smoke4320 at Boolits or get a QUALITY powder from another source and you'll be much farther on your way to a satisfactory outcome.  Happy coating. Gp

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Lee posted this 25 December 2018

A large kitchen strainer just fits into a #10 can. I use a Salsa container,  get them from Safeway, inside my tumbler. Use a hose clamp to secure the lid so it wont come off in the tumbler, makes a big mess if it comes off. After tumbling 15-20 min place the strainer on top of the can, dump the Salsa container, hold it there and shake the whole assembly 25-30 times or about 15-20 seconds. Remove the Salsa container, dump the bullets from the strainer into a 9x9 cake pan just enough bullets to cover the bottom of the pan, pop them into a small convection oven, got it from Good Will, and cook for about 20 min at 375. Bullets will be stuck together in the pan, brake them apart, and size.

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BigMan54 posted this 25 December 2018

Thanks,

What do you use for a strainer ?

Thanks

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Lee posted this 24 December 2018

I tumble the bullets for about 15 minutes in powder. Dump them into a strainer, shake off the powder, and cook them for 15-20 minutes at about 375. As soon as I can handle them I size them. One coat works fine.

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BigMan54 posted this 22 December 2018

Got the #5 container, nitrile gloves, HF Red to start.

Got 3 color sample pack & Black BB's from Smoke4320. And a lb of gray PC from Eastwood. 

Used a tall #5 container to start, too much powder not enough BB's, didn't fill the lube grooves, didn't "flow" into grooves in oven. Added another tb of BB's. Used flat #5 container. Worked a lot better. Got to get more Black BB's from Big 5 after XMAS.

Now that I know that I can recoat or size as soon as the bullets cool off, I'm ready for more experimentation. 

 

Thanks Guys.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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GBertolet posted this 22 December 2018

BigMan54, what kind of powder coating are you using, and how are you applying it? I never need more than one coat. I use a plastic container that must have a triangle with the number 5 on the bottom to work. This is for static. I put some airsoft BB's on the bottom, bullets, and a teaspoon or less of powder, depending on how big the container is and how many bullets you are coating. The BB's help with the coating. Swirl the bullets around for 20-30 seconds. The swirling creates the static need for the powder to stick. Pick out with needle nose pliers, and stand on a tray covered with non stick tin foil. Some use nitrile gloves instead of the pliers. Place in preheated, 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Let cool and your done. I use a cheap toaster oven. Never need a second coat if properly coated to start with.

I got my initial supplies from a paint ball supplier, for about $25. He goes by the name Smoke 4320 on the castboolits forum. There are many different types of coatings, and some are better than others.

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jchiggins posted this 22 December 2018

I've been using the Harbor Freight red.   I size after they cool; if adding another coat, I do it any time after they are cool. I have changed from 400 deg for 20 minutes to 425 deg for 30 minutes (better flow out).  In the future  I'm going to experiment more with heat/time variables.

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nosee posted this 22 December 2018

With Hi-Teck, I coat, set wire tray of bullets on top of convection oven, heat dry for 10 min. put in oven bake for 10 min. Let them cool for10 min, must be cool to touch, then recoat if need be.

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