Lube vs PC

[wv109323]

Adv. Of powder coating:
Smaller initial investment over buying a sizer lubricater.
Minimal xpenses for future coating
Bullet diameter can be increased over mold diameter( if as cast is not big enough)
Lead alloy/hardness not as critical
Pretty colored boolits
If bullets are stood up on end bullet bases are smoother.
DISadvantages of PC
Longer process time over my Star lubrisizer.
Adv. Of lubing
Quicker than pc'ing
Different lubes can be used
I have found no better or worse accuracy in either process.

[dimaprok]

PC (powder coating) or CL (conventional lubrication) are just two ways to do the same thing .
I started before PC was invented , Lyman 450 was bought in 1970 ...
I never changed to PC because ... I size my boolits , that said one cycle (in -out) produces a sized , lubricated and if needed gas check seated boolit ...that fast , pull down , press lube handle , pull up ... Ready To Load .

I looked into the PC process and realized you have to size the boolit , sometimes twice , powder coat it , stand each boolit up on a tray , get the tray into an oven , bake the boolits , let cool and sometimes the finished boolit is too large in the nose or ogive to chamber ...
I just don't see any time being saved by PC'ing and I see size problems created .

I can make my own lubricants ... I have to buy powders for coating .

It's two different ways to do something... If you could borrow a Lube/Sizer and do 1K boolits and then do 1K PC'ed ... it sure would let you know which way is right for you .
Gary

You make your own lube but that takes time and you need to buy ingredients. PC is inexpensive like $10/lb from local shop and some will even give you free leftovers. It takes very little to coat. You can tumble 1000 bullets at once with PC and bake all at once too. No need to stand on base nonsense and than you can push through size all in 1 pass, goes a lot faster too if you mount your press upside down and here is big advantage for me, I can store all the bullets in the can without the lube getting smeared, with traditional blue I have to stack them in a single layer and I won't use bullet feeder to load them. Another thing no smoke with PC when you shoot.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[greenjoytj]

I am thinking PC may not work well when powder charging with black powder, particularly If you want to shoot more than one shot. Maybe I’m wrong?
Truly I don’t know enough about PC. My investment in my Redding Lubri-sizer mean I will keep using it.

[farmbif]

I dont know, there might be some benefits to powder coating, maybe I'll get some plastic bb's and try it some day, but there's is just something about pulling a bullet from lube sizer with the shiny bands around the outside. and from what I understand even if you bake on powder paint you still have to size the bullets. and what ive been doing works for me, I make sure I size bullets big and use good lube and gas checks on gas check bullets and I've never spent more than just a few minutes cleaning a barrel.
I probably have more $$ spent in different size lube size dies and punches than was invested in the lube sizer. and to switch all over to a push through size system for PC would cost a few hard earned dollars.

[Baltimoreed]

Do both. The huge advantage that pc has over lube is that you can use any old junk mystery lead to cast your boolits and then pc them without having leading issues. And they’re pretty too.

[dverna]

You make your own lube but that takes time and you need to buy ingredients. PC is inexpensive like $10/lb from local shop and some will even give you free leftovers. It takes very little to coat. You can tumble 1000 bullets at once with PC and bake all at once too. No need to stand on base nonsense and than you can push through size all in 1 pass, goes a lot faster too if you mount your press upside down and here is big advantage for me, I can store all the bullets in the can without the lube getting smeared, with traditional blue I have to stack them in a single layer and I won't use bullet feeder to load them. Another thing no smoke with PC when you shoot.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

Cost is so minimal with either method that it should not enter into the decision. Current cost of White Label lubes (Vendor on this site) is less than $3/stick and I get about 1000 .357 bullets per stick. I can lube and size 1000/hr with the Star. If I saved the entire $3 by using PC it would not be worth the hassle of coating and cooking 1000 bullets unless I could shoot them unsized. And if I could shoot the bullets unsized I would use BLL.

Nothing wrong with PC and a great way to start, but it is not perfect for everyone. No system is.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I do both and have very good results with both methods. I was into tumble lubing at the start so many of my molds are that style and won't work with CL. I enjoy my lubrizer and home made lube. I tried pan lubing first before buying it. I PC for 9mm and most .357. My .44's I CL. PC works well and is easy to do of you research the process.

[skeet1]

I guess I'm just old school I have been loading CL for about 50 years and have been very satisfied with the results. To me, it just seems quicker and less time-consuming. If it's not broken don't fix it.

[ILostMyGoat]

Do both. The huge advantage that pc has over lube is that you can use any old junk mystery lead to cast your boolits and then pc them without having leading issues. And they’re pretty too.

That is something I’ve been tossing around in my head. 1) Would there be benefits to PC then lubing? 2) what application would PC be better suited towards? 3) what application would lube be better suited for?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dverna]

That is something I’ve been tossing around in my head. 1) Would there be benefits to PC then lubing? 2) what application would PC be better suited towards? 3) what application would lube be better suited for?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you "need" to PC and then lube something is wrong. Might be a way to salvage bullets that have been poorly PC'ed. I have not heard of anyone on this forum doing that as their SOP.

Sounds like you want to PC so go for it. It is not a huge investment and there are plenty of folks here to walk you through any issues you come up against.

IMO reports tend towards lubed bullets being more accurate, but most people cannot shoot or cast well enough to tell the difference. Good enough is good enough.

For some folks, PC offers no outstanding benefits to warrant changing from traditional lubes. For others, it was a game changer. Funny how that works....LOL.

There are hundreds of pages to sort through on PC, HiTek, BLL and lubes...and the bottom line...NO ONE can tell you what is best for you because we have no idea what calibers you are working with, quantities to process, or expectations you have. And even worse, even if you gave us all the details, most folks would just tell you what works for them. Funny how that works...LOL

My advice...go cheap and see if it works. Keeps your investment small and you learn from it. If I was starting out, I would try BLL based on my needs. YMMV

[GregLaROCHE]

Some people do lube PCed boolits. When I am shooting BP I use lubed plain boolits or PCed. Sometimes I’ll put some lube on the PCed ones, but not usually. I do like to use a grease cookie most of the time too.

[Shadow9mm]

I have tried traditional lube in the grooves, as well as tumble lube. Right now I getting into powder coating. So far, powder coating is the way to go IMHO. However I believe I saw fortunecookie45 powder coat AND lube the grooves on some bullets for a rifle.... may have to give that a try as well, just for kicks and grins.

[Sasquatch-1]

I believe it was mentioned somewhere in this thread that this was for a black powder cartridge. Just remember that with a black powder cartridge or muzzleloader, the lube is what keeps the fouling soft.

[Tazman1602]

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

Oh what a relief it is….

Darn, just dated myself…

Art

[elmacgyver0]

I believe it was mentioned somewhere in this thread that this was for a black powder cartridge. Just remember that with a black powder cartridge or muzzleloader, the lube is what keeps the fouling soft.

I wasn't aware you used conventional lube for black powder cartridges.
I thought it was something different.
Learn something every day!

[rbuck351]

I have used CL for over 50 years and after getting a Star sizer, most of my issues with CL have been cured. Although I have figured out a way to size my boolits up for those molds that cast undersize, it's much easier to PC them up. The issue I have with PC is it's quite a bit slower but if I can figure out how to speed up the process, especially the baking of the tall 22cal boolits, it may become my go to method for rifle boolits. I don't see PC becoming my go to for pistol coating. I did just get an electrostatic gun that I haven't a chance to use yet so I will see.

[Char-Gar]

I have been casting and loading them since 1960 and have a large amount of reloading, casting, lubing and sizing equipment and supplies. I broke the code on alloy temper, powders etc, etc, a very long time ago. I can think of no good reason to start over again with another concept.

However, if I was starting over again, I would at least consider powder coating.

[gloob]

PC will protect the bullet from some degree of gas cutting and resulting lead fouling. But if you care to sort out the kinks for your particular firearms, you can usually stop that gas cutting from happening in the first place.

PC will mean your bullets are shootable in a wider variety of your firearms. Some of the solutions mentioned above means that ammo for one firearm might not chamber in another.

PC doesn't smoke in revolvers and blowbacks like lube does. In closed breech pistols, you can also get smoke from bullet lube, but that's one of the aforementioned problems that can usually be solved. (It goes hand in hand with gas cutting... too much gas getting around the bullet before it fills the bore).

[Sasquatch-1]

I wasn't aware you used conventional lube for black powder cartridges.
I thought it was something different.
Learn something every day!

It does have to be a non-petroleum base lube. It can be as simple a saliva. I have used straight Crisco, Mink oil, Bore Butter and I am currently using a bee's wax and lamb tallow mix.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I wasn't aware you used conventional lube for black powder cartridges.
I thought it was something different.
Learn something every day!

Well, you use conventional black powder lube. BP lube contains no petro chemicals. 50/50 beeswax and crisco or olive oil is common.