Powder coating Pitfalls

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I've had a recurring problem with my Pedersoli 44/40 'Lightning' pump. The odd round won't chamber fully :ummmno:

I have previously trimmed all brass to a specific length of 1.295" (slightly shorter than spec) so I was confident that wasn't the problem so I started to look at my powder coated bullets.

When cast they measure 0.430" exactly and when powder coated 0.4315". When loaded into Winchester or Starline brass there was no problem, but the problem persisted with Remington-Peters brass.

I found the cause in the brass, R-P was a full 0.002" (0.001" each side) thicker wall thickness than the other brands. The solution was to size the powder-coated projectile through a 0.429" sizer. Was suprised to find that the powder coat itself remained unbroken and the rifle fed without any further problems.

Similar thing happens with my Winchester P14 303 British, have been using a 0.316" size die to crimp on 8mm gas checks and not size the projectile. Again some rounds are difficult to chamber without running through my 0.314" sizer.

So there you have it, if chambering is difficult remember that powder coating ADDS 0.001- 0.0150" to the diameter of the bullet.

[popper]

PCwill add 2-3 thous depending on the coverage and remember to check the ogive for proper fit. Nose can grow too. May have to seat deeper.

[schutzen-jager]

jmho - i never had any of those issues when tumble lubed with liquid alox - powder coating gave me no advantages at all - prefer to keep it cheaper, less time consuming, + more efficient than powder coating -

[405grain]

For me powder coating is so much better than lubed bullets. As far as pistol caliber bullets, the shake and bake method is so good that I'll never go back to the mess and leading problems that you get with lube. Now rifles - that's a different story. I really like powder coating, but powder coat doesn't play well with bore riders. That extra .002" makes the nose too fat to chamber. Seating deeper isn't going to work with bore riders either because, to get the cartridge to chamber you's have to seat the (bore diameter) nose of the bullet inside the case neck. (this will not work) Loverin style bullets haven't been nearly as accurate in my rifles as bore riders, so you have to get creative to powder coat and use this style of bullet. It's extra work, but it makes extra results.

[TD1886]

For me powder coating is so much better than lubed bullets. As far as pistol caliber bullets, the shake and bake method is so good that I'll never go back to the mess and leading problems that you get with lube. Now rifles - that's a different story. I really like powder coating, but powder coat doesn't play well with bore riders. That extra .002" makes the nose too fat to chamber. Seating deeper isn't going to work with bore riders either because, to get the cartridge to chamber you's have to seat the (bore diameter) nose of the bullet inside the case neck. (this will not work) Loverin style bullets haven't been nearly as accurate in my rifles as bore riders, so you have to get creative to powder coat and use this style of bullet. It's extra work, but it makes extra results.

I find quite the opposite what you do using cast. Gee how do I say this without tramping on your toes. Generally leading caused by not knowing what you're doing. As far as the messy lube, well I'd say you're using the wrong lube. Only thing messy I can say about lubed cast bullets is that they make your firearm dirtier at the breech end area.

I recenty just finishe powder coating some 314299's which are 2/3 to 3/4 bore riding and to boot the 314 is the fatter version of the very samep 311299. I made a special nose sizing die and they shot very very well from my Garand.

With powder coat you should size your bullets smaller to make up for the thickness of powder coating. I don't see one way better than the other way as far as all the steps involved.

[TD1886]

PCwill add 2-3 thous depending on the coverage and remember to check the ogive for proper fit. Nose can grow too. May have to seat deeper.

Different types and brands of PC end up with different thicknesses.

[725]

How about sizing after the PC application?

[Bad Ass Wallace]

How about sizing after the PC application?

That is exactly what I am doing!

[405grain]

TD1886: No offense taken at all. I do what works best in my firearms. I'm glad that you do what works best in yours. Cheers.

[Cast10]

Do you use a cowboy M Die to open up the case more for the oversized lead boolit? I had jams on my 10mm carbine and once I began with the M die, all problems resolved, including the amount of crimp.

[elmacgyver0]

I like PC for several reasons.
1. It's clean.
2. It looks good.
3. Suppressor friendly.
I have always had good luck with the tumble lube, I just don't like handling the boolits.
I found out that with bare lead boolits some of the lead is vaporized.
When the gases are slowed down by the suppressor the lead condenses on the exit side of the can and are very hard to remove.
I have recently found a product that melts away carbon and makes it a lot easier to remove the lead, but it is better if it is not allowed to form in the first place.
PC is not a cure all, it does have its good and bad points like lube.
I'm not going to toss out all my lube, but I have reduced using a lot of it in favor of PC.

[charlie b]

So, curious minds want to know, what did you find that melts away carbon?

[fredj338]

Easily solved by sizing after coating? If that is what you are doing, how can there be any size diff between brands of brass? Now if the throat is short, there can be an issue with add'l coating added to the nose or front driving band & may require you seat just a bit shorter. I have this issue with one of my 1911s.

[iron brigade]

The worst thing about lee alox is that it gums up the seating die. ever seat a bullet only to have it stick in the die and leave the gas check in the case neck?
Pc for me, each to their own.

[fordwannabe]

I am a PC guy myself. I was a fan of the translucent copper before they changed the formula. I still coat with several different colors but mostly use clear now. Clean, can adjust sizing by adding an additional coat of PC, I do size after coating, and I use them in suppressed firearms regularly. I still have my Lyman lubrisizer but it is not getting any more wear in the near future.

[gloob]

I've had that issue with sized boolits in one of my guns. Bullets sized to 1 over jacketed would not chamber with certain thicker headstamps, unless you applied a bit of excess taper crimp. But then the boolits would be undersized by the case mouth as they were fired, fouling the barrel!

I turned down the offending case mouths a bit.

[Onebad06vtx]

What do you use that melts away carbon?

[oley55]

What do you use that melts away carbon?

Perhaps he was referring to SLiP 2000 Carbon Killer https://slip2000.com/collections/cle.../carbon-killer

https://slip2000.com/cdn/shop/files/...g?v=1685038175

[beemer]

Powder coating is another tool in the box. I have had good results with PC but it is not a cure all. Some boolits will not work in some rifles with PC and sometimes PC gives me the dimensions I need. Between powder coating, sizing, lube, mold selection and seating you can usually find something that will work.

I do like the fact that PC is not messy, LLA can load up on a seating stem and collect dirt and dust on the exposed boolit.

Tinkering around with different things to find what works is part of the fun. I like reloading as much as shooting.

[elmacgyver0]

A product called Breakthrough, it is for cleaning suppressors.
It is not cheap, but it works pretty well.