cleaning bore

[popper]

Acetone is a solvent for PC but it takes a lot. Mek also.

[igolfat8]

PC will add .001 to .005 depending on the PC and how you apply it

what alloy temperature are you casting your boolits at? the hotter the pot the smaller the boolits will be. I stay under 700° except when casting pure.

Well that’s not been my experience. A cold mold will drop smaller bullets because it hasn’t been hot enough to expand. As the mold heats up, the cavities swell and then larger diameter bullets will drop, using the same alloy.

I’ve never been able to get HF Red to coat any thicker than .001” per coat and that was a rarity (for me) usually it was more like .0005” per coat using shake and bake method.

[Conditor22]

I was talking about the alloy in the pot. Lead expands more the hotter it gets, the hotter the alloy in the pot the smaller the boolit will end up after it is cast and cools off.

[mattellis2]

While you are recovering, toss the digital temp gun and purchase a Taylor Oven Guide Thermometer, about $13 off Amazon, and place it in your oven so you can monitor temperature accurately. Add some extra time for the bullets to come up to temperature because the thermometer is measuring air temp not the substrate of the bullets and that is what counts. Next get some powder from Smoke, so if you have further problems it will not be the powder. I don't like HF powder, but I would say your bullets were undercured. The "Smash Test" does not prove a full cure. PC will bond at a lower temperature than full cure and look great, but not have achieved the necessary hardness . To clean I would try plugging the barrel and fill it with Kroil Oil and let it sit for a day to see if it won't get under the PC residue, then use the Chore Boy trick to clean the barrel. Good luck on your next PC.

I just finished my first batch of PC bullets with smoke's powder. I cooked them at 400 degrees (no independent thermometer) for 15 or so minutes.

They pass the smash test as well with no delamination from the bullet. Any other tests to know if I have it fully cured or not?

[Dragonheart]

Charles Darnall of FreeChex came up with the best test for full cure and that we call the "Scratch Test". Simply hold a utility knife blade (razor sharp) at a 90 degree angle and scrape the side of the bullet. The coating should not come off with little effort. For a polymer to reach full cure it is simply time and temperature, short either and full cure does not happen. When I first started PC in 2012 I had a professional PC, not bullets, tell me, "You can't look at a coating and tell if it has achieved a proper cure." I found he was absolutely right, if you want consistency you have to monitor. I hope this batch works out for you.

[mattellis2]

Thanks for that. I’ll try the knife thing.