How I ASBBDT Powdercoat

GRMPS

Active Member
How I ASBBDT Powder coat
Ovens, convection ovens are highly recommended, the air circulation gives you even baking and the ability to bake larger batches, A toaster oven will work for small batches
#1 Make sure your oven setting is bringing the interior to 400° Buy/ borrow a couple of these and place them in the center of the shelf you’re baking on. Adjust the oven's settings until the thermometers reach 400° Mark down the setting ** the setting will change when the surrounding temperature changes due to the location of the oven’s thermometer.
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Cover the bottom of your oven with a heat retaining material, I use ceramic BBQ briquettes, others use firebrick rocks or?
This will help the oven get back to operating temperature much faster.

Add bullets to powder and black airsoft BB’s in a #5 container (cool whip containers work great
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Put the lid on and swirl until enough static is generated so the PC adheres completely (30 seconds to 1 min)
IF you live in a damp area and the powder doesn’t want to stick pre-warm the bullets on top of your countertop oven, they shouldn’t be hotter than you can handle barehanded.
Dump in colander (popcorn kernel sifter) (you can punch holes in a paper bowl or drill holes in a plastic bowl)
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Sift out BB’s and ALL the excess powder
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Dump on bake screen
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Bake according to instructions 25 min at 400° in a preheated oven should work with most powders allowing a complete cure.
* the instructions will say bake for XX min at XXX° after either the bullet temperature has reached 400° or the powder starts to flow on the bullet
IF the powder isn’t cured completely some gunpowders will react to the coating softening it and sticking to it.
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(IF some stick to the screen just tap the back of the screen with a small leather mallet or? This won't hurt the coating.
rolling them on a towel to break loose any that might be stuck together
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Hammer test to assure a good cure
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most polyester high gloss (usually TGIC) PC's will work with this method.
Not all PC's work well with the dump and bake method, with some PC's you will need to dump the sifted bullets in a pan or? and stand them up either on a baking screen or a pan covered with either parchment paper, nonstick aluminum foil or silicone bake sheet/mat.
Some people like to stand up the PC’d bullets with tweezers of wear surgical gloves.

They size easier than regular lubed bullets and start with the same load data.
You can differentiate between different load by using different colors, and, women like pretty bullets :)
Plus it's much cleaner than lube and doesn't gum up your dies, you can shoot it at indoor ranges because it doesn't smoke any more than a jacketed bullet and your barrel stays clean.


I love powder coating for small batches and multiple colors available...

But

for large batches (24# or more) I use HiTek coating it's an entirely different process that each step requires liquid coating/tumbling, drying, baking, cooling then repeat for a second coat. HiTek is used by most of the commercial coaters it is easier to get perfect coats on large batches.
the metallic colors available are:
1. Gold 10235- METALLIC/RIFLE

2. Old Gold
- METALLIC/RIFLE

3. Red Copper
- METALLIC/RIFLE

4. Candy Apple Red
- METALLIC/RIFLE

5. Black 1035
- METALLIC/RIFLE

6. Kryptonite Green
- METALLIC/RIFLE

7. Bronze 500 and Bronze 502
- METALLIC/RIFLE

8. Gunmetal
- METALLIC/RIFLE
 
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Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I really appreciate your tips and advice! I have just started powder coating, not shot any pc bullets yet (soon). Thank you!
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I really appreciate your tips and advice! I have just started powder coating, not shot any pc bullets yet (soon). Thank you!
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
So, I guess I will have to try out this new tech.

Great explanation. I have an old toaster oven that won't be hurt by this.
Two questions.
1) what is a good source for powder - in grey or black?

2) where would one find that nice bake screen? I have never seen one of those before.

Bill
 
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I just used 1/4” mesh hardware clothheld in place by a few wire ties on top of the racks that came with my oven.
Got a PID Bill? I drilled a hole in the side of my oven well above the rack and shoved a long thermocouple probe in. Turn oven on max and set the PID. No more wide swings due to a cheap thermostat.
I got my first powder from Smoke over on CB. I got a white aluminum powder that does fine and is a light grey/white.
I know Ian gets some from Powder by the Pound. You want high levels of gloss for best results.
I had a few coated bysomeone else once and some were a matte black. The difference in effort to size them was amazing, gloss was slick and the matte was not.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I like how much cleaner my handguns stay. No more waxy, gooey residue all over. A couple wet patches thru the bore, a dry one or two, and done. A dry rag to clean the feed ramp in the frame and such and reassemble.

It does require some load changes because of a friction reduction, at least with high gloss powder. I am also using a .451 sizer in the 1911 instead of .452 like I did with traditional lube. Seems to do a little better that way.
 

wquiles

Well-Known Member
I like how much cleaner my handguns stay. No more waxy, gooey residue all over. A couple wet patches thru the bore, a dry one or two, and done. A dry rag to clean the feed ramp in the frame and such and reassemble.
+1

The other plus, and why I am converting everything to PC is that it keeps my F1 suppressors cleaner as well, so I don't have to disassemble & clean as often.
 
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GRMPS

Active Member
I highly recommend a convection oven, toaster ovens work but since they don't have air circulation (to get even baking) you need to keep the number of bullets per batch small.
 
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GRMPS

Active Member
I use a wire grid to stand up tall bullets
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the yellow is intentionally speckled kind of like these, I like mixing/blending PC :)
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or I flip the grid over to lay out short bullets
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I got a countertop convection oven on sale at Menards for 40 bucks or so. Works very well.

Just got a batch out with a second coating and it does make a difference. The powder sticks much nicer to the previously coated bullets than to bare bullets. Once they cool I want to measure a few to see how thick the coating is.
 

GRMPS

Active Member
Ease of PCing is partially based on the humidity at the time. IF it's humid I like to warm the bullets in to of the oven.

you can do 2 coats by baking the first coat only until the PC flows; when the bullets are cool enough to touch do the second coat and bake for 25-30 min.

You can also find good convection ovens at thrift stores for under $20.
 
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Never thought of short baking the first coat. Would save some time.
I baked for 31 minutes at 400° F. Not sure why I chose 31 and not 30? I want time for bullets to get to temp and let powder start flowing yet still give 20 min for a good cure.

Measured a bullet. Sized before coating it was .4515. One coat made it .4525. A second coat pushed it to .454+.
Since bullet itself was already sized to .451 they easily resize after coating.

I think the thicker coat will remove my minor leading issue.
 

Ian

Notorious member
you can do 2 coats by baking the first coat only until the PC flows; when the bullets are cool enough to touch do the second coat and bake for 25-30 min.
+1. I've only had to do that for one bullet design but it's definitely the way to go if doing two coats.