# powder coated cast boolits



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

first cast your boolits as usual

when they are cool to the touch , toss them in a clean #5 recyclable container about a 100-150 of them , add about 1/2 inch matte black air soft BBs (the shiny ones apprently through testing by others do not work )

add 1 table spoon Harbor freight Red powder coating 

secure lid and hold it on while shaking

shake vigorously up and down for about 30 seconds 

then place on a parchment covered tray (dedicated to cooking boolits) 

apparently the air soft bbs last nearly indefinitely in this process min are on about the 10th load , after a few loads you may be able to add less than the full table spoon 


cook in a toaster or convection oven that is dedicated to non food 

when they are cool run them through a sizing die and load


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

these can be laoded to full jacketed pistol velocities as long as they are sized to fit the barrel , (little can make up for undersized bullets that strip in the rifling ), these are 120gr 9mm truncated cone

I haven't loaded 9mm yet the sizing die for 9mm just came in 2 days ago but I have run about 150 40s&w loaded to full jacketed velocity for 40 S&w , what I have been reading is that 30cal rifle bullets powder coated in harbor freight red with a gas check has been pushed to 2750 fps with near MOA accuracy at 100 yards in others testing I plan to get to that myself soon 

powder coated are are even considered "glock safe" 


white and Matte colors do not work well in this air soft bb tumble method , as I understand it the matting agent works against the small amount of static generated by the air soft bbs bouncing around in the #5 plastic container

no smoke , and a shiny clean barrel after a night of league shooting , whats not to like


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I have some loaded now ready for a little 4th of July test shooting

the coating is slippery smooth , they glide through the sizing die even though they are being sized down from .360-.361 to .358


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if you prefer to purchase rather than make , these almost exactly the same price as commercial cast and lubed but are Hi-Tech coated cast 

my brother chooses to buy cast and come visit for a loading session , a case of 500 is about 65 dollars with the tax from my local shop 230 gr they order them in from Acme 

I think they should start replacing their stock of conventional lubed cast with all hi-tech coated they load so nice but for right now they seem special order ,although they did tell me the were going to start stocking them, maybe they are but are always sold out of the hi-tech coated and stuck with a pile of cast and lubed


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hi Guys,
The Guys up at Winequah call the red coated bullet ammo lipstick rounds. There is also some of the fancy coated that use acetone to coat the bullets, then bake them seems to work nicely once you get the knack. I've also used the powder coat gun to make these the most expensive and poorest working method in my experience. I have tried the adding the 7mm balls to the shaking bucket but its on my list. some were I have a bin of yellow ones for the 1911 airsoft I have. I'm to cheap to buy more till I use the old ones, wonder were I hid those? 
Some people are sizing them before and after ? using the correct alloy and having them cast the right size works best I believe.
Cheers,
Dutch


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> I have some loaded now ready for a little 4th of July test shooting
> 
> the coating is slippery smooth , they glide through the sizing die even though they are being sized down from .360-.361 to .358


 I'm trying not to get confused.
You have a casting die measuring .358, and adding approx. .002 with
the powder coating?
My other question.
You have normally a die for casting bullets measuring .360. Correct?
Did you have to have another die made for the purpose of using the powder coating? Or, how did you get cast a .358 bullet?


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

the boolits drop from the mold 6 at a time the ones I measured were .359 bare lead 

then powder coat after the baking they measure .361 -.3625 from the ones I jest measured 

then I use a Lee push through sizing die that is .358 the boolits glide right through with a easy push on the lever of the press , because they are very smooth glossy coated 
smooth

like if you drop a bottle of gel caps pills and your fumbling with the slippery little buggers to pick them up

the boolit is sized down with the coating to .358 , that is how well the coating is baked on that you can actually take a hammer and smash them nearly flat and they are still the same red all the way around it is a very elastic polymer coating


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hey Green County,
I tired the 7mm plastic ball method and it worked very, very well with a thousand 10mm 175 grain, I cast the day before.
One minor change I used a large pair (there about a foot long the ones I use to pick hard stuff out of the incinerator) of forceps to move the bullets to the parchment. Seems to leave a more even coat than anything else I tired. The parchment worked pretty well a bit sticks to about half of the bullet bottoms. I'm using the really cheap stuff out of the dollar store. Somewhere I have a roll of nonstick al foil but I haven't figured were its hiding, I'll try with the next batch. Oh and I used some rose colored what all regular guys call pink, it was cheap off Ebay and works all I worry about!
The 7mm balls were on sale of 5,000 for $7 at wallyworld. I expect to find the yellow ones I've carried around for years now.
Dutch
Know I ned to cast a few hundred 30 cals and try the drill the plank method.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

there is something to not using the cheapest shiny blue air soft bbs , apparently the black ones use a slightly different plastic that gets a better static charge between the tub and the balls but what ever you have is working 

the last batch I did I cracked the bottom of my rubber made food storage container I put a little duct tape over the crack from the outside and went back to coating 9mm bullets 124 gr did about 500 and have loaded most of them and shot almost half of that I need more time casting to keep up with my shooting


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Huh,
I'll have to keep my eyes open and see if I can find black ones, the ones I got are a clear dark red (they were cheapest go figure) and seem to work well. (of course I have nothing to compare to I'll have to get some Harbor freight red powder to play with next. but I still have a pound and a half of the rose to use up. what temp, time are you using Green County? I've found 350 deg F and 11 minutes seem to do well with my kit.
Advantage of being an old fart when the kids find pink bullets funny, you just growl "start running funny man", and there unsure enough about how serious I am to wander elsewhere quickly.
I had a few 12 ga slugs in the mix so I coated them as well, silly but entertaining.
I found a little rust on a spue plate so was heating up all my molds to beeswax coat them all.
Dutch


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

the harbor freight is about the cheapest of the powder coat I think other brands are much better quality , Harbor freight red coats ok , but I am interested in testing a better quality against it to see if coverage is easier with a higher quality powder 
but at 5.99 a pound no shipping cause I can get it when I am already in the city I have a pound and a pound less maybe 10 table spoons probably 3/4 a pound I an getting about 200 -250 boolits to a table spoon now that all my BBs are coated 

I have actually heard clear works very well and is free of pigment as the clear coat is what is really doing the work any way 

400 in a convection oven 10 minutes , I tried 12 and they got darker but 10 at 400 seemed enough


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hey,
I tired buying a temp gauge from china for less than $2 and it doesn't work any better than the oven does. I guess I need to dig out a thermocouple and see what the actual temp is. I was told 375 deg F and 11 minutes but ended up with charred bits at 375 so dropped it to 350 on the oven dial. I wish I had some of the tops for the 5 lb cottage cheese jugs I'm using I don't dare shake them all that hard or there all over! perhaps something tuperwarish from the dollar store next time I'm in the big city. The fan has stopped working in the oven I bet its stuck with powder coat.
But what the heck it still melts powder coat. 
Dutch


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I would make lots of 10 and watch them for time with different temps settings , there is plenty of room for error , you just need to find the time and setting that work for you 

plenty of people are using toaster oven , so the fan is not necessary however placing them on the middle rack with a baking sheet an inch smaller than the inside of the oven all the way around may be.

my baking sheets are almost exactly the size of my oven I had to bend the edges down so that I could get them in , but my fan works for now


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