Powder coating

[Ozzman]

been doing it a few months now, I tried the shake and bake method with harbor freight PC, didn't get good coverage, and it wore my bad shoulder out. took an old vibrator lower (get your mind out of the gutter, it was a tumbler lower) that the bowl just totally wore out on. but on a folders (plastic coffee can) made a bottom metallic screen bowl for in the bottom, soldered on negative lead from a small transform, so now i get a good even coat with 5 minutes of tumbling.

Yoop

I have been powder coating for the past year. Through trial and error, I have found for the Harbor Freight Red to work, you need to slightly pre heat the bullets before tumbling. Here is what you do:
- Set oven temp to 400 degrees.
- Preheat oven for approximately 5 minutes.
- Get your bullets ready on the mesh screen you use to screen off excess powder coat.
- have your plastic coffee tub ready and cleaned
- put them in the preheated oven for EXACTLY 2 minutes at 400 degrees.**
- Wearing high temperature gloves, remove the bullets and put them into the coffee tub.
- Add around 1 to 2 TBSP's of powder coat to the bullets and quickly get to tumbling. Tumble for about 1 minute and don't stop.
- You should have all bullets evenly coated well, and screen off the excess
- Bake for 20 minutes at 400, and water quench them once ready.

** If you preheat the bullets longer than 2 minutes at 400, and then you add powder coat you will have one big sticky glob of bullets and mess. If you don't pre heat enough, then it wont stick. I guarantee you 2 minutes is the magic number here with Harbor Freight Red... trust me don't play with it because I already have... You will woe the day you don't follow the 2 minute rule, because either way the mess you create will give you a headache.


Another product you could use is Ford Blue powder coat sold and distributed by Eastwood Company.
There is no need to pre-heat AT ALL, and since the quality of the powder coat is so good very little goes a long way.
Just tumble and bake with this... Costs about two to three times as much as Harbor Freight Red, but only saves you about 5 minutes. Take your pick.

[res45]

I've never preheated any of my cast lead bullets I plan on PC'ing I do on occasion wash my bullets in 100% acetone if I've been handling them much to remove any oil that may have gotten on them from my hands during inspection while looking for culls. I usually try and wear Nitrile gloves when doing that but sometime I forget and it only takes about ten minutes to give them a good wash and air dry so it's no big deal and the powder seem to stick better anyways.

The real key is to create a good static charge in your coating contain. It's no problem out in the shop during the winter months when the air is cold and dry but it's been a challenge to do in the summer months but since I moved the coating process into the house and bake on the back porch I've fixed that as well.

After I use up the powders I have on hand which might take awhile I plan on just using a clear coat from them on out.

[NCshooter]

I use the shake and bake method. No preheating of bullets either. I've had really good luck with the HF red. I use a convection oven for 15 min at 350 degrees. I shake in a miracle whip bowl or a potato salad bucket (small one from the local Food Lion store), shake for about 3 minutes. I then pour them onto a 1/4" mesh to strain off the extra powder. Pour the bullets onto parchment paper on a metal tray (about 6"x8") and toss in oven. When done, I immediately pour them into a bucket of water to cool them and makes the paint stick immediately. I did find that after a while (like 1000 bullets swirled) the bucket loses its static capability and need to use a new one. I love shooting without any smoke from bullet lube, no need to wait for the lube to dry, faster speeds, no junk on lube from storage or handling...and less time make bullets. I'll keep the bullet I've bought for SHTF (ie., no power for oven) but for now its the way to go.

[Ozzman]

I too have been powder coating my pistol loads for a little over a year now.
I have been able to push 9mm and .40 at FMJ velocities with no leading, and accuracy is pretty good.