I had read where most propellants, containing nitroglycerin, would attack some bullet coatings so I set off to do some testing my self. I put a small amount of Bullseye, TiteGroup, Winchester Super Field and Aliant Sport Pistol powder into individual ZipLoc baggies. Next I submerged three bullets, Green is 1 coat of Smoke's PC, Blue is 1 coat Eastwood PC and Gold is 2 coats of HiTek.
The test was started on 3/18 for BE, TG and WSF powders and 3/20 on the SP powder. The bags were stored in a cool, dry, dark cabinet. I inspected each sample daily and made notes.
After 24 hours BE, TG and WSF all had flakes of powder sticking to the PC bullets. No effect on the Gold HiTek paint.
After 48 hours the gloss was gone from all PC bullets and they felt gummy or tacky. No effect on the Gold HiTek paint.
I placed a new shiny green bullet, on the right side for visual comparison. That bullet had not been exposed to any of the propellants and served as a control sample for the test.
After 7 days I was able to easily scrape off PC with my thumbnail from the BE, TG and WSF samples. No effect on the Gold HiTek paint. The pencil points to where I scraped the lead off.
After 3 weeks all the PC and HiTek bullets in the Sport Pistol propellant still retain all of their gloss and integrity and look like new:
I conducted this test because I have had issues with my pistol comps getting lead build up. What is odd is that when I shoot HiTek coated bullets I get lead deposits in the comp. When I shoot Powdercoated bullets, I don't get lead deposits. Based on this test you would think it would be the inverse. I don't usually allow my PC bullets to set (loaded) longer than a week before I shoot them so this may have an effect. I will continue my testing and allow the PC bullets to set for 3 weeks (loaded) and then shoot them to see if this will cause any lead build up. I will also make notes on how long the HT bullets have set before shooting them to see if this will have an effect on leading as well.
None the less the Alliant Sport Pistol Powder is proving to be one of my favored propellants now. It burns the cleanest and leaves the least amount of residue in spent brass and inside my pistols.