MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

[Eric B.]

What is the best "home" moly coating kit? I want to moly coat Berger 230gr., 30 cal. bullets.

That may give me a bit longer barrel life (and possibly a bit more velocity). That way I can re-chamber when the throat burns out.

 

[Clark]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

I got a Lyman moly kit with ceramic media and then I was coating.

I have since switched to BBs.
I magnetically separate.

It costs almost nothing to moly coat bullets, the initial set up is the cost.

A big problem is Lead contamination from exposed Lead tip bullets.
Once contaminated, I throw away the media and the bowel.

Another problem is the soft bowl getting ripped up by the edges of the ceramic media. Then the molly gets lost in the cracks.

Now I only do full metal jacket, plastic tipped, or hollow point bullets.

No soft point bullets in the bowel.

Another way to do it is to put the Alcohol washed and dried bullets in a glass or plastic medicine bottle with a grain of molly. No media, just let the bullets to the impacting on each other. Duck tape the lid on good. Then throw the jar in the Walnut media of a vibrator cleaner. This is a small batch, but it is what I do when I need moly coated bullets but I am waiting for a back ordered bowel.

 

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

I coat bullets but I use tungsten (WS2) or boron (hBN). Both are slicker than moly and apply the same except they don't require waxing. And unlike moly, neither WS2 nor hBN has ever been tied to barrel buildup or contributing to rusting. In my estimation, hBN coated bullets tend to be the least susceptible of the three to marring or damage from handling and/or feeding, which means they're the most pristine when they get to the chamber.

I don't see any point to buying any kit, but that's partly because I coat in a tumbler, not a vibrator. With a tumbler, there's enough clashing between the bullets themselves to do the coating without any BBs. If you need BBs, just buy 'em at Wally-World and separate them from your bullets with a colander or coarse sieve. Lower Friction was the first retail source for WS2 and they now carry hBN as well. I bought the batch of hBN I'm using now from Industrial Supply.

 

[bronzepig]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

I use the NECO method of impact plating with steel balls/BB's I have two vibrators set up one to impact plate and one to wax. I have heard the tungston and boron are better but at present havent changed. I put both of these vibrators in an old travel chest and close it when running; the noise cane be deafening.

 

[1911wrench]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

Every bullet loaded for my .38 super, NRA Action pistol is moly coated using Lyman kit.

I can't say moly coating adds accuracy but it sure keeps barrel clean and those 3" groups at 50 yards are pretty damn impressive too using Aimpoint CompC3 for optics.

 

[Temp9]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

In my opinion, bypass the Moly and go to WS2 or hBN. I've just started coating with WS2, and it's ridiculously easy. I use the method from 6mmbr.com, and the bullets come out perfect every time. Also, you won't have to worry about moly build up.

 

[former naval person]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

As most replies say...forget moly. The HxBN is better...even if it only does the same reduction of friction...it is NOT nearly as nasty. Do this: Peanut butter jars. Fill half way up with bullets. One half teaspoon HxBN (Less as the jar gets coated) and screw the lid on. Put two or three jars (or how ever many bullets or jars will fit) into your vibratory tumbler. No media. Turn it on. Go away. In two or three hours come back and turn it off. Open jars and dump one on a towel. Make the towel look like a sock...grasp up the ends and make a tunnel. Lift up one end then the other...let the bullets slide up and down. Do it about 20 times. Dump the bullets into a box. Repeat until all have been "flossed". Load and enjoy. Too damn simple. (bye the way...if you must use moly, the same procedure applies. Except for the nastiness.)JMHO

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Clark</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got a Lyman moly kit with ceramic media and then I was coating.

I have since switched to BBs.
I magnetically separate.

It costs almost nothing to moly coat bullets, the initial set up is the cost.

A big problem is Lead contamination from exposed Lead tip bullets.
Once contaminated, I throw away the media and the bowel.

Another problem is the soft bowl getting ripped up by the edges of the ceramic media. Then the molly gets lost in the cracks.

Now I only do full metal jacket, plastic tipped, or hollow point bullets.

No soft point bullets in the bowel.

Another way to do it is to put the Alcohol washed and dried bullets in a glass or plastic medicine bottle with a grain of molly. No media, just let the bullets to the impacting on each other. Duck tape the lid on good. Then throw the jar in the Walnut media of a vibrator cleaner. This is a small batch, but it is what I do when I need moly coated bullets but I am waiting for a back ordered bowel. </div></div>

About 5 years back, I bought 1000 300gr .338 SMKs and the Lyman Moly tumbler kit and mollied them up and sold 50 ct. lots, along with 50 pieces of Lapua 338LM brass on Ebay.

I haven't used it a lot lately, but it does a great job with the ceramic pieces.

My stuff compares[ed] well in finish, to the mollied Scenars I have on hand, which are 'better' than the SMKs, Bergers and Amax I also have here.

I feel no need to go to BBs, but whatever floats your boat, as they say!

Chris

 

[lachoneus]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fred_C_Dobbs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I don't see any point to buying any kit, but that's partly because I coat in a tumbler, not a vibrator. With a tumbler, there's enough clashing between the bullets themselves to do the coating without any BBs. </div></div>

Fred,

I recently exchanged my vibrator for a rotary tumbler, and would like some tips about how you coat bullets in the tumbler. Do you put the bullets in jar of some sort with hBN, and then just run them in the tumbler without media?

 

[knockemdown]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

too lazy to type this all over again, SO CLICK HERE for "how to" LINKY

No jars, no BBs & my boolits come out beautiful, every time. I've moly'ed everything from 30gr Kindler Golds to 180VLDs this same way without issue...

I use two separate bowls, one specifically for SPs, the other for everything else. That way, lead contamination is kept to an absolute minimum & confined to that designated tumbler...

Good luck, it's really that easy!

 

[MtnCreek]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

I just dump them in a bowl that's only used to moly. No media, just bullets and a tiny bit of moly. It makes a hell of a racket; ear plugs needed if you stay in the room with it. Follow the direction that come w/ the moly. If left in too long, they'll start to cake. After there're done, I dump them on some laid out shop towels (the blue ones), lay some more towels on top and roll them around to remove excess.

Make sure you prep them well. I use dish soap and hot water and finish them off with a hair dryer. Any old lube or oils left from manufactur or soap from cleaning will screw up the finish.

 

[Clark]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChrisGarrett</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
..I feel no need to go to BBs..
Chris </div></div>
Small bullets like .223 are hard to separate from my Lyman ceramic media with a the screen.
Magnetic separation solved that problem for me.

 

[wilecoyote]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

bullets degreased w.acetone_wet them with boric water solution at 5%_ put them wet in the tumbler containg moly+steel birdshot_run from 2 to 4 hrs._wipe them lightly w.a soft rag_put them in a flat and low plastic container:the floor of the container will be previously covered w.kitchen roll paper towel sprayed w.the same solution above_let the bullets roll,moving by hand the container in a circular motion_the last moly in excess will be transferred to the wet paper,and the wet paper will coat and utterly polish the rolling bullets_after some minutes of this gymnastic,the bullets must and will be shiny_
put the on a clean paper towel and let them dry_(my way)

 

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lachoneus</div><div class="ubbcode-body">...Do you put the bullets in jar of some sort with hBN, and then just run them in the tumbler without media? </div></div>
A jar is almost a must, otherwise the coating powder will get ground into the inside of the drum, which will contaminate your cleaning liquid if you use the same drum to tumble brass. A 40-oz peanut butter jar fits so perfectly inside the drum of a Thumler Model B you can't believe they weren't made for each other. And it will hold two jars, side-by-side. So you can coat two different types of bullet without them getting mixed up, or you can use a different coating on one from the other.

I degrease the bullets with denatured alcohol (from Home Depot), dry, and tumble. When they come out, I rough buff with a paper towel, then fine polish with a cotton diaper.

This might sound metrosexual but another advantage of hBN over moly or WS2 is that both moly and WS2 use a black powder that stains everything it gets close too. Not sure whether hBN stains too but it's a white powder, so if it stains, you just don't see it.

BTW, you might have heard of a coating material called DanZac. The first guy to market WS2 (tungsten disulfide) retail sold it under a trade name he came up with by combining the first names of his two sons, Daniel and Zachary. So you still hear people referring to WS2 as DanZac.

 

[lachoneus]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

Fred,

Thanks for the instructions.

About how long do you need to tumble the bullets?

 

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

Two hours worked from me from the start -- with WS2 and hBN -- and I never bothered trying anything else (but I have an HD Thumler, which spins ~50% faster than the standard model). I have no idea how short a run you could get away with. One of the online guides says you should do your coating on warm days with the tumbler sitting in the sun, but that's hooey. Running them two hours, I've coated bullets in a windowless storage shed when it was below freezing and they were just as perfect as when I fell for the warm sunny day nonsense.

 

[lachoneus]

Re: MOLY COATING BULLETS @ home??

Thanks again. I'll try it out in my tumbler.