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Thread: powder sticking in the scale pan

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    powder sticking in the scale pan

    as the title says....after i weigh a charge,((((((((((((all pistol powder))))))))) i dump it into the case...
    except it doesn't want to come out of the pan!

    i cleaned the pan with acetone, dryer sheets, rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol....still sticking!

    i might try vinegar, vodka and anything else that cleans....what do you use ?

    i have an extra pan so i think i'm gonna powder coat it!

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    Hick's Avatar
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    I wipe my pan with a clean dry cloth-- nothing sticks to it so far (28,000 rounds or so loaded so far with that scale)
    Hick: Iron sights!

  3. #3
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    bruce drake's Avatar
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    dish soap and water and then wiped out.
    I Cast my Boolits, Therefore I am Happy.
    Bona Fide member of the Jeff Brown Hunt Club

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I would try the dawn dish soap with a tooth brush and really scrub it working up a good heavy lather several times to remove any contaminants, then dry good and wipe down with a dryer sheet. If this dosnt work then a light polishing with a cupped brush and red rouge in a Dremill tool at a med rpm. This will polish the surface removing / smoothing any roughness. The brush is for metal pans only. A plastic pan can be smoothed with a tooth brush and rouge by hand. I would be leary of powder coating as it may add enough weight to make the scales hard to zero. What scales are you having problems with?

  5. #5
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    it seems like your problem may be moisture related. When I had that problem, I rubbed powdered graphite on the pan then tap off the excess...no more problems
    Domari Nolo

  6. #6
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    Is the pan metal or plastic?
    I agree with Dryball,
    Once the pan is clean and dry, dust it with graphite and brushing it in to fill all the pits and grooves, tap on edge to remove excess.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    It could be static electricity, either in a plastic pan or in your body and transmitted through a metal one. I don't really understand electricity, never having seen any. But touching something with a route to earth, and earthing the scale, might do the trick.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master Pavogrande's Avatar
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    I am inclined to agree with BIS - static electricity -- easy enough to provide a ground (earth) to find out --

  9. #9
    Boolit Master Retumbo's Avatar
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    Dryer sheet....try a slightly used one first

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    I use a RCBS 505 so my pan is metal. I've had the same issue with some powders but a quick wipe with a used dryer sheet has always cleared it up.

    You don't say if you are pouring directly from your pan into the casing or into a powder funnel. I use a powder funnel - in my case, on of the Lee red plastic ones. It's well used but i do wipe it with a used dryer sheet once in a while. The reason I mention the powder funnel is that the use of it allows me to "tap" my powder measure pan on it to completely empty the pan. And, graphite is a good thing to have on the bench as well to give things a "coating" to help things slide along.

  11. #11
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    In "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanance" a motorcyclist friend of the author's is outraged because he uses a piece of Coke can as a shim to stop his handlebars turning. He ought to have bought a genuine, officlal aluminium shim. I think a polythene kitchen funnel is less likely to harbour static than the hard plastic Lee use.

    Post altered due to a blunder to which my attention was helpfully drawn
    Last edited by Ballistics in Scotland; 09-07-2017 at 12:56 PM.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy benellinut's Avatar
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    Static, use dryer sheets, it will get rid of the static charge and keep it at bay for some time, try it before using graphite. I use dryer sheets to wipe down anything powder will touch, insides of my powder measure tube, pull it through my powder drop tubes and any inside parts of the measures, roll it up to pull it through parts, no more sticking powder grains and the fine powder dust doesn't collect like it use to. Wipe them down before each reloading session during the winter and dry seasons. Static can also throw off digital powder scales, also wipe them and the bench area where it will set.
    Be careful what you wish for!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ballistics in Scotland View Post
    In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" a motorcyclist friend of the author's is outraged because he uses a piece of Coke can as a shim to stop his handlebars turning. He ought to have bought a genuine, officlal aluminium shim. I think a polythene kitchen funnel is less likely to harbour static than the hard plastic Lee use.
    That is from "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanance" or ripped off from it.

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    I used to use Static-Guard spray on both plastic and metal. Then wipe it dry. Always worked for me.

    Mike

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by jmort View Post
    That is from "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanance" or ripped off from it.
    Oh sorry. You are learned in the classics.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Retumbo View Post
    Dryer sheet....try a slightly used one first
    +1 for Retumbo - I had the same problem with an AL pan, Funny how it only stuck in spots dryer sheet or a quick spray on back side with "Static Guard" seemed to solve the problem. Always worried about powder contamination but never say any indication.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master 44magLeo's Avatar
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    I don't have dryer sheets. Never liked them.
    On things I don't want static build on, As I'm washing my dishes I rinse whatever it is in the soapy water and let air dry. The dry soapy film prevents static build up.
    Leo

  18. #18
    Boolit Master Retumbo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 44magLeo View Post
    I don't have dryer sheets. Never liked them.
    On things I don't want static build on, As I'm washing my dishes I rinse whatever it is in the soapy water and let air dry. The dry soapy film prevents static build up.
    Leo
    Just ask some people at work, family, neighbours. Sure you could get more than you need. Works like a charm

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master

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    On a couple pans that seemed "rough" I ran them with some brass in a vibratory cleaner with corn cobs thru a couple batches. The treated media ( Iosso brass polish, nufinish, and alcohlol) did a very good job of polishing the surface lightly. I then wiped down with dryer sheet or fabric softener on a soft towel to remove static.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master copdills's Avatar
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    wash mine with dawn let it dry and rub a dryer sheet over it and its good to go

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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