Upsizing with powder coating

[mjac]

I have come into a large (1300+) quantity of cast boolits, Lyman 311041's and RCBS 30-180's. They are sized at .309, gc'ed and lubed. However they do not shoot well with my two 30cal rifles. Since my rifles shoot other .311 powder coated very well, I suspect these are too small.

I have been reading here 1) it is possible to remove the lube ie: mineral spirits bath followed by detergent hot water bath and 2) powder coating will upsize. 3) running them thru an appropriate sizing (.311) die to obtain the desired size.

My question (s) are: Will the the above work? Or should I give up on trying to make them work?

Thanks
--
Mike Jackman

[RedlegEd]

Hi Mike,
Why not give it a try with a small number (e.g. 20) of bullets as a sample? That way, you don't invest a lot of time, energy, and resources into the whole batch and you can still determine if the outcome is successful. If so, go ahead and do the rest. You also may learn better ways of cleaning the lube from your current stash. Regardless, you are correct in that they have to be absolutely squeaky clean if you expect the PC to stick and cure. A couple of coats should bump you up to the few thousandths needed to get you where you want to be. Certainly better than having 1300 bullets that don't shoot well. My dos centavos.
Ed

[gwpercle]

I wonder if a paper patch or Teflon Tape wrap on the bearing surface might be easier ... maybe not better but removing all the lube , washing , drying , powder coating and resizing sounds like a lot of work .
Just trying to think out of the box here ... I'm always on the look out for an easy way to do anything .
Gary

[gpidaho]

I have come into a large (1300+) quantity of cast boolits, 311041's and Lyman 30-180's. They are sized at .309, gc'ed and lubed. However they do not shoot well with my two 30cal rifles. Since my rifles shoot other .311 powder coated very well, I suspect these are too small.

I have been reading here 1) it is possible to remove the lube ie: mineral spirits bath followed by detergent hot water bath and 2) powder coating will upsize. 3) running them thru an appropriate sizing (.311) die to obtain the desired size.

My question (s) are: Will the the above work? Or should I give up on trying to make them work?

Thanks
--
Mike JackmanMike: As the bullets have been gas checked. the mineral spirits will seep into the checks and even if you do manage to get the lube off enough to powder coat the checks will fly off like popcorn when you put the bullets in the oven. Gp

[mjac]

Ed, the test would include a very small number to start. Thanks.
Gary, easy is my middle name. I'll try a few with some tape. Cig papers perhaps? Thanks. Laissez les bon temps roulers.
Gp, good to know. Thanks. Would using an acetone bath/drying in the sun and allowing some time (days) before the oven avoid this? Or should I plan to light off (pun intended) the oven a long extension cord away from the house?

Mike

[gpidaho]

Mike: You could try, but as others have mentioned, it doesn't seem worth the effort. And yes, do the baking outside. One more note of caution. If you do try cleaning with acetone use good gloves. Acetone is harder on your liver than whiskey abuse. Let me know how it works out (PM me if it turns out comical or the shed gets burned down) Gp

[Conditor22]

Not a big fan of lube, don't know much about it. ----I heard that sometimes lube goes wonky. try coating some of the lubed boolits with alox and see if that doesn't solve your problem. .309 works in my -06's.

[white eagle]

sure powder coating will ad to your diameter
like you say pc and resize to your preferred size

[Yooper003]

Probably easier in the long run to melt , recast & pc,if you have the mold.

[popper]

GC are hard to find an $ so boil the wax lube lube off and try some. Grease lube, use mineral spirits, then boil. PC will do fine. Depending on rifle, PP may be difficult. I tried for levergun, couldn't get them to chamber without jamming the paper.

[charlie b]

I wonder if a paper patch or Teflon Tape wrap on the bearing surface might be easier ... maybe not better but removing all the lube , washing , drying , powder coating and resizing sounds like a lot of work .
Just trying to think out of the box here ... I'm always on the look out for an easy way to do anything .
Gary

Have you tried teflon tape instead of paper patch? I was always concerned about the teflon coming off the bullet in the barrel, or not coming off the bullet at all.

[Wilderness]

Might a dense granulated plastic shot buffer/case filler (lightly compressed) help keep the gas behind the bullet? Mind you, the smell of burning plastic is a downside, and not too special environmentally either. It's probably the throat you are trying to block off. I've used the stuff, but not in this application.

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Buffers-Mica-Wad-Slick/products/72/

[Dinny]

Probably easier in the long run to melt , recast & pc,if you have the mold.

My same thought. One may have better results when they control each step of the process. I know someone with those molds. ;)

Thanks, Dinny

[mjac]

My same thought. One may have better results when they control each step of the process. I know someone with those molds. ;)

Thanks, Dinny

Yes you do ;) and that someone is going to get a handful of each for PC'ing/sizing after I de-lube em. He has had a successful trip down this road and saving the gc's is also a plus. It will be a while before I get to the task but all things considered, its the most direct given my lack of equipment.

Thanks for your comments and to all the others, both on and off list, for their comments.

Mike

[Dinny]

There are two things that I have done and don't care to ever do again. Removing lube from cast boolits and powdercoating them is one, changing diapers is the other. :oops:

Thanks, Dinny

[mjac]

I am away from the bulk of my stash but I found few to try. I really don’t see the project as a big deal.
A handful of boolits , mixed lot of carnuba red and Alox were boiled in water for about 5 mins on the stove. Let cool, air dried and into a denatured alcohol bath over night. Remove from bath and let air dry.
Now I am not setup to powder coat at this location but rattlecan black sure does stick.
My wife’s collard boiler, aka turkey fryer, awaits mass production.
Agreed on the diapers.


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