Powder coating bullets/what brand

IAM Rand

IAM Rand

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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?
 
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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.
 
mikld said:
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
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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.
 
Spray gun for bullets?:eek:

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.:cool:
 
venomballistics said:
...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.
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Can you expand on this? I was thinking of getting into this process myself but I never considered there might be legal issues.
 
IAM Rand said:
Spray gun for bullets?:eek:

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.:cool:
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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
 
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:D 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.
 
Paul in Nevada said:
Can you expand on this? I was thinking of getting into this process myself but I never considered there might be legal issues.
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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.
 
venomballistics said:
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.
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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.
 
Paul in Nevada said:
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.
Click to expand...

Yes, BS as it may be, some state legislators with less sense than a 10 year old got laws enacted
 
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.
 
venomballistics said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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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.
 
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 !!
 
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.
 
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