Lee Loader

I made an attempt at powder coating last night, Lee 356 124 2r. I used HF yellow (yea, I know, poor choise but there was no red). I gave them a bath in acetone and let them dry. I did the shake in a #5 plastic container for about a minute the placed the bullets base down in a 50 count 45 acp ammo tray on the pan lined with wax paper then removed the tray. Into the toaster over preheated to 350 for 20 minutes. Although the coating was thin it was good coverage and should be able to load and shoot without having to size them BUT they all stuck to the wax paper. I ended up melting them back down.

Would aluminum foil be better to place them on or what?

az2vet wrote:I made an attempt at powder coating last night, Lee 356 124 2r. I used HF yellow (yea, I know, poor choise but there was no red). I gave them a bath in acetone and let them dry. I did the shake in a #5 plastic container for about a minute the placed the bullets base down in a 50 count 45 acp ammo tray on the pan lined with wax paper then removed the tray. Into the toaster over preheated to 350 for 20 minutes. Although the coating was thin it was good coverage and should be able to load and shoot without having to size them BUT they all stuck to the wax paper. I ended up melting them back down.

Would aluminum foil be better to place them on or what?

Silicone Baking Mat...works Great for Me!

That would require spending money in Walmart which I will not be doing as Walmart gives money to anti gun groups. Any other ideas?

az2vet wrote:That would require spending money in Walmart which I will not be doing as Walmart gives money to anti gun groups. Any other ideas?

Places other then walmart sell Em around Here...

350 is not hot enough to cure most powder coats. I use 425 for 15 min. The time is different for each oven and amount of loading. Powders must reach a cure temp and stay there for al least a set time.
Non stick Al foil works great. Just be sure to use the non stick side up. The silicone mats work great also.
Get your powders from Smoke over at cast Boolits. Much better than HF.

I'll second the non-stick foil non-stick side up.

Make smoke,

Gave it another go after doing some thinking. I added a little acetone to a bit of powder and gave it a stir then dropped in 30 bullets and a bit of twirling about. When they started getting tacky I picked them out and put them on the tray base down and into the toaster oven. Had the temp set at about 370 and preheated and time set for 20 minutes then dropped them into a bucket of water. The color is much better than before but not 100% color coverage but there is no uncoated lead. I am somewhat pleased the way these came out but I am not going to be doing it this way. I do not have fingernails to speak of but the coating did not chip off when I tried to scratch it with a key. I will load them up tonight.
I plan to call and order the 3 color trial of smokes powder tomorrow. I am thinking Carolina blue, white aluminum and flame red. I think I could get some cool color combos with these as well.

I use silicon sheets for lots of stuff and 370 isn't hot enough. I too no longer shop at Walmart for anything. I haven't been there for months but the wife used to go each week (four school age kids and all) but now we pay more locally or order online.

I jumped into powder coating as a New Year's project. I bought a large convection oven on eBay immediately after Christmas last. They had the "Make Offer" button on the new oven, I bought it at 50% of retail. Anyway, a fellow that is very into this gave me some simple instructions which I followed to the letter. I've had no fails. I use "smokes" powder.

I use the silicone pads that support standing the bullets on their base. I buy everything online, nothing in this one-horse town to support my interests.

When you get your powder from Smoke, try it dry, not with the acetone ( I believe this was the piglet method)
You will be surprised how much better good powder works over the HF powder. I use the black airsoft BB's in a
No 5 tub swirled and shaken up and down for about 10 seconds and get complete coverage. Many do well without the BB's. The test to see if the powder is sticking is to smash the coated and cured bullet with a large hammer. Smash it so hard that is 1/2 to 1/3 its original height. If any flakes off, it is not cured and sticking properly. Humidity is not your friend. I see you are in LA like me. I do all the application of powder in a air conditioned room. I store all my powder in glass jars to keep the moisture out.