HBN coating?
- Thread starter demarpaint1
- Start date
I figured it out. I used the same method I used years ago, only the bullets I was tumbling at the time were not as long as the 175 grain 7mm SMK bullets I'm tumbling now, and the container I'm using is a big plastic vitamin bottle in dark green, which is not easy to see into. I decided to shine a flashlight at the bottle while it was tumbling and noticed the bullets weren't tumbling, they were just piled up sliding on the sides of the bottle as the bottle turned. They were coated but there was little to no mechanical action [banging together] to get the HBN to bond. I tried the same thing in my vibrating tumbler and it was marginally better.
The solution was to tilt the rotary tumbler 45* and the bullets were tumbling banging against each other. I also switched over to a clear peanut butter jar so I can see exactly what is going on. FTR w/o the tilt to the tumbler the bullets slide on the PB bottle too. Thanks for all the replies. This might help someone at some point, maybe.......
The solution was to tilt the rotary tumbler 45* and the bullets were tumbling banging against each other. I also switched over to a clear peanut butter jar so I can see exactly what is going on. FTR w/o the tilt to the tumbler the bullets slide on the PB bottle too. Thanks for all the replies. This might help someone at some point, maybe.......
I believe u just needed to add the BBs and extend ur tumbling time. The BBs help the impact plating of the bullets.
I like the acetone/ solvent for removing any oil from the surface of the bullets. It does evaporate quickly with a bit of heat applied. Now the surface of the bullet can be throughly plated with the coating material.
I like the acetone/ solvent for removing any oil from the surface of the bullets. It does evaporate quickly with a bit of heat applied. Now the surface of the bullet can be throughly plated with the coating material.
HBN coating?
I tumble in acetone and then dry them with a heat gun. HBN with BBs, tumble for 3-4 hrs. When finished, I roll them in an old towel to remove the excess. Gloves n dust mask no matter what coating I am using. I have found that POI is the same no matter if HBN or Molly coated.
forum.accurateshooter.com
Bob3700 has the right idea about using gloves and a dust mask…{Surly you have some left over C-19 ones..?}
The makers of the Hbn kits {Tubb & Bullet Coating} all advise that if you are seeing a heavy coating of white powder on the projectiles then you are using too much powder and to reduce the amount being used for a given amount of bullets…
After tumbling {I use a vibrating one and a plastic jar taped shut though you can use a rotary tumbler if you put the jar in and pack it around with foam to hold it in place} for at least 2 hours should just have a slight haze coating and that can be cleaned off by using an old bath towel leaving them clean but slightly less bright and a bit dull in colour.
Tubb’s mix contains a mix of different particle size Hbn and the nano size stuff can go right through your pores, skin and lung tissue…
Even the 5 micron in Bullet coating is not a good idea to breath… Lungs were meant to process oxygen from the air we breathe and filtering dust of any sort is going to cause problems over time. Moly of course has sulphur in it and that along with the moisture in your lungs = Sulphuric acid.. the same can apply to bores left coated in humid situations…
If you have been using Moly coated bullets you will need to clean the bore down to bare metal before using the Hbn coated ones and you can prep the bore first by {after cleaning out all the Moly} by using a bore mop with alcohol and a coating of Hbn paste and a few strokes. The alcohol will dry out and leave a coating that will bond into the bore as you use it.
Oh yea, and clean the bullets first to de-grease them, alcohol or acetone and a quick dry with the hair dryer or a tray in the fan forced oven at about 120* for about 10 minutes.
Good info, thanks. I use 5 mil gloves and a good 3M 8210 mask. I have nano size HBN that was given to me years ago by Rosemill industries to try out. No matter how well you think you're protecting yourself you'll probably get some slight exposure somewhere along the line.
searcher
Gold $$ Contributor
I put my bullets in a colander and pour 99% Isopropyl alcohol over them. Allow to dry, then tumble about 1,000 bullets at a time in my RCBS Sidewinder tumbler with ball bearings for about 45 minutes. I don't do anything else to the bullets, like wiping or polishing. They have a slight "whitish" translucent coloration on them. It does appear, when first tumbling them, that not much product was being applied. That is only because it is mostly a clear-translucent color after application. There is more than appears. Moly is the same way - though you can see it due to the color.
I basically dumped all the bullets in acetone to clean them and then just tumbled (vibrating tumbler) them in a jug with ceramic media/ceramic balls for about 2 hours after the acetone dried of.
Like everything else it depends on who you ask.
HBN is in the category of bullet pointing.
Most of steps one might consider taking fall under the heading of tuning a rifle or improving ammunition “uniformity” and consistency, - did it help “this” rifle shoot tighter, or did it make every round in the box more similar to every other.
Some steps are geared to one particular rifle’s “tuning” so that it shoots its best. A seating depth, neck tension or charge weight change may be beneficial to your A rifle but detrimental to your B rifle groups if you use the ammo in both.
HBN is a third category of improvement that is material and measurable, but not actually rifle-specific nor useful to make shot “2” more like 1 was, or shot 3 will be.
HBN lowers peak pressure and has the measurable effect of slowing down that charges’ MV, such that you can and should bring it back even past that original level, with more powder.
If you were only making one shot, HBN’s effects would still manifest themselves, and that is a fundamental difference, but it also cools the bullet and the barrel noticeably, over multiple shots.
It “might” reduce ES and SD, like tipping (that stops before damaging the base/boat tail) usually does, but just as tipping raises BC and point of impact in ALL rifles that bullet is shot from, and isn’t done differently for any particular rifle, HBN lowers peak pressure and jacket stress in any and all rifles. Brass and barrels see increased round count.
To my thinking it is one of the more objectively demonstrable improvements we can make. For me, it can make the difference between all bullets surviving intact versus most bullets.
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I did a couple of batches of HBN and found that I reduced velocity climb. I usually see velocity slowly increase as the barrel gets more fouled which starts pushing it out of tune. With pre dosing the bore and using HBN coated bullets the velocity stabilised after a few shots and stayed really consistent.
I also haven't been happy with my coating process and have experienced similar problems so thanks for the thread guys.
For warming, using a dehydrator as per drying brass could work.
I also haven't been happy with my coating process and have experienced similar problems so thanks for the thread guys.
For warming, using a dehydrator as per drying brass could work.
For me, yes. Because I buy pre-coated DTACS. But I'd do it myself if they weren't available.
The result, along with a decoppering smokeless powder, is zero observable copper in the barrel. Which I like a lot.
searcher
Gold $$ Contributor
For me, pouring isopropyl alcohol over the bullets (2 minutes), after allowing to dry, putting into the tumbler and setting the timer for 45 minutes (one minute), removing from the tumbler and using colander to separate the ball bearings (3 minutes) - It just doesn't take but a total of 6 or 7 minutes of total working time and maybe .50 cents in material and maybe .50 cents for electricity. Not what I think of a difficult, expensive or time-consuming procedure. I've read posts where some guys spend what must be an hour to wet moly a handful of bullets, which I get a kick out of. Things don't need to be that complicated - but I'm guessing it is more a labor of love for them. My procedure for moly is the same, just use a different tumbler jug with separate ball bearings for that use.
Agree. It does not require lots of run time at all.
Yes. Coating with HBN does have affects on barrel cleaning. Not to cut down on frequency of cleaning but the actual time taken to clean vs. uncoated. Also it can be noted that barrel heat is kept down longer within a session especially if one does not rush the shots but temp changes are slower even at the faster pace. As far as accuracy is considered I cannot say I've seen any differences with any barrel I've used it in.
searcher
Gold $$ Contributor
I coat all bullets intended for shooting at distant dates (more than a few months) with either moly or HBN, which prevents the bullets from cold-welding to the necks, which throws the vertical off a bit when shooting "older" ammo. I've had to pull bullets from older ammo before due to cold-welding, but not so when either Moly or HBN was used on the bullets. Some say Moly is hygroscopic, which might lead one to believe it may cause corrosion. I have seen no sign of this at all over the past 15 or 20 years and tens of thousands of coated bullets having bene loaded and shot over various time periods of storage - up to maybe 8 years or so. I have noticed long barrel life as well, assumed to be attributable to the lessened friction. Far easier barrel cleaning in respect to copper buildup.
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