Sizing Hi-Tek coated boolits - HELP!

[BNE]

Hey folks, I need some advice,

When I sized some boolits today, I am scrapping off some the coating and some of the lead. I THINK I should coat one more time and load them, but I would like your opinions.

It is obviously a tumble lube mold, 240 grain Lee for a .44 mag. Sizing to 0.430".
Cast, coated and heated 2 times, then sized.

I also wonder if I pollished the sizer "funnel" if it would swage the coating into the boolit or not?

Thanks in advance for your help.

BNE

89212

[btroj]

What sizer?

Oddly my Lyman .358 die doesn't he same but my Star .359 doesn't. The actual difference in sized domensions is a half thou so it isn't the amount it is sized.

I think a gentle taper makes a difference. I would try a Lee push thru and see of that is better.

[TES]

I use a push through die and only when I get fat bullets (1 every 50 or so)does it do this.

Have you checked you bullet diameters to see if they are fat and our out of round?

Try baking your bullets a little longer they look too bright. Mine are a darker green(due to baking them longer).
Remember the bullets have to reach 400 degrees for ten minutes not just the oven.

I bake mine twice (2 coats) size and add another coat after that.

My bullets pass through unharmed and look great after the third coat.

[popper]

Bet you didn't do the smash & acetone tests. Coating isn't sticking. Clean the sizer with choreboy on a brush. Looks like they are dropping out of round also. Re-cycle and try again.

[nighthunter]

The mouth of the sizing die has to be larger than the diameter of the bullet you are putting into it. I had this problem with a couple of sizing dies. I polished the edge of the opening and removed the sharp edge of the opening and made it slightly rounder on the edge and every thing has been fine since. I don't think it is a problem with your coating.

Nighthunter

[Moonman]

BNE,

The nose of the bullet on the left appears to have a chip of color missing.

That looks like the Acetone Wipe and SMASH Test test was not done with each coat.

Acetone wipe on a cloth or paper towel for 30 seconds each coat to see if color comes off.

Smash a bullet after each coat with a hammer against steel or smash in a vise to check for adherence .

PREHEAT EACH BATCH with a hair dryer a bit before putting them in the oven.

As was stated before, check the inside surface of your resizing die for issues.

Mix ratios are 5 COLOR- - 1 CATALYST - - -5 ACETONE

(7 ACETONE WORKS BETTER WITH THE METALLIC GOLD AND RED/COPPER.)

You might try adding the Catalyst FIRST, then the Acetone, shake shake shake, then the color, SHAKE WELL.

On your next attempt try to let them dry overnight before baking.

If coated bullets are not REALLY DRY, OUT GASSING MAY OCCUR due to moisture under the surface.

KEEP NOTES ON ALL YOUR PROCESSES, Mixture, Time, Temperature, oven recovery time, etc.

Temp Controls/Heat Maintenance may NOT BE UP TO PAR on your oven.

[nighthunter]

If it was just the coating being removed then I would say it was a problem with the coating. What I see in the picture is lead being shaved from the bullet. That indicates to me that it is a problem with the die. My Lyman and RCBS dies for my 450 have had this same exact condition and I'm trying to speak from my experience and what I did to fix the problem. BNE ... what sizing dies are you using?

Nighthunter

[leadman]

I would check the inside of your die for build-up. Also you may need to lube the boolits if this continues. I use the RCBS case lube and pad. Most of the time a couple of lubed boolits, then 5 to 10 unlubed works, sometimes every boolits needs lube. Alot depends on the hardness of the boolit and how much it is sized down.
I cast some pure lead Lee 93gr RN that dropped just over .314". After coating 3 times with Red Copper I tried sizing without lube to .314" and stuck a boolit in the Lee push-Thru die. When I took the die out of the press and turned it over and looked at the boolit base the boolit had an indent from the rod that pushes the boolit. Had to drill the center out of that one to get it out.

[Ausglock]

if you have some Hornady oneshot case lube, give the bucket of coated bullets a spray and then try sizing them.
Your coating looks far too thick and dark.

[Gremlin460]

you say heated two times... are you refering to baking twice?
my method is to cast... coated really really thinly.... bake..... size....... repeat without sizing the second time.
I prefer to go on the thin side with coating, even if it means a third run just for looks.

Yours look like my first batch did when the oven was running 48c hotter than I thought it was.
I found this out by fitting a thermo probe in the oven and a digital meter to tell me the true temp.

I also now have placed clay paving bricks in the oven to act as heat sinks, opening and closing the door was making the oven take too long to get back to the correct temperature.
Now when I cycle the door, the heat sinks in the bricks assist in returning to bake temp , recovery time is down 75%!!! I was amazed how well it worked.
I just fire the oven 30 mins before I want to bake, to pre-heat the bricks. it also stops hot/cold spots in the oven aswell.

[BNE]

Thanks for all the input. Let me try to answer a few questions.

I am using a Lee sizer. The cone is rough. I'm going to try to polish it.

I did hammer a sample with no peeling.

The oven I'm using is an industrial convection oven. It displays the temp and it recovers from the door opening fast. I have them in a mesh basket. Maybe too close together. I had them in for 10 minutes at the middle of the temp range. I was afraid of over heating.

What does OVER heating look like and what does UNDERheating look like?

I did some 45 Boolits at the same time they sized with no scraping and shot fine. At least with no leading.

[gunoil]

What popper said.

[Ausglock]

overcooking will have the coating very dark and smash off.
undercooking will have the coating wipe off and look light.
cooking too soon after coating will have a rough surface after cooking.
Were the bullets really hard to push through the sizer?
Try the oneshot case lube.

[bstone5]

I use the Lee push through sizer for sizing and Installing cola can gas checks. I open the bevel a little more on the Lee die to start the gas check with the die up side down pushing with a 1/2 ton Harbor Freight press.

I polish the lee die with some 2000 grit wet or dry paper to smooth all internal surfaces.

Smoothing up the surfaces reduces the amount of force required to push the powder coated bullet through the lee sizing die.

A very small amount of sizing wax make from lanolin is applied to each powder coated bullet to lube a little.

The small amount of lube make the powder coated bullets go through the Lee sizing die a lot easier.