New to HBN ... how do these look?

[Riddler]

Hey guys,
I'm just getting around to trying some HBN. I used Tubbs kit. 162 eldm in the provided bottle, vibratory tumbler for approximately 2 hours. I really dont know what kind of finish to expect? How do these look? Advise?
Thanks
Riddler

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

From what I've heard David say about HBN, a successfully coated bullet should look either lightly frosted or more commonly completely bare, just ultra slippery. Will any of that rub off?

 

[427Cobra]

I used to use HBN but stopped because I hardly have to shoot let alone coat bullets, put on a paint respirator, put those rounds that look like that in a old wool sock and shake/polish that excess off, I also recommend burnishing HBN in to the barrel

 

[Riddler]

Round two. Switch from using a jar and bullets to 6000 BB's loose in the tumbler with the bullets. This is 1 hour of tumbling fresh out of the tumbler then a light wipe off. Thoughts?

 

[Bandit320]

I’ve had results like your first photo when I’ve tumbled them for longer periods like you did. They almost feel over coated and not that smooth. When I tumble them for shorter times they look like your second photo and feel very slick to the touch.

Mike

 

[Riddler]

I’ve had results like your first photo when I’ve tumbled them for longer periods like you did. They almost feel over coated and not that smooth. When I tumble them for shorter times they look like your second photo and feel very slick to the touch.

Mike

Would you say that on getting the desired finish now? In my humble opinion they dont feel particularly slick to the touch?

 

[Bandit320]

Maybe slick isn’t the right term, it’s kind of hard to describe. When I hold an uncoated bullet and a HBN coated bullet in my hand and rub my finger along them my finger occasionally “grabs” the uncoated bullet but not the coated one. I was coating 225 ELDMs, but I’m now starting to play with A-Tips and haven’t gotten to that point yet.

I‘ve attached a photo of an uncoated 105 RDF (left) and 115 DTAC that I purchased coated from David Tubbs company. You can see the surface texture difference between the two and what the Tubb coated bullet looks like.

I’d say you second photo looks better but I’d probably tumble it some more to try to remove the white build up areas. You could also try shooting a few and see how they work. Hope that helps.

Mike

 

[Bandit320]

I should’ve said clean BBs to try to remove the extra coating.

Mike

 

[Riddler]

This is two hours. Fresh out of tumbler vs light towel off. I think I should remove some more judging by the looks of the dtac

 

[Bandit320]

I would try to get a bit mote off. I seem to over coat when I put them in the tumbler and forget about them for a couple of hours. I would try tumbling for short periods and then go longer until you get the level you want.

Mike

 

[NamibHunter]

I use the Tubb kit, and it works well if i avoid some common mistakes: Had some problems getting them all to look the same after coating. Duration and nr of bullets per batch (total bullet weight) seems to make a big difference.

Also, when mixing different batches of coated bullets (that look very different) in one box of loaded ammo, the SD doubled. Speed was 20-25 fps different between the lightly coated and the correctly coated bullets.

So I have taken to filling the plastic bottle to the same level every time (draw a line on the outside with a sharp punch, or weigh them), and using a timer to control the tumbling time, and i set an alarm on my cell phone to take out the bullets and clean them off within 5 minutes of stopping the tumbling step. The bullets discolor if left in the bottle for many hours. Corrosion appears if left for days. It seems there is an ammonia based anti-copper fouling additive included in the Tubb HBN powder, which can cause corrosion, turning the bullets blue/black.

There appears to be a few “best practice” tricks to getting consistent coating results. Not difficult, you just need to be meticulous.