Oh boy, I did it now!

[Lost Dog]

Ok. I know there's a thread on powder coating. What I just did was order powder (with catalyst in it) from HiTek that mixes with either acetone or MEK to produce a liquid rather than a powdered coating. Common sense tells me a liquid will coat far better and more complete that powder. Of course I'll need a little oven and make two wire mesh trays to fit. That's not hard, even for me! So I guess we'll see in a week if I did the right thing. And my concern is not cloverleaf groups at a zillion yards but "minute of chest cavity" at 50yds with a pistol and fist size groups with a short .45-70 open sights lever gun on coyote and hog. So my needs are far more simple and don't require super refinement.
All the required items, wire mesh, small oven and the acetone are available at good old Wally World and thus by my figures I'll be out around $60 or so. And since I'm not a huge caster droppings hundreds in an afternoon, I believe the small oven and mesh trays will suit my needs well enough. I discussed this with my two shooting and reloading neighbors. And they will chip in to offset the cost further. So with luck I'll be coating, baking, sizing, and loading jet black or candyapple red bullets.

 

[fiver]

HI-TEK is a bit different than powder coating.
it's a cross linking polymer that relies on temperature.

putting a thermometer in the oven will pay off real quick.

 

[RBHarter]

I read a thread ,some 2300 posts at that point, a convection type oven will be best otherwise you will want multiple thermometers to ensure the whole rack reaches temperature w/o over heating.

 

[Lost Dog]

P
Fiver, I'm really looking for durability in handling as well as anything else. I'm casting for two of my neighbors now. Not sure how I got roped into that one but they're rookie loaders and hamfisted as hell with gear. You should see some of the stuff they do while loading. ..... so I want easy. They need harty.

 

[Lost Dog]

And as simple as it can be too! Because if it doesn't work right I'm not out much and the other guys can just buy commercial made bullets! I don't misalign bullets when loading and cram em up into the dies. It ain't pretty.

 

[RBHarter]

I spent an hour the other night polishing an RCBS seating rod in a 2nd hand set of 257 Roberts dies . About 1 in 3 jacketed it would pull back out and stuck almost every cast. It's not always the operator.

 

[fiver]

there is a good sticky on the boolits site about the HI-TeK coating.
they go through the whole process step by step breaking it down into simple.
the powder itself and mixing it with acetone comes in near the end of the thread.[after the pre-made discussion]
but I'm sure if you have questions, Donnie [the importer] can answer them easy enough.

 

[Brad]

Hi-tek is easy. Keep the coats thin, cook the right time at the right heat, and have fun.

 

[Lost Dog]

Well I figured it would be like shooting color on a car. Painted everything from lacquer to Imeron. Baked more than one old Buick in my day.

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

Fiver hit the most imp. part of the process. Better to slightly over cook than under.
Also the sent that is produced when coating is VERY strong. Just be advised a buzz can be attained if not carefull.

 

[Lost Dog]

Fiver hit the most imp. part of the process. Better to slightly over cook than under.
Also the sent that is produced when coating is VERY strong. Just be advised a buzz can be attained if not carefull.

When I did paint & body work I always used a respirator with the lesser toxic paint and with the bad stuff, an outside air hose system. I intend to be outside doing this stuff. I'm not breathing that into my system.

 

[KHornet]

I am finding less and less colored projectiles when I mine the berms. I think the fad has dwindled a bit!

 

[Lost Dog]

Hee hee.. on my range 90% of the rounds are splattered into dust as I shoot a plate mostly. Rarely are any expended rounds ever found. So I guess I'll be able to say the same! Haa!

Seriously, I just want something simple, neat, and clean. For my slam-bam press hammering neighbors, something durable as they speed stroke the press handle when seating.

 

[Lost Dog]

Powder arrived today. Got oven, acetone, oven temp gauge, wire mesh, latex gloves, and "an attitude" (to do it right). We'll see soon enough.

 

[Lost Dog]

This stuff's a snap to do! Just like mixing paint and reducer for shooting color on a car. Keep the acetone levels a tad elevated and mind the oven temp and don't shake 'em up too much. Did some Keith SWC's in .358". Two coats were pretty good and three is great. Thin multi coats are better than lumping in too much paint. Just like shooting paint on a car. I like this stuff!

 

[Lost Dog]

Did some coated rounds with the old Ideal 357466 castings.
Humidity was brutal today. Air drying was incomplete and undiscovered until the baking session. Points on the bullets started to bubble. Signs of paint not fully dry. Rats! But the coating was solid. I have to remember that where I live that humidity runs well over 25 to 50% more than where I used to paint cars. So I'll have to up the acetone level more.

But it's getting easier and faster with the exception of the humidity induced air dry delay. Shake time in the application of the paint is critical as well. I found I took too long. Once I figured a 20 second shake I have real smooth finish. Overall, this is rather easy and the end results are great. I can see me doing most of my cast rounds in polymer coating in the future.

 

[Brad]

It must be dry before baking! The bubbling isn't good.
Thin coats, dry fully, bake the right temp and time.

Do that and all is good

 

[Lost Dog]

Yeppers Brad. I once did a paint job on a Kenworth and a front moved in and altered the humidity enough to cause bubbles in my finish when we put the heat to it.picked up enough moisture prior to the booth.... lots of sanding after that. Good 'ole Texas weather. ..

Today it tried to rain on me twice and I'm doing this on my tiny 6x6 uncovered back porch. Oven on an old workmate bench and the drying rack is a discarded dishwashing rack and hand made wire mesh baskets. Can anyone say "primitive" ?

 

[Brad]

I let mine sit on mesh in the garage overnight. The acetone will evaporate even in damp weather.
I like to set the rack of bullets on top of the oven to warm a bit before baking. This helps ensure they are dry.

 

[fiver]

a slow movement of air over them will really help dry the acetone quickly.