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Thread: Understanding Powder Coats and other coatings

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Understanding Powder Coats and other coatings

    I am just now getting into casting my own bullets. I have started to accumulate equipment but have not yet cast anything. I will primarily be doing this for military surplus rifles and in the future some blackpowder rifles. I searched through the threads pinned above and didn't find one which explained exactly WHY the seemingly overwhelming majority of people are powder coating their bullets. I have a couple of questions to ask you wizards.

    Is powder coating primarily due to preventing leading?

    Can I use powder coating only and forego the use of gas check for my mil surp reloads? (54r, .303, 30-06 etc)

    Do I need to powder coat round balls and/or mine balls which I may use in the future for BP?

    Sorry for the newb questions, I did a short search but there was a lot of conflicting information and thought it might be quickest to just post. Thanks for any info!

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Just to put things a bit in perspective. There is not much chatter on using traditional lubes because they are old, proven and have no pizzazz. Many people like pretty colors....need PC for that.

    If there was a huge advantage to powder coating, why are the majority of commercial cast bullets lubed?

    For a new caster, powder coating may make a lot of sense. It will not eliminate a GC if you are going to push the bullets. In general, accuracy may be a bit less from what most of the experienced guys are posting with their results. But most are doing pistol bullets so accuracy is moot.

    I do not PC as I have no incentive to change. My biggest issues are lack of space, and concern about cooking the coating in the house. Lubes have worked for me for nearly 50 years.

    If I was starting from scratch, and only casting rifle bullets for higher velocities, I would go with a lubri-sizer and start with Lsstuff 2500, or Carnuba Red. lubes.

    The lubes you use for HV smokeless loads will not work with BP.
    Don Verna


  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy jessdigs's Avatar
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    When I got into casting I chose powder coating over a lubesizer because I read that the powder coated bullets were cleaner, no messy sticky lube on your fingers and clogging your seating die changing OAL over time. Much less smoke as to lube was burning off. Zero leading, and you can push the bullets faster and offer softer alloy because the PC acts as a sort of jacket.
    That being said I have never tried using a lubesizer and traditional lube so I can't give you my experience in which is better, but powder coating works great for me.
    I still use harder alloy and still gas check my powder coated rifle bullets I want to push fast.
    I just use push thru sizers to size and seat the checks.

    Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by dverna View Post

    If there was a huge advantage to powder coating, why are the majority of commercial cast bullets lubed?

    ...
    Curious where you found that statistic. It seems that overwhelmingly the high volume cast bullet sales these days are made with Hi-Tek coating. You'd be hard pressed to find a lubed bullet at a practical shooting match, and shooters in that crowd shoots tens of thousands of rounds per year. Many new bullet companies have come online in recent years. Most all sell Hi-Tek.
    "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something."
    ~Thorin Oakenshield

  5. #5
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks for the feedback fellas. Seems the initial investment is lower for powder coating and for what I am doing (Higher velocity rounds) powder coating may be the way to go.

    Quick side note. I am wanting to shoot 54r and .303 and currently have the 185gr .312 die. Can I powder coat, gas check, and then resize for the Mosin hoping for .311 at the end? Assuming no problems there. The main question is can I gas check, resize to .311 and THEN powder coat to increase the round size up to .313 for my Enfield? THanks for any info!

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wigglesabum View Post
    Thanks for the feedback fellas. Seems the initial investment is lower for powder coating and for what I am doing (Higher velocity rounds) powder coating may be the way to go.

    Quick side note. I am wanting to shoot 54r and .303 and currently have the 185gr .312 die. Can I powder coat, gas check, and then resize for the Mosin hoping for .311 at the end? Assuming no problems there. The main question is can I gas check, resize to .311 and THEN powder coat to increase the round size up to .313 for my Enfield? THanks for any info!
    For your Enfield you might want to gas check first, then powder coat, and then size to fit the throat.

  7. #7
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    You will not find a commercial caster that sells powdercoated boolits, it's too labor-intensive to achieve consistent high-quality coatings on the boolits unlike HiTek coating (which is the coating of choice for commercial casters)
    Commercial caster started with lubed boolits because that's all they had available at the time, now HiTek is becoming more and more popular with shooters.

    In my opinion, coated boolits are cleaner and more all-weather than lubed boolits.

    powdercoating is used to lubricate between the boolit and the barrel.


    Not everything is equal in powder coating.

    Powder Coating creates a Polymer coating/shell around the cast boolit
    .....a) it helps protect the boolit from the barrel
    .....b) it works as a lubricant between the boolit and the barrel
    .....c) it protects the user (and user's kids) from the lead

    Different atmospheric conditions can limit static or dampen the powder.

    1) the powder must be kept dry ----I use double zipper bags in the NW where we get a lot of rain, store my powder in a garage with a gas furnace and WH
    2) the boolits must be kept clean --- IF I'm not coating the boolits right away I put them in plastic zipper bags --- NEVER QUENCH before PCing!!!
    .....a) baking the boolits will take most of the hardness you gain by quenching out of the boolit
    .....b) quenching is a good way to contaminate the boolits so the PC won't stick well
    .....c) quenching after PCing gives good results
    .....d) touching the boolit with oily hands can/will affect the coating --- wear nitrile/plastic gloves or use a clean spoon or ? to move the boolits



    PC can be dried out in an oven KEEP the temperature below 150° F (leaving the container open in an airconditioned room works) IF the PC is lumpy after drying it will quickly become powder again when you start swirl/shaking [I Rarely ever shake the container when PCing -- the containers don't last long when I do and just swirling gives me good results

    3) the oven temperature must be checked with an oven thermometer (or 2) and the dial adjusted to where the thermometers read 400°
    .....a) the oven temperatures will change with the surrounding air temperature due to location and type of sensor they use
    .....b) toaster ovens work but only for smaller loads and have a tendency to have hot spots (some of the boolits can/will melt)
    .....c) conventions ovens have been proven best because they have a circulating and the evenly heats all the boolits ---you can safely bake full trays of boolits

    4) If the air/atmosphere is really damp you may need to pre-warm the boolits --- I use an oven set at 150° F or you can set a pan of boolits on to of your hot oven
    .....a) the boolits must not be hotter than you can comfortably touch with bare hands or you can get PC clumping-- starting to cure

    5) not all PC needs BB's/poly pellets to work --- this is a trial and error thing

    6) polyester (usually TGIC) PC works best for me, I get better results with higher gloss powders

    7) white/light colors generally don't cover well but adding a little of another color usually helps

    8) COATING BOOLITS:
    .....A) BOWLS
    ..........1) coating bowls/containers need to be plastic #5 or plastic #2
    ..........2) larger diameter bowls allow you to swirl/build up static faster thus cool whip bowls do such a good job
    ..........3) lids: if the bowl doesn't have a screw-on lid make sure you hang onto it or the lid will come open
    .....B)STATIC BUILDING MEDIA: Normally cover the bottom of small bowls with 2 layers large bowls with 1 layer
    ..........1) ASBB (Air Soft BB's) black BB's are proven to work I've found camouflaged BB's that work also. It has to do with the hardness, what the BB's are made out of as to how well they help build static. even nonstatic building BB's will help even out the coating
    ..........2) Poly pellets normally black or white, haven't found any poly pellets that didn't help
    .....C) Boolits:
    ..........1) use a minimum of 12-15 boolits -- enough to build up static
    ..........2) maximum no more than 2-3 layers deep in your bowl
    .....D) Powder: This will vary on bowl size and number of boolits being coated
    ..........1)Ziploc Twist 'n Loc, after the BB's are coated, no more than 1 teaspoon per batch see how much PC is left in the bottom of the bowl after coating.
    ..........2) Cool Whip after the BB's are coated 1-2 teaspoons per batch see how much PC is left in the bottom of the bowl after coating.
    ..........3) Too much PC will prevent good static build-up
    ..........4) Too little PC will result in thin/spotty coating --- it's easy to add a little more and swirl a little longer
    .....E) blending/mixing different PC is not like dealing with paint, white and black don't always make grey more often you get spotted/splotchy boolits
    a) blending/mixing a little good PC with a bad PC often makes the bad PC work
    b) blending/mixing multiple PCs can give you amazing results but the results will change with each batch you coat
    c) some powders stick faster/better than others, the blend color will be heavier with that color to begin with then taper of when the color is used up in the bowl
    .....F) SWIRLING: Screw or hold the lid tight and swirl the bowl holding it flat to verticle and back to flat, continue until all boolit are coated
    .....G) preparing coated boolits:
    ..........1) REMOVE ALL EXCESS POWDER
    .................a) Sift PC/boolits/BB's in a colander with something to catch the BB's and powder when they fall through the colander removing all excess PC
    ........................1) after all the PC/BB's are sifted off pick up the boolits with tweezers or fingers wearing surgical gloves (dipped in pc first to prevent sticking)
    .................b) Pick up- dump PC'd boolits in a tray or? pick them up with tweezers, tap the tweezer on the side of a container to remove all excess PC
    .....H) preparing to bake: Use a pan lined with non-stick paper/foil/bake mats or screen (1/4 hardware cloth)/wire basket (office supply)
    ..........a) stand short fat boolits up on their bases using finger or tweezer method
    ..........b) place taller boolits in silicone ice cube trays or use a metal grid to keep them from falling over
    ..........c) Dump method dump the sifted boolits in screen (1/4 hardware cloth)/wire basket (office supply) [this doesn't work well with all PC's you can get bad sticking
    9) Baking PC the manufacturer states Bake for XX minutes at XXX° AFTER this condition exists
    .....a) bake for XX minutes AFTER the boolits have reached XXX°
    .....b) bake for XX minutes AFTER the PC starts to flow on the boolits
    .....c) PC will look good after it flows and may pass the smash test BUT unless bakes to factory specifications IT IS NOT FULLY CURED
    *****I have found that baking the coated boolits in an oven preheated to 400° for 25 minutes meets or exceeds all manufacturers requirements*****

    10) Testing PC for adhesion/sticking using a smooth-faced hammer
    .....a) flatten the PC'd cool boolit to 1/2 its original height seeing if any PC cracks or flakes off
    .....b) hammer the PC'd cool boolit into a cube seeing if any PC cracks or flakes off
    .....c) just because the PC passes the hammer test doesn't mean its fully cured, just that it is sticking well

    11 SIZING
    .....a) PC'd usually boolits size easily; if not, a little spray case lube can be used
    .....b) IF PC is scraped off when sizing polish the entrance to your sizing die
    ..........1) with fine sandpaper made into a cone with the grit on the outside
    ..........2) with a Dremel tool, a felt boolit shaped polisher and some fine polishing compound --- I like Flitz
    .....c)*** I like running a felt polisher in the sizing die for a few seconds to smooth the machine marks and make sizing easier
    12 LOADING:
    .....a) PC is normally loaded to regular cast boolit loads
    .....b) GC usually aren't needed with PC's boolits until you reach 1600 - 2100 fps depending on the gun, powder, and boolit
    .....c) PC'd boolits can work with a softer alloy and be pushed faster/harder than regular lubed boolits

    ***I like using different colored boolits to designate different diameters or powder charges***
    Last edited by Conditor22; 03-26-2021 at 05:27 PM.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master

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    I used to lube , now i mostly coat , clean no build up in dies , I find firearms and hands are cleaner , less smoke .

    I keep it fairly simple and it works and it works consistent , I still lube for black powder cartridge , I do not coat maxis for muzzle loaders , I have coated round balls , partly to prevent oxidation in long term storage , there are other ways to coat round balls or bullets to prevent oxidation .

    Fit is still king to prevent leading , I am not gas checking pistol rounds and have had no issues with powder coated , as to rifles I am not gas checking what I am currently loading as I am not pushing the velocity , I prefer to coat and only use lubes on the black powder for keeping fouling soft .

    It works and you can do both , I cook in garage with a window open and fan running same as casting , simple and not that expensive to get into , I still have the lube sizer and dies .

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    Thats for all the great advice fellas. I will certainly follow those steps and locate myself outdoors. Lots to read and learn.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    I only PC my 40 cal bullets as nothing I have tried will stop the leading. and I've tried it all. Other than that I lube all my other pistol bullets as I see no good reason to spend more time than needed. PC adds another time consuming step to me as I still have to size the things. If I was still shooting cast in my 1903 and 1903A3 I would definitely give it a try however.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wigglesabum View Post
    Thanks for the feedback fellas. Seems the initial investment is lower for powder coating and for what I am doing (Higher velocity rounds) powder coating may be the way to go.

    Quick side note. I am wanting to shoot 54r and .303 and currently have the 185gr .312 die. Can I powder coat, gas check, and then resize for the Mosin hoping for .311 at the end? Assuming no problems there. The main question is can I gas check, resize to .311 and THEN powder coat to increase the round size up to .313 for my Enfield? THanks for any info!
    I shoot PC bullets in my .308Win and Garand. Works well. I seat the GC, size, powder coat and size again. For my 210gn bullets I also nose size them, before and after coating.

    Note: the twist rate has a lot to do with how fast you can drive the bullets and maintain good accuracy. I have a 1-10 twist in both rifles and best accuracy is in the 1800fps range. I have shot over 2400fps without any ill effects. But, group size almost tripled.

    Gas checks. A bullet designed for a GC will be more accurate with one, most of the time. I have shot them without a GC at ~1000fps and they do OK, 2MOA group or so. I have some plain base design bullets that also do OK at 1500fps. They start to lose accuracy above that for some reason.

    Sizing. I would size for each rifle separately. Seat the GC and size .313. Coat and size again. Ready to shoot. The extra dia of the coating may be good enough for the Enfield. It usually adds about 0.002". You could probably then size down for the other rifle, but, you need a good sizing die and may have to lube them (I use case lube if I need to).

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by jessdigs View Post
    When I got into casting I chose powder coating over a lubesizer because I read that the powder coated bullets were cleaner, no messy sticky lube on your fingers and clogging your seating die changing OAL over time. Much less smoke as to lube was burning off. Zero leading, and you can push the bullets faster and offer softer alloy because the PC acts as a sort of jacket.
    That being said I have never tried using a lubesizer and traditional lube so I can't give you my experience in which is better, but powder coating works great for me.
    I still use harder alloy and still gas check my powder coated rifle bullets I want to push fast.
    I just use push thru sizers to size and seat the checks.

    Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
    well said

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check