Powdercoating update.... now cheaper!!

[snuffy]

Well I ducked the rain showers long enough to do some testing.

That's the spit open test tube with a 124 coated Lee 9mm truncated cone where it stopped. Once in a while you get this clear split right on the boolit path to see where it ends up.

The two 45's I tested. The 230 TC went slick and clean through the first tube I tried, so I stuck two end-to-end to catch the slug in the second one. Not surprising that a solid, hard, 45 would penetrate that far.

Continued on next post---;

 

[snuffy]

The two 9's I fired.

The TC 9mm came to rest backwards! It must have flipped just as it stopped.

Now for the accuracy. Or lack thereof. At least with the 9's, the RN was best, but a 6" group @ 25 yards is awful. Pistol is my CZ-75B, it's capable of 2" groups with the right recipe. The TC boolits missed the whole paper target all 5 shots! (From 25 yds). (Standard copy paper). I suspect that even though there was no leading from either boolit, the soft lead just won't work in that gun.

The 45 is a customized SA 1911 A-1 with an aftermarket match barrel. It shot the 200 HP's into around 3" from again 25 yds. The 230 TC's were almost that good. None of the boolits leaded at all in either gun. The paint/coating survives the trip down the barrel, the rifling does not cut through the paint, and it sticks even while a HP opens up like that one did!

I'm going to dump the soft lead from that pot,(it needs to be cleaned anyway), replace it with range lead and cast some more of the TC boolits. Then coat them and do a load work-up. I can already see the end of normal lube for 9's, and possibly the 45's.

 

[Beagle333]

I can already see the end of normal lube for 9's, and possibly the 45's.

It is the future!

 

[hornetguy]

Ok. I'm out of touch.

What is the benefit of doing this? Aside from the novelty factor of having technicolor boolits?

Doesn't painting the boolits take quite a bit of time? Then baking them, then washing and waxing... well, maybe not that.

 

[snuffy]

Ok. I'm out of touch.

What is the benefit of doing this?A lot less smoke that traditionally lubed boolits. Aside from the novelty factor of having technicolor boolits?Yeah, they're really pretty!

Doesn't painting the boolits take quite a bit of time? Not any more time than tumble lubing. But using a sizer, like a lyman can be quicker.Then baking them, then washing and waxing... well, maybe not that.

Tumbling takes about 10-15 minutes. baking @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes, you're done.

Techniques are still developing, but this tumbling method is the easiest, AND I think it works just fine.

 

[A pause for the COZ]

Ok. I'm out of touch.

What is the benefit of doing this? Aside from the novelty factor of having technicolor boolits?

Doesn't painting the boolits take quite a bit of time? Then baking them, then washing and waxing... well, maybe not that.

I will add two things. I did not start powder coating for the looks or because I could not lube normally. I started as an experiment to see if I could get 223 bullets to hold up better at higher velocities in a AR rifle with a 1 in 9 twist.
I was over spinning standard cast/ Lubed bullets. Jury is still out but my initial testing it seems to help.

Then I stumbled onto the two main reason to Powder coat pistol bullets.
At least for me.

1st is the fact that I do not need to worry about maintaining lube groove depth. Since the bullet is not dependent on the proper amount of lube. I can use bullets for different uses.
I.E. Take a 125gr LEE bullet that cast at .360 and size it down to .356 for my 9mm pistols or carbine. No problems.

I have spent well over a year trying to get cast bullets to feed from my RCBS and Hornady bullet feeders. With varying degrees of success. None a perfect solution. You always end up with a lubed up die. That you have to take apart to clean. Killing the whole purpose of the feeder. ( save time)

Powder coated bullets work flawlessly in bullet feeders. If your feeder worked with jacketed or plated. It will work with PC'd
Thats a big big win for me. I now only PC my bullets that I intend to use in the calibers I feed. Period never going to do it another way.

 

[Beagle333]

I'm with COZ.... it doesn't gum up your dies and equipment. That's a big plus. It doesn't dry or crack or stick to the container and other bullets and fall out of the lube grooves when stored indefinitely either.
And the biggest reason that I started.... was to shoot softer alloy faster in pistols. You can shoot range scrap instead of the pricier, harder-to-find wheel weights and you can push it to magnum velocities without leading.
So it's cheaper to shoot, you get prettier mushrooms from your slugs, and also you do get the Technicolor advantage.... and who don't like bright colors, and... Zombie Boolits!!!!

If you want fast though..... buy a Star. You cannot get faster, that I'm aware of, than a Star running smoothly.

 

[groundsclown]

Beagle, what color are these?...Don't say "red, dummy" They have an anodized look. Wondering where you got the powder from.

 

[kelbro]

I shake mine up for 3 or 4 minutes in a plastic Folgers can. Throw them on a mesh sheet and bake in a preheated 400° toaster oven for 10 mins and they come out near perfect. No pre-cleaning. Lee push through sizer. Cheap, fast, and effective.

 

[Vance]

Beagle, what color are these?...Don't say "red, dummy" They have an anodized look. Wondering where you got the powder from.

I'm going to guess it is transparent candy apple red.

 

[mikld]

Another, lesser reason for powder coating; I'm unique at the range. No one else shoots "technicolor" bullets...

 

[snuffy]

I was tired late last night, couldn't think of too many advantages of PC boolits.

Commercial cast bullets usually have some type of hard wax in the lube groves. The reason? A couple, it tends to stay put, it's the cheapest stuff they can find, and it's melting point is high enough that if the package gets hot, it won;t melt off.

NRA formula alox 50/50 with beeswax has been the standard for----well for ever. It works okay, it's useable without a heater, and I think it smells good! BUT if you leave a lube groove full of it below the neck It will melt into your powder if shells are left sitting on your shooting bench in the sun.

A DISadvantage? Boolits coated thusly are incredibly slippery! The PC is hard and slick when cured. A few dropped boolits is of little concern, I just wait til I'm finished to pick them up, only have to bend down once then. Oh one other thing. Shells in shell boxes nose up are near impossible to lift out of the individual compartments. Gonna take a tweezers with me to the range next time! Picture 9mm RN in a FA plactic box, and my dry 68 YO fingers, along with some new cuss words! My dog thought I must of gone off the deep end!

I got lawn to mow, been putting that off for too long!

 

[Beagle333]

Groundsclown......

Aint it purty!!

I got it from this dude on Ebay.....
Ebay dude. And he ain't givin' it away!

but I'm pretty sure he buys his powder from PowderBuyThePound.com based on the other colors he sells. He won't admit that's where he gets it, but he won't deny it either, so I feel good about the source. Not sure of the color though. I'm sure it's on their website if you flip through the candies and reds.

To me, it looks like this one....
https://www.powderbuythepound.com/CANDY_RED/
But I have NOT bought any from them. I just got a sample from him back when I first started coating and didn't know where to find powders yet, and I only coated a couple hundred with that color.
It's much cheaper to buy bulk powder from powder retailers, than to buy small samples from folks..... I'm learning!

 

[Beagle333]

I hit the LGS today.... the Red Dot and Bullseye is just sitting there. Apparently nobody around here loads it, so I picked up some Bullseye just to see how it does. The Unique and 2400 was all sold.
I had plenty of Red Dot already. They do have most of the numbers of Hodgdon and IMR powders on the shelf now. It sure is great to see those shelves filling back up.
No Accurate powder yet though.

 

[Unclenick]

Snuffy,

That parchment may be cheating. Now you've got some silicone lube on those bullet bases.

Thanks for doing the impact plating experiment and saving me the effort.

 

[nemesiss45]

Out of curiosity... anyone heard about trying this in a vibratory tumbler? I want to try, I just dont want to clean the powder out of the tumbler later

 

[A pause for the COZ]

Out of curiosity... anyone heard about trying this in a vibratory tumbler? I want to try, I just dont want to clean the powder out of the tumbler later

Nothing saying you can not batch up a few smaller #5 containers and set them inside the tumbler and let them shake.
Nothing to clean up after then.

 

[Beagle333]

I saw a fellow on another forum use a tumbler and small containers, but he was using regular BBs. It worked well too. It seem to be more steps to go through, and I don't have a vibratory tumbler, but he got about the same results as the ASBBS. But you don't have to shake anything if you go that way.

 

[snuffy]

Out of curiosity... anyone heard about trying this in a vibratory tumbler? I want to try, I just don't want to clean the powder out of the tumbler later

From Post # 47
I'm real happy. You can see a few spots not covered, but most of the driving bands are covered.

I did some 45's last night. Only had a few not lubed to try to coat. I tried the tumbler impact coating method, I had a clean extra bowl and some #2 steel shot. Incredible racket, didn't cover well at all. Immediately switched to the airsoft. Those came out well, so I fired up the pot today to make some 9mm.

I did not try putting a jar with steel bb's, powder coat inside the tumbler with corncob media. That was how I impact coated jacketed bullets with the molly powder back when I bit on that fad. I still have the molly, I hope to find a use for it someday. The "jar" or bottle I used was what ibuprofen pills came in, I went through about 500 of them a month back then.

I may try that with a similar bottle, the ASBB,(Air Soft BB) boolits and HFPC(Harbor Freight Powder Coat). Just the tumbler with ¾ full of corn-cob, and a couple of bottles. Even when tumbling cases, there seems to be plenty of static when you first open the cover to remove the brass.

I dunno, what I have already appears to be working, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[mikld]

I recently tried steel BBs and powder in a small rotary tumbler. Red works great, but yellow and white is the same as any dry tumbling; not so hot, spotty very little coverage...

I need to find some black ASBBs.