I am getting into casting bullets. This isn't a thread on should I or shouldn't I. I have seen that it is more positives than negatives on powder coating bullets.

My question is, what powder do you use. I have heard nothing good about Harbor Freight powder. I have seen Eastwood. I was wondering about powder by the pound and Prismatic. Are there others out there that I might have missed?

powder buy the pound .com
All powder paints .com

The HF stuff is fine if you use the electrostatic spray gun. They seem to have scaled back from their selection to those that never worked particularly well with the shake and bake method.

APP has teflon specialty powders worth mention. Do your research into the law of the land in your state, and any state you might anticipate using so coated bullets in. It's not cool everywhere one might roam.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

I believe the HF red is OK, but it's been several years since I tried any. The powders I use most are from Smoke 4320 over on castbullets; Smoke 4320's Corner. While you're looking around stop by here for good everyday info Coatings and Alternatives

All I see is their matte black and white. I think the white did alright in shake n bake methods IIRC. Matte black needed the spray gun. I still find the matte black useful for refinishing magazine bodies that have been to the circus and seen the elephant. but in either case, we need to differentiate between home gamer entry methods and more advanced means.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Spray gun for bullets?

Not looking for that hi-tech. Everything I have seen is either a tumbler or a sealed container with black airsoft BB's. Just doing bullets here, not a car.

Can you expand on this? I was thinking of getting into this process myself but I never considered there might be legal issues.

that's why I made it a point to address the methods.
what must be known is that the tumble method has a lot of variation between powders. Some work great, some don't work at all, and everything else takes a place somewhere in between. and that's just fine. It will get you running for minimal outlay.

That said, solid arguments can be made for upgrading to the ES gun method. the main one being that it will work with every powder, even those that failed completely with the shake n bake method. It's not mandatory, but it is nice.
Just get in the pool and start swimming. You can decide later if Scuba gear is right for you later

__________________
it just needs more voltage

I use Eastwood powders with a HF electrostatic gun with pretty good results. I still have the two powders(black and white) from HF that I got when I bought the gun. Used them a couple times in the beginning, but not impressed. I like to mix colors and get unique looking bullets Haven’t tried the shake and bake method, but I plan to. One positive is that you’re coating the base as well as the rest of the bullet.

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

we can make the nady dreaded Teflon coated "cop killer" bullet of the 80's here. it's just as easy to do as any other coating. It seems to offer a little extra velocity "for free". It's one of my favorite coatings.
Unfortunately, some states have kneejerk laws against a teflon coated bullet, despite its function being a means to protect the barrel from the core materials that actually did the work. None the less, you should look into at least whether or not you're in one of those kneejerk states before buying any of the teflon powders.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Ah, I had not considered this. I was just a kid in the 80's but I remember hearing about "cop killer bullets" all the time on the news. I think one of the Lethal Weapon movies includes them as a plot device. There is a scene where Mel Gibson is about to be crushed by a bulldozer so he shoots through the dozer blade with 9mm "cop killers" to take out the bad guy and disable the dozer. Even at 10 years old I knew this was BS.

Yes, BS as it may be, some state legislators with less sense than a 10 year old got laws enacted

__________________
it just needs more voltage

I don't cast bullets but I have been shooting Missouri Bullets with Hi-Tek 2-Extreme Coating with good success. The costing seems to be excellent. They do sell the coating and it's available in stock from what I can tell. It's the second choice in the products list, "bullet coating."

I have never used it but I have shot 1,000's of bullets coated with it. I don't know how their price compares to other coatings so there is also that to consider.

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I started with "shake and bake" then made a dedicated powder drum for my rotary tumbler. Then I bought an electro spray set up. The first two worked well and the sprayer was discontinued because I needed a dedicated room to spray in. The ultra fine powder, even with good ventilation was messy and got everywhere in my shop, but covered bullets well.

Yep, just noticed HF no longer sells red or gloss black...

Started with Eastwood powder and shake and bake. Now using Eastwood with electrostatic powder coating gun from Harbor Freight. Very happy with the results. Shake and bake worked, but powder coat was not nearly as thin or uniform in my hands.

P.S. Tried the Harbor Freight powder, black and white. Not for me. I tossed the rest.

__________________
What could possibly go wrong?

A friend stopped by a powder coating place and picked up a pound of Prismatic powder. Gonna try it and see what happens. I think it was Illusion Blueberry. I will do a show and tell when I get er done.

Sounds more like something you would get at a marijuana dispensary.

If you try to coat your own bullets, more power to you.

There are also pit falls when buying coated bullets form companies.

Poor workmanship with the dies leaving seams and a rough surface.
Different OAL in the bullets and different bullet weights.

There are bullets and there are quality bullets, you just need to know what is going to turn out in your mold or the company's that you buy from.

For most of us not shooting "Comp", a 10" paper plate group at 25 yards off hand, rapid fire, is great !!

not meaning to harsh your mellow or anything, but we aren't supposed to be so versed in that subject

__________________
it just needs more voltage

not if you ever plan on filling out a 4473 again.

I started trying to shake-and-bake the Harbor Freight powder but wasn't happy with it.

Now I'm using the Hi-Tek coating. It comes as a powder that is mixed with acetone. I mix it in the proper ratio and keep it in an old dish soap bottle with a tight fitting lid. I put a squirt of the mix in with a bunch of bullets in a plastic tub, shake them around then bake them. The manufacturer recommends two coats. I'm very happy with the results.

Went to the website. Not necessarily complicated but, if you don't get it just right, it will come out poorly. Other powders seem like shake and bake and you are good to go. Have to think about that one. Also, seems to be a tad more expensive but, I guess that it offset by having to use less.

I was spraying a bright Hemi Orange in my shop where I also had my then brand new black Laramie crew cab parked. I was running a 36" fan for ventilation with the windows and overhead door open and was spraying in the opposite end of the shop from where the truck was parked. I almost had a heart attack the next day when I backed the truck out into the sunlight. Fortunately it washed right off but lesson learned. The fan blades are still orange.

To the OP I use Eastwood light blue. I think it’s called Ford Blue or something like that. I’m not around to check it at the moment but I do know it’s Eastwood.

I’ve had great results doing the shake n bake method, baking on non-stick foil at 400 degrees F leaving the bullets as-is poured from the shake canister. I’ve smashed bullets to verify no flaking of the coating. Recovered bullets from the berm show the coating also still intact. So far no leading even at 1,400fps with some of the magnum loads.

I have not tried the other powders such as HF. These are my results… one example to consider. I’ve heard varied reports of people using same techniques. I think the variance comes with lead hardness, alloy mixture, and fit/size of the bullets. I think you just have to try it and see how it turns out.

I bought mine from Smoke also. I went with clear. Really like it as it doesn't looked like it has been painted. It covers well also. No leading since I started using it. Shake and bake method in retired toaster oven in the garage at 400deg for 15 min.

Rosewood

Here is what I have learned so far. More bullets in the bucket is better than fewer. Not sure why but, when I put about 50+ in the bucket, the coverage came out better. I used HF white with okay results. I then mixed in some of the prismatic blue I had and it came out better.

Next stop will be Eastman to see what they have.

I troll a few forums. Eastwood is the winner. You have less smoke when you pull the trigger. Forrest r has the best info on these. There is a guy called <SMOKE>on another forum that people rave about his powder. Blue seems to be the most popular and easy to use color. I have too many lube sizers <7>and to old to change directions.

A tip to help the powder cling in the "shake" step. Swap the PITA plastic bb's with a few inflated water balloons. The small water balloons seem to have a thicker rubber than standard balloons and hold up well.

The balloons are much easier to handle than the bb's and do a much better job generating the static charge we are looking for.

I asked about Lee's tumble lube bullets in the wadcutter thread and it got me wondering how well the tumble lubes do with powder coating. Does anyone powder coat these?

I have a couple of tumble lube bullets which I powder coat. They take the powder coat just like other bullets. Specifically the ones I have done are Lee 93gr TL sized .314 and Lee 230gr TL sized at both .454 and .452. All shoot well. Very little smoke and no leading.

Either Eastwood, or Hitech for me. Tried several of the others, and I wasn’t happy with the results. I found that they didn’t cover as well, or adhere to the bullets as well as those two brands.

Acetone and shake and bake is the Method I use, baking in an old toaster oven for the cook. A Lee push thru sizing die, and my bullets are as good as any on the market.

Cheaper powder’s produced more smoke when fired and recovered bullets had more of a burn mark on them.

Regards, Rick Gibbs

I've been doing shake and bake for a little over 5 years.
Because I live in a dryland environment all I use for the
shaker bowl is a Redi Whip container.

I use Eastwood Ford Light blue. Here's a link:

Eastwood Hotcoat Ford Light Blue Powder Coat

I've done 7 thousand of various calibers this year.

__________________
never get out of the boat

Are there any colors or glosses of the Eastwood to specifically avoid?

I haven't heard of any bad ones. When this all kicked off, I
knew folks who started with the harbor freight red and the
Quality Control was spotty. So people migrated to better
powder coats.

On one of the boards a poster from either Wisconsin
or Michigan used Eastwood Ford Light Blue. It works for me.

That's the lead in to your question.

Since then, The additional ones I have actual exposure to are
Eastwoods Black Stardust, Full Gloss Clear, Metallic Red, Appliance
White, Hi Gloss Jet Black and Grey. So from that Limited exposure
I tend to say there isn't one that's bad. The guys I cast and
shoot with tend to act like they have a love affair with cast bullets
and get wrapped around how striking they can make them look.

For me, I just want the easiest most hassle free way of covering
the bullet to keep from having my shop and guns from being
crapped up. I hate cleaning guns almost as much as using tumble
lube or a Lubri-sizer.

I've got about a pound of the Ford Light Blue left and I "think"
I'm going to go with the Full Gloss Clear when it's gone because
any debris or flakes that come off during sizing won't leave
visible pieces like the light blue does. Whatever I generate will
still be there but won't be as visible. Keeps the wife happy.

__________________
never get out of the boat

I bought the Lee 124 TC 9mm mold and it works great with powder coat. Used the standard 175 TC in .401 and it works just as well. The lube grooves seem to have no bearing on powder coating.

Rosewood