Powder coating cast lead help.

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rolloverandlaugh

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I'm using princess auto black.
Tried using pp5 container and shaking for a five mins, with and without plastic pellets.

I can get a mediocre coating, but doesnt look as good as youtube vids. What am I doing wrong?
 
For something like 15 minutes? I'm currently in the same boat and i have one more question: Do you put them directly in your tumbler or do you use a container inside the tumbler?
 
Kegcaissy said:
For something like 15 minutes? I'm currently in the same boat and i have one more question: Do you put them directly in your tumbler or do you use a container inside the tumbler?
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put everything in a ziplock bag. different plastic containers react differently, margerine containers by far work the best for me, as do zip loc resealable storage containers
 
Some PC colours just don't work well using the static attraction method. I surmise that it has something to do with the elements used in the pigments to add the colour. The generally accepted best one seems to be tool blue which gives virtually 100% coverage just by using the swirl method. Gloss blacks are not quite as good but I find if I preheat the bullets to just warm enough to hold and swirl them I get about 97-100% coverage. Emerald coating clear also gives near 100% coverage with preheating. I swirled the hell out of Harbor Freight red and still only got 70-80%. I used a lime green and couldn't even get 50%. I haven't tried it myself but the consensus seems to be that yellows are very poor in terms of coverage.

I'm sure they all work with an electrostatic pc gun but if your going to use a static swirl technique stick to something in blue of for the best coverage.
 
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From what I gather black is one of the ones that tends to go either way. Blue or red is usually the simplest colors to use for the swirl method. Are these for pistol bullets or rifle? In my cheap blaster ammo I don't care if it's a little messy as long as I have majority coating to act as a lube.
 
Yotarunner said:
From what I gather black is one of the ones that tends to go either way. Blue or red is usually the simplest colors to use for the swirl method. Are these for pistol bullets or rifle? In my cheap blaster ammo I don't care if it's a little messy as long as I have majority coating to act as a lube.
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I've trying on pistol rounds (9mm and 45acp). Next step is to try to cast .264 for creedmoor. my problem is I can't find gas checks for that size.
 
rolloverandlaugh said:
I guess I'm going to preheat, toss in a plastic bag, then into the tumbler.

I'm getting annoyed with having to remelt crappy PC'd bullets.
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Way too complicated. Just buy a pound of tool blue, preheat the bullets to just hot enough to hold in your hand, swirl in a proper plastic container for 10-15 seconds, place on parchment paper in a metal pan and bake at about 375-400 F for 13-15 minutes.

Guaranteed they will come out fine.
TIP: Don't overdo it with the powder. You should only add enough that when the bullets are coated there is very little residual powder left in the container. Otherwise the coating will be overly thick which you don't need.
 
ted_dent said:
Way too complicated. Just buy a pound of tool blue, preheat the bullets to just hot enough to hold in your hand, swirl in a proper plastic container for 10-15 seconds, place on parchment paper in a metal pan and bake at about 375-400 F for 13-15 minutes.

Guaranteed they will come out fine.
TIP: Don't overdo it with the powder. You should only add enough that when the bullets are coated there is very little residual powder left in the container. Otherwise the coating will be overly thick which you don't need.
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You are 100 percent correct. I just tried it. Results are OK at best. but for the time, its not worth it. I'm going to toss the black and try the blue. Any experience with Princess Auto blue?
 
prin auto black did not work well for me ,,,,,,and i was told that black col pigment is by far the most abrasive powder coat col you can use greens and lighter col blues work good my friend ownes a custom car shop has 40 plus colors of powder margerine tub was the best no black for me ,,,,bullets cast same day work best,,,, washed some in acetone made no difference,,,old cast bullets are a no go for any usable coverage a good coverage powder job will add 2 to 3 thou to bullet dia good luck
 
I use Eastwood powder from KMS. Works great. Highly recommend. If you get bullets with a bad coat just re powder coat them. No need to melt them and re start.
 
ted_dent said:
Some PC colours just don't work well using the static attraction method. I surmise that it has something to do with the elements used in the pigments to add the colour. The generally accepted best one seems to be tool blue which gives virtually 100% coverage just by using the swirl method. Gloss blacks are not quite as good but I find if I preheat the bullets to just warm enough to hold and swirl them I get about 97-100% coverage. Emerald coating clear also gives near 100% coverage with preheating. I swirled the hell out of Harbor Freight red and still only got 70-80%. I used a lime green and couldn't even get 50%. I haven't tried it myself but the consensus seems to be that yellows are very poor in terms of coverage.

I'm sure they all work with an electrostatic pc gun but if your going to use a static swirl technique stick to something in blue of for the best coverage.
Click to expand...

Had good luck with Princess Auto red.
 
One thing that nobody has mentioned yet is to ask if you are in a high humidity area, I have read about folks having coverage problems if the humidity is high were as someone with exactly the same powder in a dry environment can get excellent coverage. Spring time is high humidity time with all the snow water being evaporated into the air. I don't know what your facilities are like but if your in a cold, unheated garage or similar it wouldn't help the moisture in the air situation.
 
fingers284 said:
One thing that nobody has mentioned yet is to ask if you are in a high humidity area, I have read about folks having coverage problems if the humidity is high were as someone with exactly the same powder in a dry environment can get excellent coverage. Spring time is high humidity time with all the snow water being evaporated into the air. I don't know what your facilities are like but if your in a cold, unheated garage or similar it wouldn't help the moisture in the air situation.
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Has not been too humid around here, I live beside Lake Ontario and we are around 53%RH
 
I’ve had good result with Eastwood powders as well. Black, green and lime green.
Powder_Coated_444_Marlin.jpg
 

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rolloverandlaugh said:
Thanks. Im done f in around...was trying to find tool blue locally...emerald seems to be the best bet.
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Tool blue is actually one of the most reasonably priced powders but the shipping is what jacks up the price. If you can find a couple of buddies to split an order it drops the shipping cost dramatically.
 
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