Powder coating question

fingers284 said:
I have never pre-heated any slugs and always cook at 400 for 20 minutes.
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Each powder comes with a card listing specifics.

Tool Blue,

PC1196TOOL BLUE
CHEMISTRYPOLYESTER TGIC C
REGULAR CURE TEMP15 Minutes@ 375°F
MIN TEMPNA
MAX TEMPNA
RECOMMENDED THICKNESS1.5 TO 3.5 MILS
PENCIL HARDNESS2H
SPECIFIC GRAVITY1.57 +/- .05
THEORETICAL COVERAGE56 sq/ft @ 2.0 mils
PENCIL HARDNESS2H minimum
GLOSS LEVEL (60°)75-85
SALT SPRAY1,000 hours
BALL IMPACT80 in/lb


Clear coat

PC1069GLASS CLEAR
CHEMISTRYPOLYESTER TGIC A
REGULAR CURE TEMP340F / 12 MIN
MIN TEMPNA
MAX TEMPNA
RECOMMENDED THICKNESS2.0-2.5 mils
PENCIL HARDNESS4-H
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 1.21 +/-0.05 g/cm³
THEORETICAL COVERAGE158.92 sq.ft/lb/mil
PENCIL HARDNESS2H minimum
GLOSS LEVEL (60°)80-95+
SALT SPRAY1,000 hours
BALL IMPACT140 in/lb
SDS Sheet info ##6A – Polyester TGIC (Group A)
SDS linkhttps://emeraldcoatings.com/sds-sheets
 
Some have MAX ranges

PC1214Screaming Shocked Yellow
CHEMISTRYPOLYESTER TGIC A
REGULAR CURE SCHEDULE375F / 20 MIN
MIN RANGE356F / 20 MIN
MAX RANGE400F / 15 MIN
RECOMMENDED THICKNESS2.5-3.5 mils
PENCIL HARDNESSH
SPECIFIC GRAVITY1.2-1.8 g/cm8
THEORETICAL COVERAGE51.5 ft2 /lb at 2.5 mils
PENCIL HARDNESS2H minimum
GLOSS LEVEL (60°)80-95+
SALT SPRAY1,000 hours
BALL IMPACT20 in/lb
 
thanks yomomma, I'll check the spec on the eastwood powdercoatings for temp and bake time.

ok, checked the eastwood website for instructions and by luck I and other members are ballin. 400 and 20 minutes after flowout. it seems eastwood products need a bit more heat and hangtime then other brands. also, most of their powders are at the 400/20 temp/time zone. well I guess now we know their products don't come out of the same factory.
 
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I guess I use the 400-20 formula as thats what my first powder order specified but every bit of powder I have now came from comercial coaters as surplus stuff they were just going to throw away and had no "card with any of it....so I just stuck with my first directions and have never had a bad cook that didnt pass the "hammer "test".
 
Cast a batch of .356 LEE TL yesterday and coated them with Eastwood Orange. I used lots of powder and cooked them at 400 for 20 minutes. They came out somewhat blotchy but smooth and definitely covered. I did a hammer test on one both from the top and side. It passed with flying colours. I'll burn them off in my PC9.

My next step will be to wash the bullets in acetone as per yomomma's method and see if that makes a difference.

I'm getting there!
 

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kjohn said:
Cast a batch of .356 LEE TL yesterday and coated them with Eastwood Orange. I used lots of powder and cooked them at 400 for 20 minutes. They came out somewhat blotchy but smooth and definitely covered. I did a hammer test on one both from the top and side. It passed with flying colours. I'll burn them off in my PC9.

My next step will be to wash the bullets in acetone as per yomomma's method and see if that makes a difference.

I'm getting there!
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Unfortunately you are probably not going to get much of an improvement. Some powders inherently just don't stick well, especially using the shake & bake method. I assume it has to do with the pigments that give the powder its colour and some are more conducive to static attraction than others. I bought a shade of green that I tried with everything to get it to stick: shake & bake, pre-heat, shake & bake with airsoft BBs, tumble in a plastic bag in a vibratory tumbler, nothing gave me better than 50% coverage whereas I can get near 100% coverage in my sleep with simple shake & bake using Tool Blue.

I'm sure a PC gun would get the green to stick but I gave up on it using shake & bake.

Your best bet is to ask who gets good coverage with which powders and go with those. Tool Blue, Gloss Black and Clear are winners. I'm sure others can chime in with colours that have worked for them. Personally I would like to find dependable reds and greens to give me 5 or 6 good ones to choose from.
 
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Can't have too much powder - au contraire!!

I've found that if the coat is too heavy, the powder will flow down the bullet and form a hard ring around the gas check shank, which is a bear to remove.
With rifle bullets, I do 12 to 15 in the margarine tub with the powder left inthe tub from the previous lot. Then sprinkle in a bit more until I get the desired coverage. Yup, it takes more time, but it's a small percentage of the large amount of effort I spend in the making of good cast bullets, from the scrounging of scrap lead to selecting good bullets from the pile that you just cast.
 
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slug said:
Can't have too much powder - au contraire!!

I've found that if the coat is too heavy, the powder will flow down the bullet and form a hard ring around the gas check shank, which is a bear to remove.
With rifle bullets, I do 12 to 15 in the margarine tub with the powder left inthe tub from the previous lot. Then sprinkle in a bit more until I get the desired coverage. Yup, it takes more time, but it's a small percentage of the large amount of effort I spend in the making of good cash bullets, from the scrounging of scrap lead to selecting good bullets from the pile that you just cast.
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I agree. I have found that if I add just enough powder so that there is only a small residual amount left after I do the swirling mostly eliminates the creation of melted PC 'flash' around the base of the bullets. This is especially true if you pre-heat the bullets which causes what I call 'micro-melting' of the PC when it comes into contact with the pre-heated bullets.

Obviously YMMV but I have PC'd thousands of bullets and this technique gives me excellent results.
 
ted_dent said:
I agree. I have found that if I add just enough powder so that there is only a small residual amount left after I do the swirling mostly eliminates the creation of melted PC 'flash' around the base of the bullets. This is especially true if you pre-heat the bullets which causes what I call 'micro-melting' of the PC when it comes into contact with the pre-heated bullets.

Obviously YMMV but I have PC'd thousands of bullets and this technique gives me excellent results.
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this is what it's all about, experimenting with different techniques until you find what works for you. well done.
 
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