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Thread: Is there any down side to powder coating

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Is there any down side to powder coating

    I am going to get into powder coating just because I can . I was wondering is there any down side to powder coating. It is cheap to do so I would not be out much if it doesn't work for me. Please give me some honest opinions. I have great luck with lubing bullets with my Star but just want to try something different.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


    Walter Laich's Avatar
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    Was in your boat: lubing was working well and all the birds were singing
    then read about PC
    decided to try it and have never looked back.
    It probably does take a bit longer but I'm retired so I have the time
    less smoke and zero leading in my cowboy guns--that's a big plus
    no lube to melt off during summer temps in Houston

    as funny as this sounds I run out of bullets to PC so I'm always casting to feed my PC habit
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master



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    Been doing it now 3 years, haven't found a downside yet (for me) and though I hang on to my alox, don't see going back.
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same......." - Ronald Reagan

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  4. #4
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    Went to pc over 3yrs ago...it works great for me and I have no intention of ever going back to convention lube.YMMV

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    powder coating has worked well for me in auto calibers ,then onto powder coating rifle bullets, then for 45 colt and it worked well for all . but its probably just me but I seemed to loose accuracy in 357 mag when I started to powder coat and went back to tumble lubing . I recently casted up a batch of 38 cal bullets that were just hell bent on dropping slightly under sized so I powder coated them to bring up to the diameter I wanted .so I'm gonna give it another go adjust powder charge or whatever I need to do to get the accuracy back

  6. #6
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    the down side is speed.
    you coat and cook.
    then run them through the same sizer you'd run them through anyway.

    there are some benefits and in some situations it is an answer to a problem that only a jacketed bullet would handle.

    if you have a newer lyman mold then powder coating is probably right for you.
    if you have good success with your lube sizer stuff, then adding another 1/2-1 full hour per 3-400 boolits probably ain't worth it.

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master
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    If you have a Star, and you shoot a large quantity of a couple of bullets, you will lose about 50% of your production rate...probably more. Definitely not worth it to me...but I am lazy. If you shoot a lot of different bullets, the impact on production rate is not going to be as significant, but you still need to coat and size in two operations. It is a trade off on how much time it takes you to set up the Star for different bullets. 85% of my cast bullet shooting is 9mm and .38 so using the Star is my best option. I have BBL as well as two Lyman sizers for small runs.

    You may need to size a bit more to compensate for the added thickness of the powder coat.

    The other downside is baking. Not a good idea to do indoors due to the off-gassing as the coating cures. Some people are getting decent results just dumping bullets after tumble/shaking in PC powder but most still stand them up to cook. That does not look like a fun job, and you will need some kind of jig if running longer rifle bullets as they tend to fall over when moving the tray.
    Don Verna


  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy coloraydo's Avatar
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    A couple of possibilities to think about;


    1. Powder coating negates any heat treating you may have done to the boolits.


    2. If you have a nose rider that is already a perfect or snug fit, powder coating will add several thousandths to the nose also, unless you take precautions to not p/c the nose, or you may have to resize the nose or seat deeper to compensate.


    3. P/c’ing can/will change the pressure of the already worked up load, meaning you may have to work up your load again.

    These are just some nuggets to think about. Trust me, I am by no means an expert with this p/c'ing business. There will be someone along shortly with much more experience than me that will shed more light on the subject.

    It is a fun and rewarding project to pursue, don't let anything discourage you from attempting it.

    Good luck and enjoy.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master Handloader109's Avatar
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    9mm can be a pain, yes, nose wants to hit. Other than that, hardness in lead comes back with time. No leading is great

    Sent from my XT1097 using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


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    To be totally honest, I'm leaning more back towards conventional lubes. I don't shoot indoors, don't mind the smell and smoke of lubes, and I can do all the stuff associated with lube indoors, at night, in quiet. I have to have dry, sunny weather, and time to be outside during the day, to do PC.

    Reloading is my answer to other peoples' 'nightcap before bed'. In light of that, and because I'm not blowing through thousands of rounds per week, I like regular lubes.
    YMMV.

  11. #11
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    More work but for a gas port or piston gun such as SKS or Mini-14 the advantage lies in non-fouling lubrication and more flexibility to find an accurate load with correct pressure for auto loading. I think it can allow one to use a lesser alloy in some applications. Might not need to have alloy as hard since the PC provides coating that will help prevent leading. As mentioned one can use it to "bump up" the diameter of the bullet to better fit a worn bore. No lube smoke is I guess a plus, more so for competitive shooters who shoot timed competition. Or indoors.

    The downside is the time cost. It takes time above and beyond normal processing. When compared to say tumble lubing and a quick trip through a Lee size die that time factor gets more significant. It becomes another variable also for those who try to maintain a highly consistent bullet. The cost of getting started is fairly low, however one can also dump a fair chunk of money into better equipment or more exotic colors. And if you find the slower production a problem you will be more likely to sink more money into equipment to speed that process up.

    I say get a couple of plastic containers buy a sample pack and some black BB's from smoke in the vendors section, pick up a used toaster oven for $5 - $10 at the thrift shop or garage sale and give it a try. If nothing else it can be fun to have a few colorful bullets, I use the different colors when laddering up a load. The white are x grains, the yellow are x grains, the light blue are x grains.... Maybe try it in a bolt rifle you have wanted to push to a higher velocity, or a magnum pistol with a stouter load.

    My best .357 mag mild load is PC'd Lee SWC 158 grain. I use softer lead with the PC and think I get more bullet expanding to fit the bore tightly without softer lead leaving a residue in the bore. Might be good for a hunting bullet where softer lead = greater expansion.

    Good tool for some things, not the be-all, end-all, tool for everything. Getting started costs less than a die set which to me makes it worth adding to the old tool chest.
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  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    Yes, the down side is I keep running out of boolits to powder coat so I have to cast some more, I can't say how much more I enjoy powder coating over grease lube.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master 308Jeff's Avatar
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    Haven't done it yet, but the downside for me is picking a color. There's too many!

  14. #14
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by runfiverun View Post
    the down side is speed.
    you coat and cook.
    then run them through the same sizer you'd run them through anyway.

    there are some benefits and in some situations it is an answer to a problem that only a jacketed bullet would handle.

    if you have a newer lyman mold then powder coating is probably right for you.
    if you have good success with your lube sizer stuff, then adding another 1/2-1 full hour per 3-400 boolits probably ain't worth it.


    I don't agree. ...unless you have a STAR obviously. I have powder coated 3500 bullets on a Saturday afternoon. Now, maybe I could do that with my LAMII maybe not but no way in heck will I sit there and put each one of those things through the sizer to find out. Not in one sitting. You could be right for short runs of 50 or 100 bullets but the speed picks up quick with a good process. I can get about 300 .45's on my tray, a whole lot more 9mm's. In the 12 minutes I bake them, I can tumble and set up another tray. The oven is constantly working. The trick is getting an efficient process going and that comes with doing it time and time again.
    When dealing with islam one should always ask themselves: "What would Leonidas do?"

  15. #15
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by coloraydo View Post

    1. Powder coating negates any heat treating you may have done to the boolits.


    For bullets that actually need it, you can pull a tray out of the oven and dump them straight into cold water. I do it for rifle loads that run past 2000 fps. Cooking at 400, you get any and all benefits that heat treating has to offer along with the powder coat which helps even more.
    When dealing with islam one should always ask themselves: "What would Leonidas do?"

  16. #16
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 308Jeff View Post
    Haven't done it yet, but the downside for me is picking a color. There's too many!
    I started using one tub. I randomly add colors and have embraced the chaos of random colors. Trying to keep everything separate was driving me nuts. With a dozen different colors, that's a lot of tubs taking up a lot of space. Now, I only want good coverage and the resulting madness of color swirls and speckles keeps me entertained while I work. It's always interesting to see what comes out of the oven. You THINK you know what color they are when they go in....nay nay! Often they come out really different than they go in.


    Just a few examples.

    When dealing with islam one should always ask themselves: "What would Leonidas do?"

  17. #17
    Boolit Master 308Jeff's Avatar
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    Got me to laughing with that nay nay part. LOL.

    I like the end result, for sure! I might copy your technique.

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy coloraydo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoAngel View Post
    For bullets that actually need it, you can pull a tray out of the oven and dump them straight into cold water. I do it for rifle loads that run past 2000 fps. Cooking at 400, you get any and all benefits that heat treating has to offer along with the powder coat which helps even more.
    NoAngel, for the most part I do agree with this sentiment. I guess what I should have said is it can have an affect on previous heat treating. True heat treating involves bringing the boolit up just below the slump temp. and allowing the boolit to soak for an extended period of time to allow the entire boolit to stabilize, thus probably acquiring a higher quench temp. somewhat above 400 F used in P/C'ing. and ultimately winding up with a higher BHN.
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  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    Been doing PC for almost a year now and have discovered no 'downside' at all for handgun (and most rifle) boolits. Only real issue I've found is with bore riders for the CF rifle which, for proper fit, require two separate sizing operations; one for the nose and one for the driving bands. Like Walter, I'm retired and don't mind taking the time to get it right so the extra time is not a big deal (for me).

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  20. #20
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    The problem with bore riders is absolutely real. I inadvertently solved this before ever starting to PC. I don't shoot bore riders. Veral convinced me years ago to fit the bullet to the throat without a bore rider. For the most part, it's been a total success and I don't see a reason to change.

    The problem with bore riders and PC has already been solved though. While it does require time and money, nose sizing is easy enough to do.
    When dealing with islam one should always ask themselves: "What would Leonidas do?"

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check