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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Powder Coating Cast Bullets! (Page 2 of 4)

Posted: 3/27/2013 11:33:51 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
Just to try to dispell an old wives tale about cast boolits and the waxey lubes that normally fill the grooves. I have loaded up and shot boolits that I sized but did not lube. These unlubed boolits still smoked. Everybody thinks it is the waxy lube that causes the smoke. My guess is that it has something to do with the pressure being less in the barrel/chamber versus jacketed bullets.

Could also be the fact that without a gas check, you're vaporizing some of the lead on the base.

Posted: 3/27/2013 11:42:00 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Ok, I am very interested in this. Maybe not so much for pistol bullets, for for my 300 Blackout and cast bullets in my milsurps this sounds like a great idea.

I'm thinking the best way to coat them would be to set the bullets upside down on the tray, either in a hole for pointed nose or directly on the nose for flat ones.

I tried this with .452 boolits (holes drilled to just less than the bearing surface of the boolit). It worked OK - served it's purpose (getting the bearing surface + the base). I first tried it through thin aluminum foil and the foil stuck to the boolits (creating sharp, strong edges where it bonded to the powder coat). Doing it without the foil worked, but then you have build up over many uses that needs to be removed to ensure metal-to-metal contact / conductivity.

There are guys at CB that are building and testing various jigs that hold the boolits in the lube groove to ensure as complete of coverage as possible, while also maintaining metal-to-metal contact while the spraying occurs. To me, that's too much work with minimal return.

At least for now, I opt to set mine down with the base on non-stick foil.

Posted: 3/27/2013 11:58:00 PM EDT

[#3]

Tagging cool thread.

Can we see some load recipes and chrono numbers before and after the powder coating?

Posted: 3/28/2013 1:16:19 AM EDT

[#4]

I am reminded of the moly-coating hoops many jumped through a few years ago.

Still, this is very interesting.

Posted: 3/28/2013 2:19:04 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I am reminded of the moly-coating hoops many jumped through a few years ago.

Still, this is very interesting.

Totally different, there is moly coating jacketed bullets in that molybendum disulfide powder, in a vibratory tumbler with the jacketed bullets and BB's to like burnish the powder into surface of the copper jackets.

Then there is the moly/poly coating of cast or swaged lead pistol bullets by companies like Bear Creek, Precision, and Black Bullets International (formerly Master Blaster's equipment). That is most likely where that Sandstrom 27A, now #9, chemical solution comes into play that I mentioned earlier.

What these guys are trying to do is take homemade cast boolits and wring jacketed bullet type performance out of them by powder coating them. A guy in this thread:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?171403-Powder-Coating-Boolits

Given the current panic, I don't blame them for trying.

Says he is pushing some weight .308 caliber powder coated boolit to 2,400 fps out of whatever length ??? barrel AR-10.

Could just be a 16 inch barrel.

Those kind of numbers got my attention. Of course, I am wondering how fast they could be pushed at whatever twist rate before the centrifugal forces pull the boolit apart.

EDIT: whoops! I went back to the very first post and saw where the OP posted the same link. You'll have to dig through all 32 pages of that thread to find some, some load data. chances are though is it isn't going to be exactly what you are looking for. Some extrapolation, starting low and working up trial and error will be in order.

Posted: 3/28/2013 8:14:52 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:

Tagging cool thread.

Can we see some load recipes and chrono numbers before and after the powder coating?

This is interesting stuff....

Looking forward to more information.

Posted: 3/28/2013 8:16:50 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Tagging cool thread.

Can we see some load recipes and chrono numbers before and after the powder coating?

I don't have any chrono numbers, but the same load before / after is showing no signs (havent tested all my calibers yet though). The CB thread has more details, but essentially everyone lands back around the same load as cast / lubed.

Posted: 4/2/2013 12:56:17 PM EDT

[#8]

I powder coated and loaded some Lee 358 105 SWC bullets for my 9mm. Going to try to get to the range this week to see how they work.

I really like how they look and how easy they are to load compared to the LLA coated bullets. A HUGE plus is that they feed through my Hornady bullet feeder VERY well, just like a jacketed bullet. So no more wiggling the feed tube to get the bullets to slide down like I had to do with the LLA coated lead bullets.

Posted: 4/2/2013 2:13:20 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Quoted:

i doubt that it is more slippery. You are making it a larger diameter bullet and its fitting tighter in the bore, making the gasses push harder against the bullet. The PC is probably also acting like a gasket of sorts. Thats the reason for higher MV.

You size these bullets "After" powder coating, so they are the same exact size as the normal lead bullets being shot. People are seeing higher velocities with these powder coated bullets than with the cast/lubed bullets of the exact same size.

So, that means that these bullets are definitely more "slippery" than cast/lubed bullets.

Actually the opposite is probably true. If the bullet were more "slippery" less pressure would develop, therefore less velocity would result. That's like moly coating jacketed bullets, there's less friction so more powder is required to acheive the same velocity. Even at the same diameter the powder coat must increase friction thereby causing more pressure to develop driving the bullets faster.

Interesting . . . . . but wrong. Your high school physics needs some review. With expanding gasses, less friction means higher velocities for a given powder charge assuming the same sealing properties of the bullet. Soft lead bullets obturate better than jacketed bullets so they seal the barrel better requiring less powder to achieve the same velocities or higher velocities with the same powder as FMJ bullets. Adding a slippery coating will reduce the sliding friction, not the pressure so the bullets will accelerate to higher velocities with the same charge. That's why they moly coat bullets. That's also why they say to load plated bullets using lead load levels as the thin plating acts a bit like a lube to the soft lead core.

I shoot tons of both plated and moly coated lead bullets

Posted: 4/2/2013 5:31:42 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i doubt that it is more slippery. You are making it a larger diameter bullet and its fitting tighter in the bore, making the gasses push harder against the bullet. The PC is probably also acting like a gasket of sorts. Thats the reason for higher MV.

You size these bullets "After" powder coating, so they are the same exact size as the normal lead bullets being shot. People are seeing higher velocities with these powder coated bullets than with the cast/lubed bullets of the exact same size.

So, that means that these bullets are definitely more "slippery" than cast/lubed bullets.

Actually the opposite is probably true. If the bullet were more "slippery" less pressure would develop, therefore less velocity would result. That's like moly coating jacketed bullets, there's less friction so more powder is required to acheive the same velocity. Even at the same diameter the powder coat must increase friction thereby causing more pressure to develop driving the bullets faster.

That is fairly easy to determine on an Instron with cross head feed, proper load cell, and a small test barrel.

By the way Combined Technology Winchester / Nosler has some kind of coating on their bullets, (not Moly), that is supposed to speed things up a little and reduce barrel fouling.

Posted: 4/2/2013 6:03:48 PM EDT

[#11]

Sixguner45 - looking forward to your AAR.

Posted: 4/2/2013 6:28:18 PM EDT

[#12]

The problem is that using very slik extreme performance lubricants is that it is not ideal to have the pill very slippery, until you get no drag inside the barrel. You need the "resistance" to allow pressure/power build up, to get velocity and therefore accuracy, and, ideally get no deposits and minimal atomised lead. The ideal lube is the one that separates the pill from barrel, allows some slip, and leave clean and dry bore after use.
If lube is too slippery, it then may reduce ability for correct pressure build up behind pill. I have seen pills not able to hit the target, as it left barrel too quickly, and powder burnt outside barrel. Also, depending on amounts of lube successfully attached to the pill may also determine how slik and how accurate the pill becomes with same load, as varying coated amounts of lube may influence at different rates, the final lubricity aspects being required

.

Quote from the manufacturer of HI-TEK-LUBE SUPERCOATS aka gator snot

Posted: 4/2/2013 8:39:48 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Sixguner45 - looking forward to your AAR.

Just got back from the range. I shot a little over 100 powder coated bullets through the M&P. Accuracy was great and there was VERY LITTLE SMOKE. About as much smoke as when I shoot jacketed bullets.

I took the barrel out and there was only really powder residue in the barrel, no leading at all.

Here is the barrel after shooting. Sorry for the bad photo, it's hard to get the depth of field with this type of shot.

It took only one pass with a bore snake and the barrel is perfectly clean and shiny. Here is the bore after 1 pass of the bore snake.

I'll have to do more testing, but so far powder coating seems like it is going to work GREAT for lead bullets. No more smelly, messy lubes and no more smoke. Most importantly NO MORE LEADED BARRELS!!

Can't wait to load up some 155gr 300 BLK rounds to test out!

Posted: 4/2/2013 10:13:42 PM EDT

[#14]

Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

Posted: 4/2/2013 10:35:16 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

I need to find a .224 mold first. That is the only caliber I don't cast for yet.

I'm looking for the old Lyman .224 spitzer bullet mold. I guess I should try ebay.

Posted: 4/2/2013 11:06:32 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

Thanks for the AAR Sixgunner45 and great pics!

94ranger: I think Sixgunner was using: " some Lee 358 105 SWC" - a 105 grain bullet with a dropped diameter of .358" ?

105s in 9mm can easily be pushed past 1300 FPS with published loads and within +p pressures.

In any event, this tew coating technique seems to hold GREAT promise. Seems a lot easier too.

Posted: 4/3/2013 9:30:54 AM EDT

[#17]

Awesome results. I'm definitely giving this a try.

Posted: 4/3/2013 9:48:23 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i doubt that it is more slippery. You are making it a larger diameter bullet and its fitting tighter in the bore, making the gasses push harder against the bullet. The PC is probably also acting like a gasket of sorts. Thats the reason for higher MV.

You size these bullets "After" powder coating, so they are the same exact size as the normal lead bullets being shot. People are seeing higher velocities with these powder coated bullets than with the cast/lubed bullets of the exact same size.

So, that means that these bullets are definitely more "slippery" than cast/lubed bullets.

Actually the opposite is probably true. If the bullet were more "slippery" less pressure would develop, therefore less velocity would result. That's like moly coating jacketed bullets, there's less friction so more powder is required to acheive the same velocity. Even at the same diameter the powder coat must increase friction thereby causing more pressure to develop driving the bullets faster.

With all due respect, there's something wrong with your logic, sir.
For the boolit to go faster, it needs to accelerate more in the barrel.
Increasing the friction would only slow the boolit down.

Sort of like rolling your car down a hill where the force of gravity is constant.
It will roll slower with the brakes on, and roll faster on steel wheels- less rolling resistance.

Unless you are suggesting that the static friction is higher, thereby keeping the boolit
in the chamber a little longer, like a tight crimp, to allow the pressure to build more,
before it slides into the bore.

I agree.

If moly coating is a good example then I have to agree that less friction causes LOWER velocity. I have proved this many times comparing same loads with coated and uncoated bullets. In a .338 Win Mag even the felt recoil is less with the coated bullets. As well as pressure signs on the primer.

I have also read complaints from people who have lost velocity from there AR ammo after having there barrels lapped. This is a real problem with the .223 because there is no room left in the case to add more propellant to regain the lost velocity.

The chronagraph does not lie.

Posted: 4/3/2013 10:13:35 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:
i doubt that it is more slippery. You are making it a larger diameter bullet and its fitting tighter in the bore, making the gasses push harder against the bullet. The PC is probably also acting like a gasket of sorts. Thats the reason for higher MV.

You size these bullets "After" powder coating, so they are the same exact size as the normal lead bullets being shot. People are seeing higher velocities with these powder coated bullets than with the cast/lubed bullets of the exact same size.

So, that means that these bullets are definitely more "slippery" than cast/lubed bullets.

Actually the opposite is probably true. If the bullet were more "slippery" less pressure would develop, therefore less velocity would result. That's like moly coating jacketed bullets, there's less friction so more powder is required to acheive the same velocity. Even at the same diameter the powder coat must increase friction thereby causing more pressure to develop driving the bullets faster.

Interesting . . . . . but wrong. Your high school physics needs some review. With expanding gasses, less friction means higher velocities for a given powder charge assuming the same sealing properties of the bullet. Soft lead bullets obturate better than jacketed bullets so they seal the barrel better requiring less powder to achieve the same velocities or higher velocities with the same powder as FMJ bullets. Adding a slippery coating will reduce the sliding friction, not the pressure so the bullets will accelerate to higher velocities with the same charge. That's why they moly coat bullets. That's also why they say to load plated bullets using lead load levels as the thin plating acts a bit like a lube to the soft lead core.

I shoot tons of both plated and moly coated lead bullets

Interesting but it does not seem to work that way with barrels and bullets. This is why:

The initial pressure build is less with the "more slippery" bullets. Once the rifling is cut the slipperiness of the bullet means little. Lower initial pressure translates to lower end velocity.

As I stated "if moly coated jacketed bullets are a good example" the chronograph tells the tell.

Posted: 4/3/2013 11:11:42 AM EDT

[#20]

Angus 6 and Motor1, thanks. It was getting kinda lonely in here.

COSteve, for what its worth I when I was in high school I tutored people in physics before going on to study engineering. For a nice high school level example, consider two identical bottles of champagne. Both bottles are sealed with identical corks, except one is coated in olive oil. Which cork do you think will achieve the highest velocity and therefore travel the greatest distance when you start shaking up the bottles? The one that starts to slide out immediately (olive oil) or the one that requires a significantly higher pressure before it starts moving (dry)? Also, my understanding of plated bullets (which is all I shoot out of my pistols anymore) is that the copper coating Increases friction relative to lead. Consider that its not uncommon to need more of the same powder to make autoloaders function reliably when using lead versus plated, or more still for reliable function between lead and jacketed.

Sixgunner, sorry for the distractions, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Posted: 4/3/2013 4:41:09 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
I powder coated and loaded some Lee 358 105 SWC bullets for my 9mm. Going to try to get to the range this week to see how they work.

I really like how they look and how easy they are to load compared to the LLA coated bullets. A HUGE plus is that they feed through my Hornady bullet feeder VERY well, just like a jacketed bullet. So no more wiggling the feed tube to get the bullets to slide down like I had to do with the LLA coated lead bullets.

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/8613009189_026f9ecbf8_b_zpsfed0c897.jpg

Sixgunner,

Did you coat the bases of these?

Posted: 4/3/2013 5:55:38 PM EDT

[#22]

No, I laid them base-down on non stick aluminum foil when I coated them. I figured, if FMJ bullets have exposed lead bases, these were good enough too.

People are shooting powder coated bullets with plain bases up to around 2700 f.p.s. in their rifles. I plan to do the same, but I'll still be using gas checks (for high velocity rifle bullets anyway).

Posted: 4/3/2013 5:59:28 PM EDT

[#23]

Thanks for the info. I tried to read the whole 36 page linked thread, but those guys were getting way too far involved for what I was looking to do. I was hoping that it was as simple as spraying them sitting on the flat base.

Thanks again!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 4/3/2013 6:08:03 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Thanks for the info. I tried to read the whole 36 page linked thread, but those guys were getting way too far involved for what I was looking to do. I was hoping that it was as simple as spraying them sitting on the flat base.

Thanks again!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Have you looked at using HI-TEK-LUBE Supercoat aka gator snot , going to give that a try next batch Donnie gets in

Posted: 4/3/2013 6:08:27 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
No, I laid them base-down on non stick aluminum foil when I coated them. I figured, if FMJ bullets have exposed lead bases, these were good enough too.

People are shooting powder coated bullets with plain bases up to around 2700 f.p.s. in their rifles. I plan to do the same, but I'll still be using gas checks (for high velocity rifle bullets anyway).

Thanks for the info Sixgunner, I"ve been shooting Bayou Bullets which have some sort of green coating which both leaves a nice clean bore in my G21 KKM barrel but also doesn't smoke as much as plain lead.
Shooting plain lead in front of Titegroup looks like I'm shooting black powder.

Posted: 4/3/2013 6:20:11 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Thanks for the info. I tried to read the whole 36 page linked thread, but those guys were getting way too far involved for what I was looking to do. I was hoping that it was as simple as spraying them sitting on the flat base.

Thanks again!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Have you looked at using HI-TEK-LUBE Supercoat aka gator snot , going to give that a try next batch Donnie gets in

I have not, but I definitely will look into it. Thanks!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 4/3/2013 6:47:19 PM EDT

[#27]

Yeah, I may buy some of that Hitec coatings when Bayou Bullets gets more in. It is pretty expensive at $90.00 per quart though. Although they say you can coat many thousands of bullets with that quart.

Posted: 4/4/2013 9:29:14 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Yeah, I may buy some of that Hitec coatings when Bayou Bullets gets more in. It is pretty expensive at $90.00 per quart though. Although they say you can coat many thousands of bullets with that quart.

I was told Donnie is not taking any bullet orders right now until he gets caught up on his current orders, since he's several months behind.

Posted: 4/6/2013 10:38:52 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

I need to find a .224 mold first. That is the only caliber I don't cast for yet.

I'm looking for the old Lyman .224 spitzer bullet mold. I guess I should try ebay.

Sixgunner. I have a box or two of .224 cast bullets with gas checks installed, but not lubed. If I sent them to you, would you be willing to coat them for me in exchange for being able to keep half of them? I would be interested in how well this works before investing in a powder coating setup.

Posted: 4/16/2013 1:35:38 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

I need to find a .224 mold first. That is the only caliber I don't cast for yet.

I'm looking for the old Lyman .224 spitzer bullet mold. I guess I should try ebay.

Sixgunner. I have a box or two of .224 cast bullets with gas checks installed, but not lubed. If I sent them to you, would you be willing to coat them for me in exchange for being able to keep half of them? I would be interested in how well this works before investing in a powder coating setup.

Sure, pm me. Happy to do it!

Posted: 4/16/2013 1:37:43 PM EDT

[#31]

I just got a new mold in for my 9mm. It is an NOE 135gr mold that molds either 128 gr hollow points or 135 gr round flat nose, depending on the inserts.

Anyway, since I am casting hollow points I could make a jig to coat the whole bullet.

Works great and the whole bullet is coated. I can do 77 at a time with this jig and my small toaster oven.

Posted: 4/16/2013 2:45:29 PM EDT

[#32]

Man that is pretty damn cool, i really need to start casting

Posted: 4/16/2013 3:21:27 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
I just got a new mold in for my 9mm. It is an NOE 135gr mold that molds either 128 gr hollow points or 135 gr round flat nose, depending on the inserts.

Anyway, since I am casting hollow points I could make a jig to coat the whole bullet.

Works great and the whole bullet is coated. I can do 77 at a time with this jig and my small toaster oven.

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg</a>

Do you have a source for that mold?

- AG

Posted: 4/16/2013 3:57:33 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I just got a new mold in for my 9mm. It is an NOE 135gr mold that molds either 128 gr hollow points or 135 gr round flat nose, depending on the inserts.

Anyway, since I am casting hollow points I could make a jig to coat the whole bullet.

Works great and the whole bullet is coated. I can do 77 at a time with this jig and my small toaster oven.

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg</a>

Do you have a source for that mold?

- AG

Looks like he's out of stock on the 4 cavity mold, it was $130.00. Here is the two cavity version: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=345

His molds are EXCELLENT, well worth the money. If you are looking for the normal non-hollow point mold of this bullet, here is a 5 cavity mold: http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=334

Posted: 4/16/2013 4:05:22 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
I just got a new mold in for my 9mm. It is an NOE 135gr mold that molds either 128 gr hollow points or 135 gr round flat nose, depending on the inserts.

Anyway, since I am casting hollow points I could make a jig to coat the whole bullet.

Works great and the whole bullet is coated. I can do 77 at a time with this jig and my small toaster oven.

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01265_zpsc0b24cb9.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01284_zpsf6451bed.jpg</a>

Dude, that looks good right there, nice casting job as well. I've noticed folks are doing different colors and I was thinking do the various colors have differences in expense? Or are all the basic powdercoat paints the same price? Reason I was asking is I am kind of the traditionalist and was thinking maybe silver would look good on nickel cases and maybe gold or copper or maybe a brass color would do well on normal brass cases. Basic black looks good and your setup is pretty cool as well. I wonder if you could do like a flourescent paint and whether it would show at night if you fired it with black light background illumination...yea, its silly I know. anyways, nice work.

edit: that bullet looks a lot like the ones that drop from my mihec mold! They shoot very well and are accurate too. With a little creativity they also work well out of a 38 special

Posted: 4/16/2013 5:13:56 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

Dude, that looks good right there, nice casting job as well. I've noticed folks are doing different colors and I was thinking do the various colors have differences in expense? Or are all the basic powdercoat paints the same price? Reason I was asking is I am kind of the traditionalist and was thinking maybe silver would look good on nickel cases and maybe gold or copper or maybe a brass color would do well on normal brass cases. Basic black looks good and your setup is pretty cool as well. I wonder if you could do like a flourescent paint and whether it would show at night if you fired it with black light background illumination...yea, its silly I know. anyways, nice work.

edit: that bullet looks a lot like the ones that drop from my mihec mold! They shoot very well and are accurate too. With a little creativity they also work well out of a 38 special

Thanks. It is a great mold to work with, although I like steel molds a little better (but they are heavy).

You can powder coat with any powder. There is even Glow-in-the-Dark powders

Right now I am using Harbor Freight powder since it is right down the road and cheap at $4.99 per pound.

Here's another photo of a bullet fresh out of the oven. I am trying to get a copper looking bullet by mixing the Harbor Freight powders. This is pretty close in person, it is more of a polished bronze color though.

From left to right, black with some yellow mixed. Middle, ~65% yellow, 30% red and 5% black. End, natural cast.

Posted: 4/16/2013 5:42:14 PM EDT

[#37]

after seeing this thread and the one over at CastBoolits

I went and bought an Air Compressor for "tires"

so I just need to go to HF and pick up a PC kit and some powder, Got the 20% coupon cut out already

I have been having issues with pan lube and leading in my 45, I tried the Lee tumble crap and teh leading went away but its nasty

Sounds like this is right up my alley

Posted: 4/16/2013 9:29:13 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Looks great! How fast were you pushing them through the M&P? Any chance you'll try some .224 bullets through an AR that are powder coated?

I need to find a .224 mold first. That is the only caliber I don't cast for yet.

I'm looking for the old Lyman .224 spitzer bullet mold. I guess I should try ebay.

Sixgunner. I have a box or two of .224 cast bullets with gas checks installed, but not lubed. If I sent them to you, would you be willing to coat them for me in exchange for being able to keep half of them? I would be interested in how well this works before investing in a powder coating setup.

Sure, pm me. Happy to do it!

PM sent. Bullets to follow as soon as I get your address.

Posted: 4/17/2013 2:55:59 PM EDT

[#39]

This topic has me thinking about my .30 caliber can (hoping to get the paperwork back by June), and powder coating as a low cost alternative to subsonic rounds... ie 220/240 SMKs. Does anyone have a suppressor they would be willing to test powder coated bullets through and post results? Money is a bit tight right now but if I could shoot powder coated cast lead bullets out of my 300 BO through my AAC 762SDN that would be awesome and worth the cost of the set up.

Thanks for the help!

Posted: 4/17/2013 3:01:44 PM EDT

[#40]

What is your concern with shooting sub sonic powder coated bullets?

I've shot them supersonic in my 300 blk without issue.

Posted: 4/17/2013 3:55:07 PM EDT

[#41]

I am not worried about shooting subsonic powder coated bullets I am worried about shooting powder coated bullets in general through a suppressor, a sealed one at that. I was just using the subsonic as a reference. So has anyone shot powder coated bullets through a can?

Posted: 4/23/2013 11:12:22 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:
I am not worried about shooting subsonic powder coated bullets I am worried about shooting powder coated bullets in general through a suppressor, a sealed one at that. I was just using the subsonic as a reference. So has anyone shot powder coated bullets through a can?

I've not shot any thru a can, but I have recovered a few .45 that I coated and shot, and have seen pictures of other recovered bullets. The coating stays intact. I can't see how shooting thru a can would cause any issues. If you're worried about it, maybe shoot some without a can, dig them up and see how they do for yourself.

Good luck, hope it works for you.

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Posted: 5/21/2013 3:25:51 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Dude, that looks good right there, nice casting job as well. I've noticed folks are doing different colors and I was thinking do the various colors have differences in expense? Or are all the basic powdercoat paints the same price? Reason I was asking is I am kind of the traditionalist and was thinking maybe silver would look good on nickel cases and maybe gold or copper or maybe a brass color would do well on normal brass cases. Basic black looks good and your setup is pretty cool as well. I wonder if you could do like a flourescent paint and whether it would show at night if you fired it with black light background illumination...yea, its silly I know. anyways, nice work.

edit: that bullet looks a lot like the ones that drop from my mihec mold! They shoot very well and are accurate too. With a little creativity they also work well out of a 38 special

Thanks. It is a great mold to work with, although I like steel molds a little better (but they are heavy).

You can powder coat with any powder. There is even Glow-in-the-Dark powders

Right now I am using Harbor Freight powder since it is right down the road and cheap at $4.99 per pound.

Here's another photo of a bullet fresh out of the oven. I am trying to get a copper looking bullet by mixing the Harbor Freight powders. This is pretty close in person, it is more of a polished bronze color though.

From left to right, black with some yellow mixed. Middle, ~65% yellow, 30% red and 5% black. End, natural cast.

<a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/user/speedwing/media/DSC01287_zpsb1c3bcdc.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j173/speedwing/DSC01287_zpsb1c3bcdc.jpg</a>

Hey, you didn't share this photo over at castboolits! What, you don't think we would like to see the mix? Just got my powder coat gun, and powder order today, and welded up my "nail bed" with expanded mesh to fire up some of these. Which do you like best as far as function, and appearance? Base coated, or nose coated? I will be coating the Mihec 359-125, Mihec 452-200, and Mihec 225-65. The 9mm and 45acp molds will be easy to coat, but I am trying to figure out what I want to do for the Mihec nato mold. Those boolits are so damn small.

Posted: 5/21/2013 5:21:24 PM EDT

[#44]

How much thickness does this add?

Can I try it on a lubed bullet? Do I have to resize them after I powder coat?

No free lead here so I buy missouri bullets, still experimenting with cowboy action velocities right now but I can see situations where this might come in handy.

Posted: 5/22/2013 6:36:13 AM EDT

[#45]

Fella, I dont think you can use a lubed bullet since you have to bake the powder coat after to get it to set. Also I dont think that the PC would stick to the lube.

Posted: 5/22/2013 9:05:38 AM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
Fella, I dont think you can use a lubed bullet since you have to bake the powder coat after to get it to set. Also I dont think that the PC would stick to the lube.

Good point. I may to work harder to find lead to start casting. Pickings are slim here, very slim.

Posted: 5/22/2013 4:40:34 PM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Fella, I dont think you can use a lubed bullet since you have to bake the powder coat after to get it to set. Also I dont think that the PC would stick to the lube.

Good point. I may to work harder to find lead to start casting. Pickings are slim here, very slim.

That or Ive been told

that you can boil the bullets and most of the wax will come off them. I have a batch of 45 that I got from a friend that I may try this on to see if I can get to just lead, then resize.

Posted: 5/23/2013 10:29:08 PM EDT

[#48]

Did a jig and some black boolits myself.

Then there are penta hollowpoint boolits!

Posted: 5/24/2013 9:57:00 AM EDT

[#49]

I do realize this is a "DIY" thread, but does anyone know where to buy heavy cast 300BLK bullets that have already been powder coated?

This question should go in the tacked "where to find" thread.

Normally I lock threads that ask this and direct them to the "where to find" thread.

But it would be a shame to lock this thread that seems to be very popular.

So please stay on topic, ask where to find in the proper thread, and this thread can contuine. dryflash3

Posted: 5/24/2013 11:56:23 PM EDT

[#50]

<removed> see previous post. dryflash3.

I just shot some of these, and they are great! I may not lube with traditional lube again.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Powder Coating Cast Bullets! (Page 2 of 4)

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