Electic powder coating questions

[iroquois]

Hi,

Does the same lead hardness vs chamber pressure rules apply when using the Electric powder coating method?

I see a lot of discussions about powder coating 30 cal. Has anyone tried Electric powder coating .223/.224 boolits?

-I

[bangerjim]

Use ESPC all the time for 223. GC's on the back of the Bator's. Shoot many at reduced loads, but have let off several at near full load with no observed problems.

I use 14 bhn for rifles and 9-10 for pistols and electrostatic coat or DT all boolits.

With PC, we have found you do not need to "worry & stew" about boolit hardness as in the past. Just do not shoot pure lead....too soft and will/could deform UNDER the PC while being fired.

I coat 223/30/38/40/45 with no problems at all.

Go for it. You will be happy!

banger :guntootsmiley:

[ipijohn]

I have had the same experiences as Banger, with all the same calibers using range scrap, but would include 9mm since it is about 75% of what I shoot. I also PC my 41 and 44 mag boolits except I use COWW + 2 tin for them, I have run both to max loads without leading or accuracy issues.

[popper]

Does the same lead hardness vs chamber pressure rules apply when using the Electric powder coating method?
Basically, yes, not that I use the Lee formula. Range scrap/50/50 AC for low pressure, good COWW, H.T./GC for high pressure. The coating is just a coating, not a jacket. Size matters the most.

[iroquois]

Thanks guys. That's very close to the bhn I currently use for both rifle and pistol.

Are you guys ever finding you have to resize again after pc for any of the calibers?

[mdi]

My PC adds about .001"-.002" to the diameter of the bullet and I resize after cooking...

[ipijohn]

I size everything before PC and after PC.

[totalloser]

The short answer is NO, the same rules DO NOT apply for PC as for lubed boolits. Boolits can be substantially softer when PC'd because gas cutting is a non-issue with a proper PC coat. Shooting 9mm and .40 I needed water dropped COWW to get harness needed to be within book spec- though many folks run hardness down to theoretically equal tensile strength in their lubed loads with success.

But I have dropped my alloy WAY WAY softer (3-4:1 "pure"/COWW air cooled) in PC with zero detrimental results. If you go *too* soft, the boolit may deform under higher pressures, but hardness is nowhere near the requirements of lubed. I have not seen such deformation, but have read it described as the edges of the boolit shearing down toward the base as the pressure vs friction is able to overcome the tensile strength of the boolit. I don't know if there is any rule of thumb on this yet as to hardness but it is much less of an issue.

For context, my .40 PC loads are in the range of 32,000psi and I am using an alloy that I couldn't use in .45 lubed due to leading. And that .45 load probably was almost *half* the pressure in the range of 18,000psi.