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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Cast Bullets
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Huvius
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Loc: Colorado
Powder Coating Cast Bullets
      #257209 - 26/11/14 04:16 AM

I have posted this on another thread which was about lubing cast bullets.
Having read a lot on the subject, I thought powder coating could be a welcome diversion in reloading and figured it warranted its own thread.


Quote:

I am going down the powder coating path and this is my first try with the cheap electrostatic PC gun.
I have done some 310 Cadet bullets by tumblimg them in a solo cup with some airsoft balls to generate the static to get the powder to adhere to the bullet. It works OK but moving them from the cup to the baking sheet causes scratches and is tedious.
The coverage with the gun is definitely better but there is a lot of lost powder on the foil. I think I can place them closer together but with such tall bullets I was worried about getting good coverage on the sides. I say "a lot" but really, it is not that much powder. If I get a full sized oven and place the bullets closer together I feel the loss will be minimal.
These are plain based bullets as cast which I will size to .410" and shoot at normal cast velocities although I am tempted to run a few at full speed and see how they do. The PC bullets can take full velocity normally but most guys are using gas checked bullets either coated before the check or with the check.
I may throw a lubed wad in there just to protect the base.

They started about .408" and now measure .411-.412" so I might be laying it on a little heavy with the gun.
Sure look nice though.

On the way into the toaster oven.


I think they are looking pretty darn good!


These 310 Cadet bullets were dry tumbled in the solo cup


More 310 Cadet but done with the gun. Ignore the two wrinkly ones there.




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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257211 - 26/11/14 04:20 AM

Quote:

Do they measure the same after baking?




The .408" is the bare lead bullet. There is no way to measure post coating and before baking since the color is literally powder. The .411-.412 measurement is after cooking but they were a little warm still.
I will re-measure them tonight and see what they come out at. There should be no problem resizing the coated and baked bullets and I will report that once my .410" sizer gets here. Others have reported no issues resizing and the smash test shows no flaking or loss of the color coating.

Follow up:

I have measured a few of them and they are averaging .4105" now.
I also was able to peel some of the blue off of the non-stick foil and it measures .001" in the thick spots so I think the bullets are getting a similar coating.
I will resize them but I am not even sure that is needed except maybe helping them to become more concentric.

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257217 - 26/11/14 09:05 AM

TKS- they are sure Purty! Hope they shoot purty too.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #257221 - 26/11/14 01:04 PM

Quote:

TKS- they are sure Purty! Hoe they shoot purty too.



Me too.
Going with Wright's practice load of 60gr Varget with a backer rod filler.
Thought I would show this for those members who haven't seen it used.



I like twisting the foam into the mouth of the case right after charging with powder so when I knock them over, which I am known to do often enough, the powder doesn't spill all over.



Then simply push the foam into the case with a dowel.







I figured it wouldn't hurt to load a few unsized as long as they chamber but my No.1 is getting restocked so will have to just load one and wait.



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tinker
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257223 - 26/11/14 01:50 PM

What is in that lube powder?

--------------------
--Self-Appointed Colonel, DRSS--



"It IS a dangerous game, and so named for a reason, and you can't play from the keyboard. " --Some Old Texan...

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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: tinker]
      #257231 - 27/11/14 12:46 AM

Quote:

What is in that lube powder?



Not sure what the actual composition is but it is simply an enamel type paint which is baked on.
Here is where I first saw this and there is a ton of info and experience with it from this group:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?184-Coatings-and-Alternatives

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257236 - 27/11/14 03:12 AM

Do you use an oven thermometer and what temp. I looked over a few posts and did not see a specific temp listed.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #257238 - 27/11/14 04:57 AM

The powder I am using needs to be baked at 400deg for 10 minutes
I use an old toaster oven with a temperature dial which I set at a little over 400 and bake for 12 minutes
I will get an internal thermometer to confirm the actual temperature eventually but it would have to be dedicated to the purpose as I don't want to be using it in a food oven.

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257241 - 27/11/14 08:15 AM

Wonder if this "powder" is available in Canada or if HLS or whatever it's called, have an embargo on it?

Spray aerosol can?

Sounds easy and interesting.

Could have plain bullets loaded with black powder loads, and any ammo loaded with smokeless are powder coated - blue, red or black - whatever is available.

name please

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #257243 - 27/11/14 08:47 AM

Daryl, if the color doesn't matter to you, hit a professional painting or auto body painter and see if they have waste powder available.
Another guy on the other site did that and came away with 60lbs of mixed color overspray that was a dark brown gray
Apparently, the sprayed powder that doesn't adhere to the part being painted just falls to the floor and is swept up for the waste bin.
Or, buy it at Harbor Freight of they are in your neck of the woods.

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tinker
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257248 - 27/11/14 12:50 PM

This 'powdercoating bullets' phenomenon is shockingly cool.
This works..?! Awesome!!

I was sitting with my 9yr old daughter (this year's highest scored junior rifleman in the county - including the teenagers!) and her shooting sports sponsor discussing pink bullets for next year's pistol shooting.
Should be fun.
Look out boys!

--------------------
--Self-Appointed Colonel, DRSS--



"It IS a dangerous game, and so named for a reason, and you can't play from the keyboard. " --Some Old Texan...

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DoubleD
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: tinker]
      #257263 - 28/11/14 12:37 AM

The thing that concerns me is the potential abrasive qualities of some powder coatings.

I understand some of those coats actually melt a like a plastic material, but others are more ceramic like.

I would have to know a lot more about this stuff before I jump on this band wagon.

The other concern of course is how thick the material is and is it uniform?

Well there is one other concern. If my wife sees this, she will want pink, and I will have to do all her bullets pink...for her AR, for shooting gophers and prairie dogs. That means a bunch of work for me...

--------------------
DD, Ret.

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Huvius
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DoubleD]
      #257264 - 28/11/14 01:34 AM

I bought my powder from a gentleman on the castboolits site. Smoke4320 is his user name.
There are users there whom have shot thoudands of PC rounds with his powder with no more wear than using jacketed and most attest to it being more gentle on the bore than jacketed.
Some claim better accuracy with PC while others say their lubed bullets are more accurate. They must be accurate enough as I see many competitive shooters posting their satisfaction with the PC rounds.

I guess the point is that you are able to push velocities with cast bullets near or at that which you would with jacketed but without copper deposits or, as in my case, are able to shoot your cast bullet of choice at normal cast speed without the need for lubing and with zero leading in the bore.
Since I don't own a lubesizer, the cost so far has been much less than if I were to go the lubesizer route and then the added fun of multi colored bullets which will help keep the wife and kids' interest is a bonus.
Also, I read one competitive pistol shooter remark that there was considerably less smoke from the gun with PC bullets and these bullets must be shedding no lead particles as they leave the barrel. Recovered bullets show that the color stays adhered to the bullet so I am willing to accept that PC bullets could be less hazardous to use than lubed when it comes to lead particulates in the air.
I don't know if this will take the shooting world by storm, but it certainly is an interesting concept.
And for you guys worried about having to make pink bullets, there is a clear powder too...

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Huvius]
      #257269 - 28/11/14 04:03 AM

TKS - I'll certainly have to look into this material.

I have a few moulds that cast one to two thou smaller than I'd like - this might just be the 'TICKET' to good bullets from those moulds - bumping sucks.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342265 - 14/06/20 10:23 AM

I like the powder coating as to it does in some cases saves on the lube process.

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Trailboss]
      #342273 - 14/06/20 11:36 AM

Those .429303's look cool!
Well, they all do.
I made a mistake, ordering what I thought was powder paint and received Cerakote, which is ceramic, I think. Not likley the same thing.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342300 - 14/06/20 07:19 PM

I came across someones post that Cornell publishing was a source for copies of the early Lyman reloading manuals. I was able to order all three of the ones I was missing and in one of them there was an article about the 303 that Lyman was interested enough in to devote a couple of pages in the manual in some depth. Well that put a bee in my bonnet to start looking around for a mold. After looking for a few years I was crusin flee bay and lo and behold here was and Ideal mold in very good shape up for sale. I only took me 30 seconds to hit the buy me now button. It turns out some very nice cast bullet that I use both in the mag and the special.











And just as luck would have it, MP Molds put out a group buy last year of almost the exact design for the S&W 500. I jumped on that also and I am using it over Black in my 12,7 X 44R Swede roller. What a hoot.

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342301 - 14/06/20 07:46 PM

Daryl S, most of the PC coatings are best if run at 400 degrees for a full 30 minutes. A good test is after they have cooked and cooled down to take a hammer and on a concrete surface smash it down flat and see if the coating flakes off or if it stays on. If cooked and cured correctly it will stay on and just be a flattened boolit.

[url=https://postimg.cc/jwFjr9jP][/url



The temp on the way to 400 for 30 minutes.

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342302 - 14/06/20 07:54 PM

Daryl S, you can find out lots more about PC coatings over at castboolits.com in the sub forum: Forum: Coatings and Alternatives

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Trailboss]
      #342319 - 15/06/20 02:46 AM

Thanks Trailboss. I belonged to that forum many years ago but have not been there for a long time.
Good note on smashing them to see if the coating stays. Shows that they can be sized after coating/curing.
My first #429303 mould was an Ohaus 4-cavity mould. I only shot them in the m29 4". At some point, I re-bored every cavity to cast straight sided bullets for paper patching for my .45 buffalo rifles.
Later, I lamented doing that as the #303 bullet was very accurate. A couple years ago, a friend gave me all his mould blocks as he was finished with casting, most of which were unused and amongst them was a new in the box DC Lyman mould for the #429303 bullet.
What do the .50's weigh?

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342337 - 15/06/20 08:45 AM

The fifties are just under 300 grains. Here's a look at them.


The mold. Brass 2 Cav made by MP.

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Trailboss]
      #342350 - 15/06/20 02:09 PM

Cool - that bullet (design) was marketed as an armour piercing "FRENCH" designed bullet.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: DarylS]
      #342359 - 15/06/20 06:12 PM



Really cool "lipsticks" for a ladies handbag!

Those powder coated projectiles look very cool.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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Trailboss
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: NitroX]
      #342363 - 15/06/20 08:44 PM

Yes NitroX, this was her Christmas gift with a suprise inside. She was wondering why her gift was so heavy at first. lol Something to hold her lipstick.



[url=https://postimg.cc/R6qfJfTn]

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Powder Coating Cast Bullets [Re: Trailboss]
      #342382 - 16/06/20 01:42 AM

LOL - nice gift(s).

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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