Powder coating

[cwlongshot]

Now CW, I am a fan of yours. Traditional lube doesn't leave leading in a barrel, hard alloy undersized boolits is the primary cause of that...and I know that you know that. The rest of what you said is true. All of what I said was true. Newbies who are looking for info, need to hear from both sides of the coin.

But I have fired countless numbers of my powder coated bullets threw who knows how many barrels. ONE showed some evidence of fouling. Not actual leading but some fouling. But same load. Exact same load was fired thru three different firearms with zero fouling.
So its particular firearm related MUCH like how some firearms copper foul when others dont.

My point was GENERALIZED comments like both of ours are NOT COMPLETELY TRUE. They have a modicum of truth surrounded by conjecture and false truths meant to cloud actual truths.

What I am saying is, If ya dont like it, dont do it. Its still a free country!

CW

CW

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

But I have fired countless numbers of my powder coated bullets threw who knows how many barrels. ONE showed some evidence of fouling. Not actual leading but some fouling. But same load. Exact same load was fired thru three different firearms with zero fouling.
So its particular firearm related MUCH like how some firearms copper foul when others dont.

My point was GENERALIZED comments like both of ours are NOT COMPLETELY TRUE. They have a modicum of truth surrounded by conjecture and false truths meant to cloud actual truths.

What I am saying is, If ya dont like it, dont do it. Its still a free country!

CW

CW

My comments were none of that, they are anecdotal. My actual experience. When someone posts questions about PC in the lube section, there should be some anecdotal opinions from both sides. That way, they understand it's not as easy as the PC fanboys make it out to be.

[white eagle]

Is it really as easy as it looks on YouTube? I’ve been thinking of getting setup to do this and just wondering? Also does it work as good as they say? No lead left in the barrel.
What speed can you push before you have problems?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't know about problems with speed but
yes it is easy or as hard as you make it
your technique and equipment used has a lot to do with your results
personally I moved on from S/B to using a powder coat gun for best results
it takes more time to set up but there are no bad results
either way still beats traditional lubing, IMO

[bangerjim]

I feel most on here that complain about PC have tried and failed using only the shake-n-bake process.

The ESPC process is pretty much 100% fool-proof and very fast. After all, the powders were designed and engineered to be applied in industry with commercial electrostatic guns................................and not in a silly little plastic tub!

[cwlongshot]

I feel most on here that complain about PC have tried and failed using only the shake-n-bake process.

The ESPC process is pretty much 100% fool-proof and very fast. After all, the powders were designed and engineered to be applied in industry with commercial electrostatic guns................................and not in a silly little plastic tub!

I agree. They tried and the failed. Probably quickly gave up & now harbor bitter resentment. Ill venture they also cannot ride a Bicycle.
Flew things in life are instantly picked up & applied seamlessly. None of us has been born all knowing in over 2000 years...

I just dislike the condemnation of something based upon ones inability to Conquer it. It only serves to saddle others with that authors shortcomings.
People dont acheive great things being told only about negatives. Folks come here & ask questions for help not defeatism.
CW

[Cosmic_Charlie]

PC is not rocket science and it does work very well. I use a sheet of teflon lining a shallow baking tray to set my pistol boolits on. Other than the teflon, all you need besides the #5 Tupperware is to make a hardware cloth sifter to dump the boolits on after shaking. Now I'm only pc'ing 9mm.

[bangerjim]

The only time-consuming thing I see is the placing of the boolits on the baking medium. I use a 1/2" wide thin wooden stick as a guide for each row. Put down one row, move the stick down, and place another row. Goes rather fast with a little practice.

Back in the day when I was S&B'ing my boolits I never just dumped them. Never got the shiny smooth coats I was after. Now with ESPC, all coats are smooth and shiny.............every time................every boolit.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

They tried and the failed. Probably quickly gave up & now harbor bitter resentment. Ill venture they also cannot ride a Bicycle.

===
True be told, I did not apply any PC. My experiments were with boolits coated by others...others experienced in coating.
I swapped for samples, loaded 'em, and shot 'em.
from 3 different people who used 3 different techniques on 3 different calibers.
30 cal, 40 cal, 45 cal. (quantities were over 100 each.)

My experiments included:
4 different colors of 30 cal loaded in 30-06
one color (piglet method) for 40 cal in 40 S&W
6 colors in 45 cal, 45acp

Now, I've had success in those calibers with traditional lubed cast boolits, so there shouldn't be any reloading equipment issues.

Conclusion:
I had different issues with each experiment. Issues that were not acceptable. I figure if I can't get success from samples from three different experienced hobbyists, then it surely isn't worth my time to buy PC and the expensive equipment to PC my own boolits.

[bangerjim]

===
True be told, I did not apply any PC. My experiments were with boolits coated by others...others experienced in coating.
I swapped for samples, loaded 'em, and shot 'em.
from 3 different people who used 3 different techniques on 3 different calibers.
30 cal, 40 cal, 45 cal. (quantities were over 100 each.)

My experiments included:
4 different colors of 30 cal loaded in 30-06
one color (piglet method) for 40 cal in 40 S&W
6 colors in 45 cal, 45acp

Now, I've had success in those calibers with traditional lubed cast boolits, so there shouldn't be any reloading equipment issues.

Conclusion:
I had different issues with each experiment. Issues that were not acceptable. I figure if I can't get success from samples from three different experienced hobbyists, then it surely isn't worth my time to buy PC and the expensive equipment to PC my own boolits.

Your problem is some of those were coated with the piglet method which we proved on here to be very poor in performance. The powders are meant to be applied dry to the surface, MELTED in an oven, and cured at 400F in an oven, not dissolved in a solvent of some sorts and painted/slopped on and then cured. I never got it to work either.

The many thousands of people on here use the dry-apply oven-cure method with great success, whether the PC is applied in a little plastic tub or sprayed on with an ESPC gun.

I found the piglet method totally unacceptable because it does not form the complete molecular bonding coat that occurs when applied dry under heat and time. It may work for some but not in my book.

[reddog81]

PC'ing is pretty simple if you follow the instructions, but then again so is lubing.
PC'ing is pretty cheap for the initial cost and the on-going costs. Lubing has more upfront costs and if you're buying lubes the on-going costs are higher. I've never experimented with making my own lube.
If done correctly both will prevent leading and leave minimal fouling. If done incorrectly you'll run into problems. I'd vote that PC is more forgiving. You can use the wrong alloy or incorrect size and you still shouldn't get any leading and minimal fouling at worst.
PC'ing takes more time. If you're standing up the bullets when baking them I'd guess takes at least twice as long to complete each bullet.

I actually started with powder coating and then added lubing to the mix a few years back. I got a good deal on a Lyman lubesizer and a bunch of sizing dies so I figured I'd try it out. It is definitely faster so I use it for .38 Special and 45 ACP loads.

For 9mm, 10mm, and rifle loads I usually stick to PC'ing. For my level of shooting I cannot detect any difference in accuracy.

[Castloader]

I have PC'ed and fired thousands of boolits in .40, 9mm, .38/.357, .32 S&W/.327 FM and .30 (.308, 30-06, 300BLK). I use the shake & bake method more or less with a few variations. I get minor fouling in the barrel from the PC, but one shot removes and replaces the fouling from the shot before it so it does not accumulate, and is a breeze to clean. I can clean the bore with a plastic bore brush effectively if I choose. Accuracy is as good as I need it to be, which is to say that I can connect on steel targets at up to 30 yards at speed. I don't have the time to go crazy with alloys, I'm sure the accuracy would improve if I did. I just use plain old wheel weights.

I use this process because I can crank out a lot of boolits quickly. I can cast and PC a thousand boolits in under 3 hours. I PC batches of 200 or 300 boolits at a time. See the video below for a 2 minute quick walk through of my process. Similar to many, but not identical.

The powder in this video is from powderbuythepound mirror black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVEBd8okTJE

[Soundguy]

Just imagine if you wasted a few minutes alloying up....

[Chaparral66]

I've tumble lubed with LLA. Still have to handle and "dry" boolits before using them. I have power coat and find it works well. I am also using Hi-Tech coating. The PC and HT costings are nice to seal the lead. All the processes take several steps. Boolits that are blemished or rejects can be remelted. LLA generates smoke. PC generates smoke and smell and the coating melts. HT does not melt, smoke or smell. It just leaves an empty shell floating on the molten lead. PC is paint. HT is a polymer coating and much more robust. I know folks that HT coat their high speed rifle loads with great success and no loss of accuracy. Lube, PC or HT for pistol/revolver won't affect accuracy enough to worry about. With a pistol or revolver you are shooting at 25 yards or less. It is 10 feet from my couch to the front door. I don't need accuracy.

[Soundguy]

I don't handle my Lla bullets. ( or rooster jacket). I just dump them onto a cooling tray, give it a shake to get everything on one layer, click the blower on and go to something else. I usually mix my Lla with Johnson's paste wax for some carnauba ..and that keeps contact sticking from happening. Rooster jacket doesn't stick either.

[rbuck351]

I lubed with a Lyman 450 for 30 years or more and had good results although it does smoke and is messy. A few years ago I found a Star sizer/luber at a gunshow for $65 with a 452 die and punch. The Star is a lot faster than the Lyman or the RCBS sizers I have and it is a lot less messy with the only messy part is handling the boolits when loading. The Star puts lube only where it belongs. A few years ago I decided to try PC shake and bake and found it works fairly well but it is slow compared to the Star. After casting a batch of boolits, I can size and lube 15 or more boolits per minute. Picking up each boolit with tweezers, shaking them off, standing up a tray of 22 cal boolits and getting them into a toaster oven without them tipping over is not only time consuming but difficult. 200 gr 45s are a lot easier. The PC does work but for me but the only real benefit I see is being able to increase diameter. I don't have issues with leading and the Star removed most of the mess and I don't care whether they smoke or not as I don't shoot indoors. I do have one issue with PC and that is the pc running down the side of the boolits and forming finning on the bottom edge of the boolits. There is probably a way to prevent this but I haven't done a lot of messing with PC yet. I does seem like a good thing to add to casting boolits but I don't think I would be happy with just PC.

[cwlongshot]

I have PC'ed and fired thousands of boolits in .40, 9mm, .38/.357, .32 S&W/.327 FM and .30 (.308, 30-06, 300BLK). I use the shake & bake method more or less with a few variations. I get minor fouling in the barrel from the PC, but one shot removes and replaces the fouling from the shot before it so it does not accumulate, and is a breeze to clean. I can clean the bore with a plastic bore brush effectively if I choose. Accuracy is as good as I need it to be, which is to say that I can connect on steel targets at up to 30 yards at speed. I don't have the time to go crazy with alloys, I'm sure the accuracy would improve if I did. I just use plain old wheel weights.

I use this process because I can crank out a lot of boolits quickly. I can cast and PC a thousand boolits in under 3 hours. I PC batches of 200 or 300 boolits at a time. See the video below for a 2 minute quick walk through of my process. Similar to many, but not identical.

The powder in this video is from powderbuythepound mirror black.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVEBd8okTJE

Excellent Video. I comments and sub'ed ya

CW

[Hanzy4200]

I tried it for the first time maybe 2 years ago. Now, roughly 80% of my casting involves powder coating. Yes, it's the bees knees.

[wmitty]

It appears to depend on whether pistol / revolver boolits are being discussed; or rifle boolits are the projectiles of interest. I have tried to build enthusiasm to make the effort to try powder coating, but I can not see the advantage of P. C. in relation to using Ben’s Liquid Lube on pistol/ revolver boolits.
I don’t shoot (never have) at an indoor range, but I do realize that for many the smoke produced by the alox is a serious problem. Pouring a few drops of B L L on a container of clean cast boolits and shaking to distribute the lube and allowing to dry is simply much quicker/ simpler and just as effective a lubrication method as P C. (Excepting the smoking alox problem). I feel that running rifle boolits thru a lubesizer is significantly faster than using a push thru die to seat gas checks and then standing the checked boolits on a tray and placing them in an oven. Please show me the error of my ways!

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Read here on the forums that there are some bpcr shooters who powder coat which was a bit of a surprise. One mentioned using Smoke's clear to maintain the aesthetic. I can say it does work very well with smokeless powder loads and is not particularly hard to do as long as you use good powder.

[doulos]

Id like to try it. But I have too much reloading equipment now. LOL This stuff is never ending.