sizing powder coated bolts

[sv44]

i have a general question. when i size a powder coated boolit does the powder coating get sized into the lead or pushed along?
i am swaging very soft lead wadcutters and the coating is very obvious before sizing, not so much so after (although it def does not look like a 'virgin' wadcutter.
i guess my main question is this- how integral to the lead is the powder coating? i have done the smash test and the coating stays put. i am using clear so these questions could obviously been answered by getting a small amount of a colored coat and seeing what happens. hoping you who know will be able to give me some insight.
thanks

[stubshaft]

If it passed the smash test then it should be firmly attached. My boolits PC'd will stay on the bullet through the rifling and even through some of the deformation.

[Gamsek]

I have recovered many PC cast bullets from wet, dry paper, ice, wood. Polyester coating is “bonded” to lead and looks very tough.
Wood. 44 Mag.

[Dragonheart]

A properly applied and cured PC is harder than the alloy, so what I see is the alloy being pushed one way or the other depending on your sizing technique. PC is a polymer jacket.

[psweigle]

My results are that the coating stays the same even after sizing.

[Conditor22]

IF properly applied and cured PC scrapes off when sizing you need to polish the entrance to the sizing die.
A little spray on case lube or boolit sizing lube will make sizing even easier.

[tankgunner59]

I would agree with Conditor22 my sized PC pills come out with a little shine on the PC, but it has never been removed in any way. Disclaimer; I always let them cure for about a week before sizing.

[fredj338]

My bullets just look a bit shiny after sizing but the coating is intact. I can smash the bullet flat with a hammer & the coating stays attached.

[bangerjim]

Yes, dragonheart is correct............PC is significantly harder than your Pb slug underneath. The Pb underneath is squished by the sizing die and the PC (if cured properly) just sticks to the surface.

I too have recovered many slugs with the PC still in tact, even after going into hard woods and thick hard targets. Have some that split in half from hitting rocks, but the PC was still good and tight.

Again............think of it as a polymer jacket boolit!

I cast, PC, and size all in the same day.

banger

[sv44]

thanks all

[Dragonheart]

My bullets just look a bit shiny after sizing but the coating is intact. I can smash the bullet flat with a hammer & the coating stays attached.

Yes, the smash test confirms the bond and the elasticity of the polymer, but did you do a scrape test to confirm the hardness of the polymer?

[sv44]

can you describe the scratch test?

[Conditor22]

Smash Test = place a cool PC'd boolit on an anvil, piece of metal and hammer it into a 1/8 inch thick "penny" and/or into a square.

there should be NO chipping or flaking of the PC coating.

[sv44]

thank you, i assume the scratch test is similar to the pencil hardness test to see the hardness of the coating?

[Traffer]

I have recovered many PC cast bullets from wet, dry paper, ice, wood. Polyester coating is “bonded” to lead and looks very tough.
Wood. 44 Mag.

Great Pictures...proof is in the pudding.

[Dragonheart]

thank you, i assume the scratch test is similar to the pencil hardness test to see the hardness of the coating?

Yes, just more quick & simple than the pencil test. Hold a razor knife blade at 90 degrees and with light pressure see if the coating easily scratches off, obviously not what you want. Undercured bullets will lack hardness.