novice questions - POWDER COATING

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Magnum Mike
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by Magnum Mike »

boost wrote:You had good luck with the 155's powder coated without gas checks? I haven't. Tested in two 1:8 , and one 1:7 twists barrels.
No but I haven't had problems with any other gc bullet without the check BUT I made certain that the base of the bullets were square. I have had issues in the past when I had gc's that came off the bullet after they left the muzzle. The groups were more like patterns. I switched checks and got nice little tiny groups for my effort. The bullet base can/will make a huge difference in groups.
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by Dolomite_Supafly »

boost wrote:
Magnum Mike wrote:I would guess your accuracy issues are due to inconsistent base, not bearing surface. That was my only concern with running gc style bullets without a check. I made sure all the bullets I tried had a good base before I pc'd them and I haven't had accuracy issues...
You had good luck with the 155's powder coated without gas checks? I haven't. Tested in two 1:8 , and one 1:7 twists barrels.
Mine shot wonderfully in my 10 twist guns. In the 8 twist the groups opened up some.
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by boost »

Dolomite_Supafly wrote:
boost wrote:
Magnum Mike wrote:I would guess your accuracy issues are due to inconsistent base, not bearing surface. That was my only concern with running gc style bullets without a check. I made sure all the bullets I tried had a good base before I pc'd them and I haven't had accuracy issues...
You had good luck with the 155's powder coated without gas checks? I haven't. Tested in two 1:8 , and one 1:7 twists barrels.
Mine shot wonderfully in my 10 twist guns. In the 8 twist the groups opened up some.
Could the faster rifling be stripping off the boolit? I was using Lyman #2 alloy during those tests. I don't think I'll ever revisit those tests anyways. My gas check molds will be collecting dust for a long time. All my boolits is just remelted range scraps now . Linotype and Monotype will be collecting dust just as well. Thanks to powder coating.
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yondering
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by yondering »

boost wrote:
You had good luck with the 155's powder coated without gas checks? I haven't. Tested in two 1:8 , and one 1:7 twists barrels.
I haven't. Without gas checks, they suffer gas cutting at the gas port, and leave a little lead in my barrel towards the muzzle, unless it's a mild load. Full power loads, I've found still need gas checks for best performance. I don't see how a coating that is soft at 400 degrees can be expected to resist gas cutting at the gas port.
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by oldpapps »

A slow update... schools out, grand-kids everyplace, 3 with strep.... Oh boy, no that's oh girls.....

Any way, I have coated a sample of my 180 grain round nose with one and two and three coats.
Wanting to do my first speed test in a bolt, I elected to load .308 wins, three with each coating level. I know, not 300 Blackout. But the test is moving toward testing in a Blackout. I just don't have any confidence in these fat round noses feeding on a M4 ramp. But this too will be determined in time.
My first three, the triple coats, went swimmingly..... then I thought again. Yep, I did it, I had not re-adjusted my seating die and that fat round nose had stuck its 'nose' where it shouldn't. I swelled the shoulders of all three cases. I've never done this with 308s before, .223s yes... I pulled (radically) the bullets and started again. Velocities per say will not mean much but will give me an idea of how much leading with non coated bullets I would get and then a look see. Not very scientific but will let me get a handle on where to go next in this quest. Still thinking hard about a 135/145 grain flat base pointy type mold, don't care if the grease groves are thick ones or the thin ones. With no desires in the sub-sonic area, a 140ish grain bullet would meet my needs (for now), maybe.

The photo is one coat on the left, two coats in the center and three coats on the right. The three bullets used as separators are the ones I pulled (grabbed with pliers and ripped them out, not pretty but works).

I am wondering about how the coating was stripped off of the riding bands. They were covered when they came out of my Lyman 450 sizer.... Seating or radical pulling? Maybe not sufficient mouth bell? The skinning seamed to get worse with each additional powder coating layer. More to contemplate.

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The next step may take some time. When the ice/snow melts off the drive, I will set up my chronograph and test all 9 test samples.

Till then, I have two birthdays and 5 granddaughters to deal with, oh joy...

Load with care (and think - I didn't :oops: )

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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by Dolomite_Supafly »

Yeah, you need more bell.

Also, what kind of powder are you using? It doesn't seem to be sticking as well as PBTP does.

If the bullets are getting hard to seat then lube them with case lube.

And finally, you need to have the case mouth larger for the cast than what you use for jacketed. I know I can drop a jacketed bullet into the case mouth and I can easily push it into the neck with my finger.
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by oldpapps »

Master Supafly,

The powder being used is: SK42412 - SATIN BLACK from PBTP.

I cast these bullets in 1980 and they have been setting around collecting who knows what till I was looking for some non-lubed bullets. They could have over spray of all kinds on them and being stored in.... 5 different locations that I can think of and none of them suitable for anything other than lead including out in the rain/snow.

My oldest son will be in on Saturday and we may just 'burn' this 9 up and look for any leading. (I need some empty 300 cases anyway and adding in these .308s would be no problem.)

I'm happier with only one coating, it appears smoother to me but not a full sheen.

I too think more bell is needed. Each bullet seated with no problems that I could detect, no skimming with the little ring slivers, just a smooth in. When I pulled the three, I was surprised with the shine.

What are your views on more sonic bullets, like my thoughts on 135 - 145 grain. Light enough to moved out a little faster, yet heavy enough to not need all velocity for energy. Or is this just a pipe dream on my part?

New endeavors are lots of fun :)

Enjoy,

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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by Dolomite_Supafly »

Not really sure what to tell you. I have seated quite a few bullets that were coated and then used an impact puller to remove them. I have never seen where the coating came off the bullets.

I will say that I have had a few people tell me that flat colors do not seem to work as well as the gloss. I would not rule out some sort of contaminate on the bullets themselves or perhaps the bullets are not getting hot enough. It is hard to tell whether the powder coating is properly cured with a flat finish.

The powder you are using is the same specs as mine except I get the 400 degree version.

Powder coated bullets can be pushed harder than anything that that the 300 Blackout is capable of. It is also able to be pushed harder than most 308 Winchester loads. I have pushed powder coated bullets past 3,200 fps without any leading of the bore.
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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by oldpapps »

Master Supafly,

I would like to say that I will try a hotter/longer cure time and try cleansing these bullets but....

I don't have any more of this batch and don't plan on casting any.

After I procure a mold the drops more of what I want (or think I want at this time), I will cast new, clean, no bug spray, no spilled fuel oil, no dust and dirt bullets. This will be more in the early spring (if I can hold off that long) as I will not cast inside and well, the wind chill is a bit much for this old fart at this time of the year.

Mean while, I will play with these few, 150+ in both a bolt .308 Win and then in an AR/M4 300 Blackout. Still dubious about the nose feeding.

The 155 grain Lee clone with no gas check looks good. I am thinking of 10 to 20 grains lighter in weight. My GI pulls, 147 grains, run an easy 1950 FPS for me. I would think a 135 to 145 grain powder coated cast bullet with similar nose shape, should run an easy 2000 FPS and more with no problems. Have any thoughts and suggestions for such a mold? Shooting for an as drop of .311 at 140 grains, flat base.

I have given up on the idea of keeping the nose lead only, don't think it would be worth the hassle. A Lodge brother has wild pig on his property, 12 or so road miles away from my ground. Hogs and those dumber armadillo are moving my way. Have a Boxer that thinks he has to bring every skunk he kills to me, I don't much mind the opossums and coy-dogs. Wonder how he will deal with a boar? The joys of living in the Amarugias. (Google it)

Enjoy,

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Re: novice questions - POWDER COATING

Post by boost »

Dolomite_Supafly wrote: I will say that I have had a few people tell me that flat colors do not seem to work as well as the gloss. I would not rule out some sort of contaminate on the bullets themselves or perhaps the bullets are not getting hot enough. It is hard to tell whether the powder coating is properly cured with a flat finish.
Speaking of.... have you guys been following this thread?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... -d-bullets
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