Sizing before PC- tuff going!

[Jon.Moore]

Guys I'm having a problem sizing my bullets before powder coating. At first they went through the RCBS sizer well, probably had some old lube residue in the die. After about 30-40 bullets they start going VERY hard, taking lots of force to remove from the die. If I were to try to add some kind of lube, I am afraid my PC would not stick. What do you guys use? What have I missed here? Thanks!!

[BILLYBOB44]

Need to know what bullet, diameter of mold, sizer diameter, etc.

For ME..95% of my powder coat at this time is for handgun loads.
I cast-cool (usually at least overnight)-powder coat-cool-pass through size.

To pass through size, I take off of the lift linkage of my Lyman 450, remove the center of whatever size die that I am using, and push the bullet through the die-it comes out of the bottom of the size die into a chute, into a clear plastic tube, and into a bucket below my bench.

You need to know what diameter your mold drops bullets at, and not try to size more than .002"-.003" down from that after the powder coat is applied.

Different strokes for different folks, but this works for me..Bill.

[Nick Quick]

Why you want to size them before PC? Do it afterwards. Use Hoppe nr 9 or any solvent to melt the build up lube in the sizing die and around it. I wouldn't use oil. I suspect you got very hard lube in the machine who clogged the die.

[jcren]

Yep, no lube required. If your pc is baked completely and there are no sharp edges on your dies, they slide through like butter after pc'd. I have a 30 cal mold that drops at .311 and I dry tumble pc to .314-.316 and size down to .310'ish (Lee .309 polished). If the going gets tough, I dab a little unique lube on my fingertips to reduce the effort.

[Hickok]

Try a little Alberto VO5 used for hair dressing. Put some on about every 5th or sixth boolit, (leave the others bare) and they will go through the sizer easily. You can wash off the VO5 with water. I use it to as a lube for case sizing also.

[Jon.Moore]

I'm working with .45 ACP.. 230 RN .. as cast .453-.454 sizing down to .452 If I PC before sizing I would be way over size.. my PC adds 2K to 4K to dia of bullet. There is NO old bullet lube in sizing die.. I'm looking for any kind of lube info that will not spoil the powder coat.

[WebMonkey]

Some people have had success simply using water as a lube for sizing BEFORE powder coating.

[LakeviewBulldog]

I'm working with .45 ACP..
230 RN .. as cast .453-.454 sizing down to .452 If I PC before sizing I would be way over size.. my PC adds 2K to 4K to dia of bullet. There is NO old bullet lube in sizing die.. I'm looking for any kind of lube info that will not spoil the powder coat.

Have you tried coating them as is and then resizing them? I have the same mold and that's the way I do it. I've cast and coated many thousands that way. I've never had an issue resizing the coated boolets and I'm using a Lee hand press to do it. In my opinion resizing before and after PC may not be the best use of your time.

[Walter Laich]

Have you tried coating them as is and then resizing them? I have the same mold and that's the way I do it. I've cast and coated many thousands that way. I've never had an issue resizing the coated boolets and I'm using a Lee hand press to do it. In my opinion resizing before and after PC may not be the best use of your time.

+1 this is the way I do it also

[sparky45]

Try a little Alberto VO5 used for hair dressing. Put some on about every 5th or sixth boolit, (leave the others bare) and they will go through the sizer easily. You can wash off the VO5 with water. I use it to as a lube for case sizing also.

If that's like Brylcream, a little dab will do ya!

[Jon.Moore]

Yes guys,, I have tried powder coating first,, but the coating is way too thick and with the extra size of the slug.. IT WORKS HARD!! So hard in fact I have had the stirrup under the push-up pin on my RCBS sizer bend around and slip past the pin.... I don't want to wreck this machine.. I am looking into the "Lee" pass through sizing system,, perhaps this will also help. Thanks! Jon

[BILLYBOB44]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?295886-Lyman-450-with-powder-coated-bullets-push-through-)&highlight=chute

^^^This works for me-completely pass-through.
I did this with my Lyman and RCBS sizers, and it works GREAT..

Less pressure to push all the way through than to push down and then push up.
Before you order a chute from Cigarman454, just try to push through and out the bottom of the sizer..

This DOES work for me in all calibers..Bill.:-D

PS: As above, I do NOT size BEFORE I powder coat. I cast, powder coat, and size using this procedure..

[rsrocket1]

I use the Lee push through sizing dies and 4 mils is not a problem (going from 0.360" down to 0.356" for 9mm tight throated 9mm guns). I would do anything at all possible to prevent having to resize prior to PC'ing as that just adds more work to the whole process.

You could tumble lube the bullets in Lee Liquid Alox, size them and rinse them with 2 cycles of Oderless mineral spirits. I've done that when I converted about 500 LLA coated boolits to PC but I only did that once and wouldn't want to do it regularly.

My recommendation would be to get the Lee sizer and see how that works on PC'ed bullets with just one pass. The second choice is to get another Lee 0.452 sizer and hone it to 0.454" and size the already PC'ed bullets in two steps. At least that would eliminate a step of cleaning the pre-sized bullets before you powder coat.

[4719dave]

I also size prior ,,,I had some boolits cast a long time ago really hard used Dillon lube on them using a lee push through die then cleaned off with thinner

[Jon.Moore]

Thanks Guys for the ideas! I tried the "Hornady Unique" case lube paste, by wiping it on the inside of the die with a Q-tip, about every 5-7 bullet. This helped a lot, then of course I made sure to wipe off each bullet after. The idea of messing up the powder coat bugs me! Jon

[Nick Quick]

Jon, what I did and it really worked to clean up bullets prior to PC-ing it was to get some of them into a plastic container and pour some acetone then close the lid and shake the bullets for a while. Then lift the lid and let the acetone evaporates. The bullets were perfectly clean and the powder stuck to the bullets really well.