My experiments with PC pistol and rifle bullets

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I am truly amazed at the bullets standing up in post #10 of this thread. If I ever got that many to stand
up, (doubtful) I could never move it to a toaster oven and slide it in without all of them falling over.:embarrassed:

I think I will use airsoft pellets and then just sift the airsoft and excess powder out and dump the bullets
out onto a wire mesh.

Bill
 

popper

Well-Known Member
I find the black (smoke's) doesn't flow as well as his red. I'll mostly use it for pistol now. Must be carbon black it uses. I'm swirling and shaking without bullets first to charge and distribute the powder, especially with 'used' powder. Then add a good handful and swirl and toss.
 

Ian

Notorious member
@Pistolero , you want 80% gloss or better and any color other than yellow or black. It makes enough difference that if I were you I'd call them and change the order.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
9679
Try one of these. I just pick out with hemos and drop in. Fill, move, pull the holder. Excess drops onto the foil.
Gives me this
9680
Reflection may make it look like some is missing- NOT.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Slow disk or belt sander will take the bottom off fast. They are some styrene plastic so will not take cooking heat. And they are FREE as found in trash!
 

Ian

Notorious member
I bet if you brushed some PC in all the holes of the plastic trays it wouldn't leave "holidays" in the bullets when you drop them in the holes and they bang around a little. Coating plier jaws with the PC before picking bullets keeps the powder from getting knocked off where they touch, same thing when using nitrile or latex gloves.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Why any color but black? I don't WANT any other color, maybe grey or something, to the point of not
doing it, actually, if somehow black/grey can't work. Doesn't make sense that the color has anything
to do with the coating, except the color. And gloss, why is that important? I can imagine that gloss
might have some effect, but cannot see how color can affect the coating.

Called and it has already shipped. So, we'll see what it does. I really mean it that I do not want brightly
colored bullets. If that is the cost of PC....then I'll just leave it alone. Just fooling around, and I have
no real problems with what I have been doing, and not actually seeking to solve some sort of a problem.
If it doesn't work, I may or may not spend much time working it out. Just an extremely low priority
item. I have equipment and methods that are relatively easy, all set up, and work very well indeed.
At most this is "just for the hell of it" as far as I am concerned.

Bill
 
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
It seems that some colors don’t coat as well.
If you want something that looks “right” then ask Jim what clear he uses.

I can assure you that gloss does add some slick to the bullet and matte eliminates any the bullet may have had.
 
F

freebullet

Guest
I bet the black will be fine in pistols. I used the hf flat black, it worked fine in 9mm ect when many others had issues. Getting static cling & humidity correct seemed to play a bigger role in how it went for me.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I'll see what it does. Either way, it will be interesting and I'll learn something.
I suspect something other than the actual color has to do with the coating, although perhaps
the chems used to make the color affect the way the rest of the powder acts.

Somehow I imagine that 90% of the powder is the powder and 10% or less is the color,
so color should have minimal effect. Perhaps not a valid way to look at it.

Bill
 

Hawk

North Central Texas
Why any color but black? I don't WANT any other color,

At most this is "just for the hell of it" as far as I am concerned.

Bill

Don't mince words. Tell us how you really feel, Bill. (Just kinding)

I use Smokes Gloss Black and have been completely satisfied with it.
Coats well. No problems at all.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Doesn't make sense that the color has anything
to do with the coating, except the color. And gloss, why is that important? I can imagine that gloss
might have some effect, but cannot see how color can affect the coating.

You don't have to sense or imagine because some of us have the direct experience to advise you in advance. Freebullet covered the reasons.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
OK, why is a blue polyester different than a same maker green polyester or black polyester?

I assume (yeah, I know) that the coloring agent is a small percentage of the powder, so why would it
be a major factor in how it applies? I can see red from one source (maker) compared to green
from another source (maker) being different, because the whole powder is likely entirely different
and maybe even epoxy one and polyester the other.

Bill
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
The yellow makes sense based on my experience with paint. Yellow likely has far more pigment to get coverage and good color which means less actual coating is there.
It does seem that certain colors work well for about everyone, things like JD green and Carolina blue. The yellow has a reputation for not working as well.

If I was going to buy powder today it would likely be clear.
 

Ian

Notorious member
OK, why is a blue polyester different than a same maker green polyester or black polyester?
I don't know, but unless you're planning to ES spray to apply it it matters a lot. Especially the gloss level. The matting agents make it very difficult to get the powder to stick via S&B, and both versions of black (semi gloss and full gloss both) won't flow out nearly as well as blue, red, and green. I hear good things about the clears, silvers, and greys but you still need the high gloss to make them easy to apply.
 
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Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Clear does sound good. Strange that the color makes it act differently. Not at all like paint.
Blue Rustoleum is exactly like Green Rustoleum, except for the color.

Bill
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
We painted a wall light yellow once. It took 5 coats before we had decent coverage. I think it come down to not just pigment but other “stuff” that allows the paint to be the correct color.
In this case the pigment affects flow, static cling, and most of all the slickness of the final coating.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
powder coat works different than paint.
I stick with grey/silver and cut it with HF red to use up the red.
the HF red works okay and I have abused it pretty hard in initial testing but I get a lot better smoother even flow, and final coat with the silver.
I suspect the different P/C pigments have different [weights] sizes, whereas paint is more consistent across the board [and much smaller] in their tint sizes.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Paint pigments are more like dyes than powder pigments. Ever watch the stuff come out of the tint machine at the paint store? A squirt of fluorescent yellow, two squirts of jet black, some chartreuse, and a few dribbles of magenta and presto.......light sandstone wall paint. Weird.