Powder Coat Questions

[tacofrank]

New to this and have read quite a bit but still a little confused.
I am using Eastwood Blue.
Coat the same day as I cast.
Cook in a preheated oven at 400 degres for 30 min.
Water quench.
Let dry and size.
Bullets look and shoot great. Only have done one batch and I did everything the same day except loading and shooting.
I had to wait for a week to load and shoot. They shot great.
My guestions are is it ok to cast, coat, and size the same day? When can I load and shoot? Is there a preffered order?
I did and small batch of 50 to try and they shot great in my carbine and pistol with mid-level loads. Wanted to get some advise before doing a large batch.
Thanks For Looking,

TF

[Hick]

I can try to answer some of your questions-- I sometimes cast, size and coat the same day and have had no problems. However, some alloys age harden and most of the change happens in the first 48 hours. So-- for consistency you might want to cast then let everything stabilize a couple of days. For what its worth, I have noticed among those who powder coat a tendency to cook longer (if some is enough longer must be better??). The powder coat instructions I printed out when I started coating say 15 minutes at 400 in a pre-heated oven is enough. I only bake for 15 minutes and have tested bullets in some pretty extreme conditions without the coating failing. As far as I know there is nothing wrong with 30 minutes but you might be doing more than you need to do. Also, I do not water quench-- just take them out of the oven and let them air cool.

[charlie b]

Yes. Done it more than once

Water quench is not something I do. When a lead alloy has antimony or arsenic (or one of several other components) it will age harden for many days/weeks. Lead-tin alone does not (as far as I can see from the scientific papers).

Water quenched bullets could reduce hardness over time depending on the temp/time of the treatment and the particular alloy but I haven't seen any numbers on that.

This is from the LASC website
http://www.lasc.us/HeatTreat.htm

[Tripplebeards]

I did it yesterday with 7 pounds worth. Looked like a circus but I had it all done in about 3 hours if I remember. Had to to take a shower…even though it looked like I already did from the sweat. I didn’t water quench….my boolits, just me.

[tacofrank]

Thanks for your replies guys. You've got me feeling more comfortable with the process. I like the idea of eliminating the water quench.
I will start another batch today. I cast outdoors and I try to cast a winters worth of handgun and rifle bullets before winter sets in.
Again thank you for your help.
TF

[oley55]

I have been PCing for a couple years now and have never quenched during casting as I believe the PCing bake would negate any as cast quench hardening. From reading about hardening, I also doubt any meaningful hardening benefits are to be realized if quenching after the normal 400F/20min PC curing process (just not long enough).

Only yesterday I began heat treating some previously PC'd/sized COWW boolits. One hour at 425 degrees in a preheated oven and then quenched in chilled (48 degree) water. The PC seems as strong or stronger than ever as per the smash/crush tests.

I will wait 48 hours before I load any rounds for testing. I was having an issue where the bases of my .434" COWW air cooled boolit bases were being swaged at the base during seating. I am curious to see if these hardened boolits will retain their dimensions better.

[tacofrank]

Thanks Oley55,
There is a huge amount of knowledge on this site. You have me thinking about an hour rebake to harden.
I would like the hear the results of your test.
Thank you for your reply.
TF

[David2011]

My preference is to cast, coat and size as soon as possible and definitely inside of 48 hours. I let a batch of .40 boolits sit for about two weeks before sizing once. It really strained my Star lube sizer to size the boolits after age hardening for that long.

[Tripplebeards]

Thanks Oley55,
There is a huge amount of knowledge on this site. You have me thinking about an hour rebake to harden.
I would like the hear the results of your test.
Thank you for your reply.
TF

I tried that when first started here. I WQd my COWW alloy. Then PCd and baled for and hour and WQd again. My original alloy was around 14/15BH. I only bumped it to 16BH when I checked a few weeks later and again a year later. The same alloy tested at 33 BH WQ in ice water dropped from the mold 2 weeks later. I PCd it after that and WQd again and lost all the extra hardness accept for bumping it one point. I learned shortly after that I wanted as soft as alloy that I could shoot accurately for hunting. I use gas checks and PC all my boolits in the past. I’ve been able to shoot 7.5 BH alloy at 2100 fps with zero leading. It’s the 10mm that’s kicking my butt the last week. I tried the 7.5 alloy with not GC and leaded my barrel. Going to try alloys in the 11 BH, 14BH, and 17.9BH. Other then that 10.5 BH to 7.5BH is all I use for my rifles with GCs. No GCs I’m finding out I need harder alloy.

[TXCOONDOG]

I tried that when first started here. I WQd my COWW alloy. Then PCd and baled for and hour and WQd again. My original alloy was around 14/15BH. I only bumped it to 16BH when I checked a few weeks later and again a year later. The same alloy tested at 33 BH WQ in ice water dropped from the mold 2 weeks later. I PCd it after that and WQd again and lost all the extra hardness accept for bumping it one point. I learned shortly after that I wanted as soft as alloy that I could shoot accurately for hunting. I use gas checks and PC all my boolits in the past. I’ve been able to shoot 7.5 BH alloy at 2100 fps with zero leading. It’s the 10mm that’s kicking my butt the last week. I tried the 7.5 alloy with not GC and leaded my barrel. Going to try alloys in the 11 BH, 14BH, and 17.9BH. Other then that 10.5 BH to 7.5BH is all I use for my rifles with GCs. No GCs I’m finding out I need harder alloy.

Looks like you got it figured out. I've been casting and PCing for all 5 of my 10mm's. I was having leading issues so I started using COWW and water dropped which stop it.

[GregLaROCHE]

I don’t see any problem with doing it, unless you are looking for hair splitting accuracy. Then you might want to let them age a week or so, before shooting to be sure of having a consistent hardness.

[res45]

Some days I only have time to cast, other times I can cast, coat and size on the same day, I always like to do my coating and sizing on the same day. In general, I like to let my bullets set for around two weeks before loading, especially if I'm quenching after coating, which I often do for the alloy I'm using.

[renoce]

I nearly always wait at least a day before coating and baking after casting. I just like the bullets to completely cool before moving forward. I seem to have good results. Sometimes it is more than two days.

[fredj338]

Sure, everything is cured. Waiting will harden the alloy up a bit. I prefer to size within a couple days. Wait a month & sizing is noticeably harder. Water quenching out of a 15-20m oven will harden them a bit, 3-4bhn, if antimony &/or arsenic is present.

[catkiller45]

How does the harbor freight powder work compared to the other brands of powder??

[popper]

harbor freight powder terrible.

[charlie b]

HF probably works fine out of an ES spray gun. For shake and bake it is really bad, even out here in the desert. As in, not worth the cost, even on a coupon day.