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![](https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1ad04d03-3ffa-4557-b859-c7476eb5e9ec.jpeg)
This picture shows how Paxcon sort of swells around the bullet to encase it.
If you follow this blog, you may be aware that I’m fascinated by smart coatings and coatings that perform tasks you would never expect. So I came across this one that reduces and even eliminates fragmentation from bomb blasts and bullets. It’s this fragmentation, called “spall,” that is responsible for most casualties (injuries and deaths).
This coating, Paxcon, is made by LINE-X, and began as a coating for the beds of pickup trucks to prevent dings and scratches. It’s a polyurea coating that is sprayed onto a surface fairly thickly and is stronger than steel but also flexible so it holds the substrate together to reduce spall. It’s receiving increasing use by the military, including on the Pentagon.
Here’s a link to a demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PgeXEl4NYA&app=desktop
This video shows how Paxcon can be used on body armor to reduce bullet fragmentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdlXfF6obY0&app=desktop
Though Paxcon is not likely to be used on our wood projects, it’s nice to know that this level of development is being done.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.