Benefits for specific applications; PC v. Electro Plating

[Ironduke]

Gents,

I am interested in the PC and/or electroplating processes for some specific applications. But of course I have some questions.

Here are some things I think I would like to do. I think I'd like to plate or coat some cast boolits for use in 500 S&W, 454 cas, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 45-70 Govt (lever action) and maybe 30 cal, (300 blk).

I have watched some youtube vids about the processes and thumbed through this forum. I think the ideas are fun, and I could see getting into one or the other o both just for the fun of it since the cost is pretty low. Here are my basic questions:

1. Either process eliminates the need for typical wax based cast boolit lube, right?
a. If not, what are the benefits?
b. I'm thinking about my 300 BLK here specifically. I don't like the Lee Liquid ear wax coated boolits in the AR mag. I don't want waxy build-up in my action or crud sticking to my boolits before going into an autoloader. Plating or PC would be really cool for this application.

2. The electro plating seems to lay on a jacket only around .001 thick. Recovered boolits on youtube vids show the plating is gone from where the lands engraved the boolit. This indicates that the copper is being deposited in the barrel, and since PB is exposed, there must also be PB in the barrel. If leading still occurs, why bother plating?
a. Wouldn't thicker plating be better? If you could get 4-5 thou. of plating, your boolit would be tougher and prevent leading. Of course you'd need to size the boolit back down since it would be .008-.010 too large diameter with a jacket that thick.
b. Speer gold dot and fusion bullets are plated this way. Jackets can be really thick; some .500 cal Deep Curl bullets feature jackets .035 thick making for a very tough bullet.
c. does the thin plating protect the boolit base from flame cutting? Would thicker plating reduce/eliminate the need for gas checks?

3. The PC option looks fun. I think some wide HP 300-350 gr for 45-70 would sure look sweet if coated black or gray with the shiny lead HP. Similarly, a 300 gr WNFPGC would be cool loaded in 454 cas or 45 Colt when coated black.
a. Since nothing is free, what are the down sides to PC boolits? Certainly some of the PC stays in your barrel. How do you get it out?
b. How do you make sure you get a nice consistent thickness in your coating? I know when I spray paint things, I can feather some parts and have running drips in other areas. How do you prevent that?
c. Are there any terminal performance benefits of PC boolits?
d. does PC help protect the boolit base from flame cutting?

Thanks for any help on these questions.

[Maximumbob54]

I've never messed with the plating process and don't want to mess with it. If the recovered bullets do indeed have lead exposed then the plating did indeed fail. The only thing I've found I don't like about PC is try as I might it's just not an exact process. If I dry tumble that seems to be the easiest to be able to still add more powder. If I wet tumble then it's not quite as easy to still add more but it can be done. When I ES coat them it's sometimes tough to get a perfect even coating without getting it on too thick and I still tend to waste much of the powder. That may just be my own poor spraying skills though as I'm still new to it. But I admit the spray gun does give the best looking coverage that does work as long as you apply it thick enough and bake it correct. There is a PC accuracy thread here that will tell you more.

[bangerjim]

Read the threads on here about electrostatic PC'ing. That will answer a lot of your questions.

Home plating only gives you a paper thin coat that will scrape off traveling down the barrel. You will NOT be able to get those thicker coating with a home-brew set-up, unless you invest tons of $$ in the equipment and process. Jacketed commercial slugs are swaged...at lease all the ones I use are. Jacket is very thick. I would not waste any time messing around with plating..........too slow and cumbersome for the poor performing yield. It is an old home-brew approach tried looooooong before the revolution of powder coatings.

PC does NOT stay in your barrel!!!!!! I do not know where you got that idea from. Certainly not here. If you read the threads on here, you will find many comments on how the bore is cleaner that when they started. I have no problems with any PC in any of the many cal's I coat and shoot (223/9/30/38-357/40/45).

If you are casting and shooting a sonic+ boolit that has a GC shank............USE Cu GC's! Anything that is sub-sonic will not need a check. I GC all my 223's and 30's for hot rifle loads. I cast a 300g 45LC that I do NOT check. It only travels at around 550 fps.

So far, I have not found ANY downsides of PC'ing boolits. Again, please, do your homework................ and read ALL the stickies on this! Your question will be answered in spades.

PC'ing eliminates the need to mess around with greasy lubes, their associated smoke when shooting, an expensive Lubra-matic, and the mixing and messing with sticks of lube!

PC is the really only logical way to go.

bangerjim

[Ironduke]

Thanks guys. I think I will give the PC a shot. I think the HFPC method will be the easiest for me. I figure If I can get anywhere near a uniform coating accuracy can't be hurt much, certainly not in pistol calibers at pistol ranges.

[dverna]

ID

Between the two options, PC for sure.

Don Verna

[prickett]

Thanks guys. I think I will give the PC a shot. I think the HFPC method will be the easiest for me. I figure If I can get anywhere near a uniform coating accuracy can't be hurt much, certainly not in pistol calibers at pistol ranges.

Don't worry about a lack of accuracy. My tests found no difference in accuracy between dry tumbled powder and conventional wax lubed boolits.

[a.squibload]

PC dry tumble is easy, if you start liking PC (you will!) you can get a spray gun but in my limited experience it's not needed.
Read about boolit bases, I do not believe the myth of base damage from hot gases. Flame-cutting applies to undersize boolits not sealing the grooves in a barrel. Anyway my few batches of dry tumble PC have been completely coated including bases, using nonstick foil in the toaster.
Mine add .001 thickness (.002 diameter), easier than polishing a mold for a larger diameter! Or size after coating, the PC seems to make 'em slide through there easier too.
I'm thinking of getting a checkmaker for pistol boolits but that's probably not necessary with PC any more, just would like to have one. I still like naked lead boolits too...