What type of the powder by the pound is best?

[gunfan2]

I know several of you guys are very experienced in PCing, I read there was certain type of powder that you looked for when you ordered from powder by the pound. Your help is appreciated!!

[Sithlord]

Have you seen the posts on these forums? The main folks ain't nowhere near PC....

Also, I'm sure that there are some gun powders that are sold in less than 1lb containers, but everything that *I* have seen is minimum 1 pound. So, everything is 'powder by the pound'.

Of course, I don't order from 'http://www.powderbuythepound.com/'; they don't appear to have gunpowder, but rather paint for powder coating.

Personally, I purchase from Powder Valley, Inc. As far as which powders, the common ones, for 300 BLK are:
H110 (supers)
A1680 (subs)
IMR 4227 (supers, subs)
Shooters World Blackout (subs mostly it seems).

Depending on what you intend on shooting, you can do the cost per pound calculations yourself.

[tXr]

Have you seen the posts on these forums? The main folks ain't nowhere near PC....

Also, I'm sure that there are some gun powders that are sold in less than 1lb containers, but everything that *I* have seen is minimum 1 pound. So, everything is 'powder by the pound'.

Of course, I don't order from 'http://www.powderbuythepound.com/'; they don't appear to have gunpowder, but rather paint for powder coating.

Personally, I purchase from Powder Valley, Inc. As far as which powders, the common ones, for 300 BLK are:
H110 (supers)
A1680 (subs)
IMR 4227 (supers, subs)
Shooters World Blackout (subs mostly it seems).

Depending on what you intend on shooting, you can do the cost per pound calculations yourself.

I do believe he was referring to Powder Coating and not Political Correctness or gun powder.

As long as it isn't a flat or matte color, you want a glossy finish. The matte colors have a very abrasive silica added to flatten the surface color, it would be very similar to only shooting those abrasive coated bullets down that barrel.

[gunfan2]

Hmmmm Was there something to do with polyesrer based paint?

[tallburnedmidget]

I know several of you guys are very experienced in PCing, I read there was certain type of powder that you looked for when you ordered from powder by the pound. Your help is appreciated!!

I did this research a while back when I tumble PC'ed some lead bullets during the bullet scarcity in the recent past.

The long and short of it is that the Super Durable Wet Black (SDWB) is the best. It coats better than others, goes a long way, has no issues staying on bullets, and is easy to work with.

Now my reading a long time ago suggested using a TGIC paint is the way to go because of it's good mechanical and chemical resistant properties and the fact that it cures at lower heat levels then other options. Translation, good all around for PC cast bullets.

WARNING: Do not inhale the stuff. Do not get it all over you. Treat it with care as it is not good for the health if you start getting it into your system, ESPECIALLY if you get it into the lungs and respiratory track. This warning would go for spray paint and other abrasive chemicals or compounds so don't think that PC is some specifically unhealthy substance in it's own. I would tell you to do the same if you were working with something as common as bleach.

In my small amount of experience doing TUMBLE PC'ing, I have used SDWB and Mayan Gold Black (MGB). SDWB was much thicker and more evenly applied than MGB but MGB worked very very well so I would use either. My recommendations between the two are the following:

SDWB - use if you it's your first time tumble PC'ing and you want sure fire success with little effort. Understand that it coats fairly thick and that can lead to some sticking together or sticking to your baking tray/crate/rack. Just break them apart as soon as safely possible without deforming bullets or burning yourself.

MBG - If you want less PC thickness and sticking together then use MBG. You increase your chances of having some light or bare coat spots on certain parts of the bullets but none of these spots in my case were of concern for leading. They were mostly at the tip of the bullet where it never touches the barrel. Bases and walls of the bullet were fine.

Finally, a little powder goes a long way. So if you aren't a really really dedicated caster or you do NOT have a large inventory of cast bullets, I would NOT recommend buying a whole pound of powder. I think a in reality tablespoon or two tumble coats 100-250 bullets (200gr+) with powder left to salvage at the end. You will likely add more than a tbsp or 2 when tumble coating, but just understand that what actually sticks and bakes is about 1-2 tbsp according to my recollection

I hope you find this info helpful

[DoubleJ]

Everything you need to know about powder coating is here

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... ng/page361

The Hi Tek people are very active, my question was answered the next day.

[gunfan2]

Thank you for the detailed responses, it was of great help!

I coated some today, immediately after baking I dropped the bullets in cold water to harden them. Do you see any problem with doing this?

[DoubleJ]

Everything I've read about water quenching indicates that if there is no arsenic content in the lead (which you'd only find in very old wheel weights, nothing even remotely modern) that it doesn't do anything to harden the alloy.

[ryoko]

If you go onto cast boolits, look for a gentleman called smoke4320. He sells a very good powder for a low cost. His sale post also lists which colors are best for dry tumbling. If you plan on ES spraying then they all will work.

-Ry

Edit, here is his link.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... r-For-sale

[ryoko]

Just to add, there is a link above to the hi-tek section. hi-tek is not the same as powder coating. I've used both and they each have their advantages. I find myself powdercoating much more than I do hi-tek.