Efficient Method for Bullet Coating with Moly, WS2, HBN
Reader Mike Etzel has come up with a simple, cost-effective way to apply moly or danzac coatings to your bullets. And you won’t need any expensive gear other than your regular vibratory tumbler and some small plastic containers.
Mike explains: “For a number of years I have been using a very convenient way of coating my projectiles with DANZAC in a tumbler. Instead of using a separate tumbler filled with DANZAC and stainless steel balls for coating applications, use small resealable plastic cake or pudding cups filled with stainless balls and DANZAC. Each cup will accommodate between 20 to 70 projectiles depending on caliber once the polishing balls and DANZAC are added. When I need to polish some cases, I insert the sealable plastic container(s) into the polishing material in the tumbler, add cases to the media, and in the process clean cases and coat the projectiles simultaneously in one tumbler. This does two operations in one session, saving on time and resources.”
While Mike uses DANZAC (Tungsten DiSulfide or WS2), you can use the same impact-tumbling-in-a-cup method to moly-coat your bullets, or to apply HBN (Hexagonal Boron Nitride).
TIPS for COATING your BULLETS, by “GS Arizona”
1. Start with Clean Bullets. This is simple enough, but some people overlook it and others overdo it. Get the bullets out of the box, wash them with warm water and dish soap and dry them. No need for harsh chemicals, after all, we’re only removing some surface dirt from shipping and maybe some left over lanolin from the forming process. Don’t handle them with bare hands once they’re clean, your skin oils will contaminate them.
2. Get Everything Hot — Real Hot. This is probably the single most important element in producing good-looking moly-coated bullets. I put the tumbler, the drum and the bullets out in the sun for at least 30 minutes before starting and then do all the tumbling in direct sunlight. On a summer day in Arizona, everything gets to the point that its uncomfortably hot to handle. If you are tumbling in the winter, you should heat the bullets in some form, a hair dryer can be useful, but they will cool off in the drum if you’re tumbling in cold temperatures. Your best bet is to plan ahead and do your coating in the summer. I coated about 3000 bullets in a couple of days recently to see me through our winter season (we’re a bit reversed from the rest of the country in terms of shooting season).
Similar Posts:
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- How to Coat Bullets Using a Vibratory Tumbler
- Boron Nitride Application Procedures for Bullet-Coating
- Applying Boron Nitride (HBN) to Bullets
- Sinclair Product Report: Thumler’s Tumbler with Stainless Media
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Tags: Danzac, HBN, Moly-coating, Molybdenum, Tumbler, Tungsten Disulfide
I’ve been doing a lot of research into the Moly vs. Tungsten coating controversy that’s going around. I’m by no means an expert on the subject yet but hopefully that will change. I’ve noticed that although the moly coating is very good at reducing friction, over time the moly coating can leave deosits that build up and forces the shooter to go to extra lengths to remove the buildup. The Tungsten DiSulfide treatment has higher lubrication abilities, is not toxic according to the MSDS sheets I’ve looked at and it does not leave deposits that the moly coating can. Now I’m no rocket scientist but it sure seems to me that my first test of this will be with the Tungsten Disulfide. If anybody out there can point me to some more resources on this please let me know.
hi
dear sir can we clean our live ammo in tumbler . if not then pls
explain why ?
i hope to hear from you soon
take care
ali awan
EDITOR: Ali, some folks do this. However, we do not recommend tumbling live ammo, particularly using a vibratory tumbler. The reason is that tumbling can cause a breakdown of the powder kernals inside the case and/or alter the burn-rate retarding coatings on the outside of the kernels. This can result in the powder changing its burning properties, with dangerous consequences.
The individual grains of powder are coated. This coating (and kernel size) controls burning rate. Tumbling may change that. Read a can of powder, it says do not shake (for that reason).
Note: RCBS specifically warns against tumbling live ammo.
Here is a discussion from http://www.frfrogspad.com/miscellc.htm#tumbling :
Q. Is tumbling loaded ammunition dangerous?
A. Short term tumbling will have no real affect on loaded ammunition, but extensive tumbling can cause the breakdown of the powder grains. This would have two major effects. First, smaller grains will ignite more quickly than larger grains, and second the deterrent coating on the outside of the grains may be rubbed off and will be absent from any fractured edges which will cause the powder to burn more quickly raising pressures.
Tests run some years ago by a commercial entity did indicate that potentially dangerous changes in powder charge burning characteristics do take place after PROLONGED periods in either a vibratory or a tumbling cleaner.
The key word here is prolonged. Many manufacturers of ammunition do a final cleaning of their product either by tumbling or a vibratory process before boxing it for shipment. In no case is this allowed to exceed more than just a couple of minutes. The intent is not so much to “polish” but to remove any traces of contaminants which might in time leave marks on the finished product. There seems to be a consensus among the ammunition manufacturing engineers that a minute or two of vibratory cleaning has no discernable effect on burning rates, especially for loads that are compressed, or nearly so. However, all have emphasized the need for EXTREME CAUTION not to overdo the process.
They also pointed out that there is a considerable difference in effect on the powder charge depending on whether the process is by “tumbling” or “vibrating.” It would appear that tumbling has less effect on the powder than vibrating, though this is mostly a matter of degree. The admonition to use EXTREME CAUTION to insure that the process never exceeds a couple of minutes applies equally to either process.
I concur with both gentlemen’s statements!
A word of caution on selection & use of a resealable container – make sure it’s virtually unbreakable and that you’re confident the lid won’t come off during tumbling. (Go ahead…ask me how I learned this!)
I use well-cleaned peanut butter jars with screw-on lids secured by gaffer tape.
Noting myself that heat helps bullet coating, when I was coating a LOT of bullets a few years ago during the winter, I built a device out of a steel garbage can & hair dryer that would allow my tumbler to reach quite warm temps for the duration of the process. Adding an electric baseboard thermostat allowed fairly precise high end temp limit; I think a conventional gas furnace fan thermostat (NOT what goes on your house walls!) would also work if rated for 110 VAC.
This also served me well for the few times I went to the range in the winter, as long as power were available. I could keep my ammo at summer temps for reliable testing in the dead (here that can be anywhere from 32 to -20 F) of winter.
The bullets are copper jacketed, copper transfers heat rapidly.
Heating the bullets to achive better coating has not proven to work (unless for cleaning to expand the jacket metal to better remove lubricating residu from forming an drawing), for better or vorse. That is unless your, media, tumbling container and the room temperature be close to 100-150 degrees or more.
hBN is chemically inert material, roughly similar to fine ground ceramics, which is deposited via impacts of the stainless balls on the bullet surface. I might be wrong, but I did not see any difference in quality of application if the bullet is hot or not…
My best friend puts his bullets in a large pill bottle then adds the moly and throws the bottle in the dryer with his cloths. Plenty of heat there. they look great when they come out 55 min later. Lee
I do the same as Mike, but I use old med. bottles, I am talking about the bottles you by at the store. the ones that hold the bulk Ibuprofen bottles, they have a screw on lid. I put about 50 bb’s (Stole from my daughters BB gun). I can put more then 100 22 cal 40 gr bullets in one. but, I can put about 4 bottles in my tumbler. each bottle I have marked for a diffeent cal. that way I dont spent time sorting out the bullets.
Just a thought!
When using hBN, for optimal and satisfying results, the bullets require impact plating via a tumbler.
I use a magnet to remove the steal BB’s from the mollyed bullets, to keep my fingers cleaner.