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Old July 24, 2014, 10:44 PM   #1
rrruger
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Join Date: March 9, 2012
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another powder coating post

I have drunk the Kool-Aid!
I used the dry tumble 'shake and bake' method to coat about 100 .38 special 158 grain lead round nose bullets. Very easy to do I might add. I pushed these down range at about 750 fps. A range test proved two things, The first was accuracy. I was shooting from a rest and at only five yards, but one group put six rounds so close you could cover them with a dime. The second thing that I learned was 'NO Leading'. I shot fifty rounds and cleaned the bore of my GP-100 4 inch with one patch. That's right, one patch!
My plan now is to start upping the speed until I find the point at which the powder coating starts to break down.
One issue I did have with the powder coating was picking up the coated bullets without knocking the powder off. To that end I made my own home made bullet picking tool! I only load .38 special /.357 magnum. After having a number of bullets slip out of the grip of my modified needle nose pliers, I tried something different. I got a very cheap, large (seven inch), tweezer and modified it as a 'bullet picker'. I started about 3/4 inch from the tip and bent the arms out at about 45 degrees. Then I chucked a 3/8 drill bit in the vice and used a small hammer to form the arms around the drill bit shank forming two curved hooks coming together at the point of the tweezer. I filed the ends back enough to prevent them from touching when the tweezer is closed. And finally, I powder coated the tips.
In operation the 3/8 bit is very close to the diameter of the bullet with a layer of powder on it. The tweezer then provides a good grip on a .357 bullet. With the powder coated tips it leaves little to no marks on the bullets. While mine was made for .357 bullets it seems to work equally well from .32-.45 bullets.
I hope this proves to be useful to someone out there!
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Old July 25, 2014, 06:30 AM   #2
griz
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Is "shake and bake" what it sounds like? Just shake them in the raw powder and then bake? Sounds like a simple method and saves all the equipment costs.
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Old July 25, 2014, 09:19 AM   #3
oldpapps
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Yes, that simple.
i use a latex glove to pick the dusted bullets out of the expensive shake container (plastic Cool Whip container with lid). The next expense is to use NON-stick aluminum foil to cover what ever you put your bullets on, use the foil over and over. Then bake to cure, time and temperature is determined by the polyester powder, usually around 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minuets. The bullets must be clean and oil free when you start and should be sized after.
Yes, that simple.

Enjoy,
OSOK
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Old July 25, 2014, 10:38 AM   #4
mikld
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I don't try to pick up my coated bullets with gloved fingers, I usw either forceps or large tweezers (8"). I get some powder on the forceps first and rarely have bald spots. Yer gonna have to push those coated bullets really fast (mebbe faster than a .357 can safely go) to get any degrading of the coating. There are reports of fellers pushing coated rifle bullets passed 2,000 fps.

Yep, shake and bake is just that. A very popular method is to use a Cool Whip tub with some airsoft BB and a bit of powder coat powder. Shake/swirl a few minutes, place bullets on a piece of non stick aluminum foil, and bake at about 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on the powder's needs).

A very extensive (over 570 threads and 17,000+ posts) forum with nearly everything about PCing bullets is covered; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/foru...d-Alternatives
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Old July 25, 2014, 11:01 AM   #5
oldpapps
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I have seen reports from who I consider a very reliable source of .223s being pushed to 3200 FPS.
I'm running 2650 FPS in a 30-06.

Oh, the latex glove gets coated with polyester powder and doesn't remove any powder from the bullets.
Some just dump powder and bullets on a wire screen, excess powder falls past and they cure on the screen.

I've used the Airsoft BBs and don't see all that much improvement.

It is evolving as we speak, or type or.. well you understand.

Enjoy,

OSOK
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