OK WB, I have been waiting since Friday for you
to tell me how to color coat my lead bullets. Reeder said you were the guru.
Some guys get very technical, I'm very basic
Literally I got a plastic coffee can. Threw in 100 dry bullets and about four table spoons of powder (it was way more than needed). Shook them up real good, dumped out over a 1/8" mesh basket I formed from hardware store wire. I did it over newsprint so I salvaged surplus powder. I gently stuck the basket in the toaster oven (remember temp dials can lie) at 400 deg. for 30 min. Lead can melt at 600-700 deg. so stay clear of that. Afterward they cooled and I ran them through a LEE sizer. You can coat them a second time after cooling if the first does not suit you. Each coating adds about 0.002-0.003" to the bullet. I always size afterward, you can use it to bump up say .355 to .358" easily.
It's not rocket science, you are making a plastic coating around the bullet. It only needs to cover what will contact the bore. Ugly bullets shoot as well as pretty in my gun. The cool thing is they shoot really clean, bores look good, no smoke at all.
There is so much BS you have to wade through on Youtube but you can pick up little tricks. Lots of unnecessary things too. There are big differences in powders, Randy Barnett is very knowledgeable on this. Good quality powders make pretty bullets easy. Harbor freight "Red" is only $7 for thousands of bullets worth and not a bad starter if that is easily available. However I'd truly consider ordering a little batch of the trick stuff the cool guys are using. The little toaster oven will be dedicated and cannot be used for anything else again. But they are only about $20-25.
My approach was the most basic and actually worked fine. A better grade powder makes it smoother going. Just give it a try. $50 all in, from zero, will get you going with enough to do several thousand!
Power coating bullets
99.99% of successfully coating cast bullets lies in the powder paint used. The Harbor Freight red works okay, stay away from the other colors. The different pigment in the paint determines how much static is required for complete coverage. Do yourself a favor and start with good paint. I had access to industrial quality paints from AkzoNobel when I started, but even then only a few colors provided adequate coverage without spraying.
Get a cheap plastic bowl from the dollar store, look for the number "5" inside the triangle on the bottom. Airsoft BB's can be added to increase static, but aren't needed with a good paint. Toss in a few bullets and paint, close the lid and shake/swirl for a few minutes. I dump out the coated bullets on a basket I made from 1/4" hardware cloth allowing the excess powder to sift through reclaiming it in the process. There is no waste if done correctly.
I can highly recommend the Ford Light Blue and Orange from Eastwood. They have several different colors that work well for cast bullets and many comments can be found on their website for each color. Smokes on the Cast Boolit forum sells high quality paint by the pound as well. I use a lot of his yellow-green. The main thing is to start with a good paint. The paint cost may look high at first, but a couple of pounds will coat thousands and thousands of bullets. I cast and coated over 5000 bullets a couple of weeks ago and only used a few tablespoons.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/zuuq4lbm.jpg)
A cheap toaster oven is all you need, but be sure and confirm the temperature. My oven has a 50° discrepancy across the entire range. I cure at 350° for 15-20 minutes, them water quench upon removing them from the oven.
For simple plinking loads I size after coating using a LEE sizer although the majority of my bullets get run through a sizer before coating, and again after. I just want them to be the best I can get for accurate shooting. If properly applied and cured, the coating cannot come off. I have dug fired bullets out of the berm with the paint completely intact.
This is the 225 grain bullet I shoot out of my 300 Blackout after being smashed in a vice.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/QOJJAxJm.jpg)
Accuracy with this bullet is 3/4" @ 50 yards out of a 10.5" AR, and 1/2" from a Howa bolt action.
I will never use traditional lube again.