Got into casting on a whim

[EMR]

[Bumslie]

Buy powder from thepowdercoatstore.com.

1 coat and you'll be done. Their website will be back online on the 12th.

I recommend their mirror blue. I see you're in OC, I have some Kawasaki green still from them. You're welcome to sample some if you would like to try it out. World of difference compared to the harbor freight stuff.

RIP Blitzburgh

[SonofWWIIDI]

Paging stilly, paging stilly.



Good luck OP.

[rsrocket1]

Go over to castboolits.com and browse the coatings and alternatives forum. 3 years and thousands of posts worth of knowledge.

1. You need to determine the real temperature of your oven. At least, get yourself a baking thermometer and take a reading of the real temp vs. the dial temp. Start low like 250 or 300 on the setting and keep a constant eye on the thermometer or you might melt it. It can take 10 minutes or so to reach a consistent temperature.

2. HF red works fine for be but here in the central valley, it's much drier than on the coast. Dry tumbling with airsoft BB's works well, but unless it's one of those Santa Ana wind days, you need to shake like crazy for several minutes. I use nitrile gloves dusted with powder (like dusting a rolling pin when making bread) and pick/place the bullets by hand. On days when the powder sticks like crazy and I see that it is too thick, a simple tap of the bullet on a pan will knock the excess powder off and even out the coating.

3. If your oven is running too hot, you may be causing the bullets to slump. That happened to me once when I accidentally knocked the temperature dial and got a full batch of short fat bullets. I found that out when I noticed that I had a really tough time sizing them. I then measured the diameter and saw the problem. Luckily I only ruined about 100 bullets which simply went into the melting pot for the next casting session.





HF red plus some Sinclair Purple surplus powder that I picked up from a local powder coating shop for real cheap.




"You know who" is still active at castboolits. Fortunately he's a lot more tame over there. Probably because people aren't trying to sell stuff in the wrong forum.

[TexasJackKin]

Yea, where's Stilly when you need him? castboolits that's where! An unending wealth of information, by many knowledgeable folks.

[EMR]

Buy powder from thepowdercoatstore.com.

1 coat and you'll be done. Their website will be back online on the 12th.

I recommend their mirror blue. I see you're in OC, I have some Kawasaki green still from them. You're welcome to sample some if you would like to try it out. World of difference compared to the harbor freight stuff.

RIP Blitzburgh

Thanks for the offer. In your experience does their powder apply more easily and evenly for dry tumbling?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EMR]

Go over to castboolits.com and browse the coatings and alternatives forum. 3 years and thousands of posts worth of knowledge.



1. You need to determine the real temperature of your oven. At least, get yourself a baking thermometer and take a reading of the real temp vs. the dial temp. Start low like 250 or 300 on the setting and keep a constant eye on the thermometer or you might melt it. It can take 10 minutes or so to reach a consistent temperature.



2. HF red works fine for be but here in the central valley, it's much drier than on the coast. Dry tumbling with airsoft BB's works well, but unless it's one of those Santa Ana wind days, you need to shake like crazy for several minutes. I use nitrile gloves dusted with powder (like dusting a rolling pin when making bread) and pick/place the bullets by hand. On days when the powder sticks like crazy and I see that it is too thick, a simple tap of the bullet on a pan will knock the excess powder off and even out the coating.



3. If your oven is running too hot, you may be causing the bullets to slump. That happened to me once when I accidentally knocked the temperature dial and got a full batch of short fat bullets. I found that out when I noticed that I had a really tough time sizing them. I then measured the diameter and saw the problem. Luckily I only ruined about 100 bullets which simply went into the melting pot for the next casting session.











HF red plus some Sinclair Purple surplus powder that I picked up from a local powder coating shop for real cheap.









"You know who" is still active at castboolits. Fortunately he's a lot more tame over there. Probably because people aren't trying to sell stuff in the wrong forum.

Thanks for that detailed post. I really do need to get a thermometer for it. The first go at 400 completely slumped the pills in half. The second go at 300was able to melt the PC without pill slumping. Luckily I only ruined 4 this time!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EMR]

Yea, where's Stilly when you need him? castboolits that's where! An unending wealth of information, by many knowledgeable folks.

Paging stilly, paging stilly.



Good luck OP.

[bazineta]

Check out 'Elvis Ammo' on Youtube; he's done a lot of recent work on casting and coating, in particular, lower temperature coating, and it's worth the time.

[wbunning]

I never could get HF powders to work. I use Eastwood powders in various colors and they coat quickly, though they are more expensive than HF. I tested my coating oven with a cheap oven thermometer I found n the grocery store. 400 deg for 20 min wont't melt the bullets if your oven control is accurate. I water quench my bullets after powder coating to maintain hardness when that is an issue.

Here's a few tips: go to Walmart or a thrift shop and pick up a cheapie hot plate and put your mold on it at low temp while your lead is melting. You'll spend less time dumping wrinkled bullets. It will take you a few tries to figure how hot to get the mold. My first try I got mine way too hot. Your bullets won't stick to the mold when it is at the correct temp.

Did you get a lead thermometer? Temperature of the melt is important as well to maintain consistency. The temp is likely to change as you get down to the bottom of the pot. Sprues and rejects thrown back in will affect the pot temp more toward the end of the session. Hotter lead will produce lighter bullets, and tends to rise to the top, so stir the pot frequently. Weigh a good sample of your castings to see how much variation there is. 3-4 grains is ok for practice ammo, but you can get better consistency with good temperature control.

Regarding tumbling your bullets to coat..some guys do it. With better powder, though, it shouldn't be necessary. I live near the coast, and the Eastwood powders I use coat well in just a couple of minutes in the small plastic tub I use.

[Bumslie]

Thanks for the offer. In your experience does their powder apply more easily and evenly for dry tumbling?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, Applys super easy and evenly via dry method. One coat and bake for 20 min.

RIP Blitzburgh

[EMR]

Check out 'Elvis Ammo' on Youtube; he's done a lot of recent work on casting and coating, in particular, lower temperature coating, and it's worth the time.

[EMR]

I never could get HF powders to work. I use Eastwood powders in various colors and they coat quickly, though they are more expensive than HF. I tested my coating oven with a cheap oven thermometer I found n the grocery store. 400 deg for 20 min wont't melt the bullets if your oven control is accurate. I water quench my bullets after powder coating to maintain hardness when that is an issue.

Here's a few tips: go to Walmart or a thrift shop and pick up a cheapie hot plate and put your mold on it at low temp while your lead is melting. You'll spend less time dumping wrinkled bullets. It will take you a few tries to figure how hot to get the mold. My first try I got mine way too hot. Your bullets won't stick to the mold when it is at the correct temp.

Did you get a lead thermometer? Temperature of the melt is important as well to maintain consistency. The temp is likely to change as you get down to the bottom of the pot. Sprues and rejects thrown back in will affect the pot temp more toward the end of the session. Hotter lead will produce lighter bullets, and tends to rise to the top, so stir the pot frequently. Weigh a good sample of your castings to see how much variation there is. 3-4 grains is ok for practice ammo, but you can get better consistency with good temperature control.

Regarding tumbling your bullets to coat..some guys do it. With better powder, though, it shouldn't be necessary. I live near the coast, and the Eastwood powders I use coat well in just a couple of minutes in the small plastic tub I use.

[EMR]

[EMR]

2. HF red works fine for be but here in the central valley, it's much drier than on the coast. Dry tumbling with airsoft BB's works well, but unless it's one of those Santa Ana wind days, you need to shake like crazy for several minutes. I use nitrile gloves dusted with powder (like dusting a rolling pin when making bread) and pick/place the bullets by hand. On days when the powder sticks like crazy and I see that it is too thick, a simple tap of the bullet on a pan will knock the excess powder off and even out the coating.