PC CAST BOOLITS

[indydave]

Powdercoat cast boolits or size and lube?

i size and lube and have for years, change my mind?

LOL

 

[billybob44]

Powdercoat cast boolits or size and lube?

i size and lube and have for years, change my mind?

LOL

Same here, up till 5 or so years ago==
I now PC all my cast.
No lube smoke, slicker than Jacketed projectiles, and just works better.
Looks neat too..My Farmer buddies around here really like the John Deere Green+Yellow!! They say that they just shoot like a "Deere"...HA.HA...
Really, for me the extra effort is worth it, ESPECIALLY, if you shoot Glocks, or other Polygonal barrels...Bill.

 

[indydave]

BILL,
How are you applying it before baking

 

[billybob44]

HA..
My Wife calls my Red 255gr. .45 Colt loads "Lip Stick"????

 

[billybob44]

BILL,
How are you applying it before baking

Over on CastBoolts there is TONS of info.
I just shake/swirl in a #5 type plastic bowl, pick out with gloved hands, and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Small trick that I made up==In stainless bowl-about 50 at a time-lightly spray with CHEAP carburetor/choke cleaner-wipe out with paper towel-heat hot to touch with my heat gun-place in #5 plastic bowel with PC.
This way the powder really coats well==You have to shake them off before you stand them in the bake tray.CHEAP-read-Goodwill toaster oven works for me...Bill.

 

[Chance]

Not great experience with some commercial PC bullets. PC coating thickness varied greatly and I had to run all of them through a sizing die to make them usable. Lead lubed and sized are consistent OD. Copper plated are covered in micro inch plating finish. PC is much thicker.

 

[indydave]

any powders to reccomend?

 

[billybob44]

Not great experience with some commercial PC bullets. PC coating thickness varied greatly and I had to run all of them through a sizing die to make them usable. Lead lubed and sized are consistent OD. Copper plated are covered in micro inch plating finish. PC is much thicker.

Yes, you must run them through size die after overnight cool off.
Just like cast lube bullets.
My starting point on size is usually .001" oversize, just like cast lubed bullets...Bill.

 

[billybob44]

any powders to reccomend?

Depends on what caliber??
Hard to beat WW-231/HP-38 powder for most all handgun loads.
I do NOT use TiteGroup or any other "Fast" powder..Bill.

 

[Chance]

Yes, you must run them through size die after overnight cool off.
Just like case lube bullets.
My starting point on size is usually .001" oversize, just like cast lubed bullets...Bill.

Thanks, Bill for the info. I was using commercially made PC bullets from a company in NE Indiana. They were not consistent OD. Been reloading for a while (45 years) and have not had this issue with anything I cast myself or that I have purchased copper plated. I am not convinced of the PC craze yet. If bullets are not run undersized prior to the PC application, they will be over on the OD when it is applied. Checked these with some of the tools I have accumulated after being an Engineer for the last 40 years. Thickness control is very important.

 

[ranger391xt]

any powders to reccomend?

There is a guy on the castboolits forum that sells PC powders that he has tested to work with the shake and bake method.

I also use powders that I have purchased online from the powder coat store. Their Cobalt Blue, Tiffany Blue, Gloss Blue, Hunter Green, Gloss Red and Crimson have all worked well for me using the shake and bake method. One of the keys is to not put too much PC powder in the bowl with the bullets.

I also size after coating. PC can add 1 or 2 thousandths to the thickness. I run mine through a Star push through sizer and have a 3d printed bullet feeder, so I can size a good number in a short amount of time.

There are reports that titegroup will degrade the coating on the bottom of bullets. I think this only happens if you store things so the Titegroup and PC powder are in contact with each other. I used Titegroup with 9mm PCd bullets, but stored them nose up for over two years and didn't notice any issue. I have also used Bullseye and HP-38 with PC without any problems.

 

[Crandall Crank]

I use the "shake & bake" method with powder purchased from the same member as mentioned above. Great guy and great products. A convection toaster/oven is best to use, it provides a more equal temperature, a PID controller is even better. Propellent power for pistols (HP38/231) is great with PC'd bullets.

 

[boatswainsmate]

I use a tumbler to apply the powder coat I get from smoke on the castboolits forum. I resize them in my star sizer.

 

[Onebad06vtx]

There is a guy on the castboolits forum that sells PC powders that he has tested to work with the shake and bake method.

I also use powders that I have purchased online from the powder coat store. Their Cobalt Blue, Tiffany Blue, Gloss Blue, Hunter Green, Gloss Red and Crimson have all worked well for me using the shake and bake method. One of the keys is to not put too much PC powder in the bowl with the bullets.

I also size after coating. PC can add 1 or 2 thousandths to the thickness. I run mine through a Star push through sizer and have a 3d printed bullet feeder, so I can size a good number in a short amount of time.

There are reports that titegroup will degrade the coating on the bottom of bullets. I think this only happens if you store things so the Titegroup and PC powder are in contact with each other. I used Titegroup with 9mm PCd bullets, but stored them nose up for over two years and didn't notice any issue. I have also used Bullseye and HP-38 with PC without any problems.

He hgets his powder from prismatic powders,polyester powder is what you want.
I only powder coat using the shake n bake method with airsoft BB's and coolwhip container.
Then size and load.

 

[ranger391xt]

I use a tumbler to apply the powder coat I get from smoke on the castboolits forum. I resize them in my star sizer.

Do you use BB's with the tumbler, or just pit bullets and powder in the bowl? Also curious about the amount of powder and amount of time you tumble.

 

[boatswainsmate]

Do you use BB's with the tumbler, or just pit bullets and powder in the bowl? Also curious about the amount of powder and amount of time you tumble.

I clean my bullets with acetone in a old towel/Dump them in the tumbler bowl without touching them/You will need to judge the amount of powder to the amount of bullets your doing. I usually add 1 Tablespoon./I tumble them for 20 minutes while the other batch is in the convection oven for 20 Minutes/I dump the bullets into a plastic colander and shake off the excess into a bowl/I pick them up with plastic gloves and place them on non-stick foil

 

[boatswainsmate]

Powdercoat cast boolits or size and lube?

i size and lube and have for years, change my mind?

LOL

I've pushed my powder coated bullets in the 454 Casull, 460 S&W Magnum and the 500 S&W Magnum without leading a barrel using low BHN alloy.

 

[ranger391xt]

Curious if the OP has been convinced to give PC a try?

 

[indydave]

on the hunt for a toaster oven

 

[Creedmoor]

on the hunt for a toaster oven

Good Will