PC test

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
I had some bullets that were very hard to size through my RCBS sizer. So i had to lube the bullets to keep from breaking my sizer. But I needed to PC the bullets to get them big enough so they wouldn't lead my barrel. So i decided to take a small sample of the bullets and do a test to see how BLL affects how Powder Coat sticks to lubed bullets. I used JD green that came from Smoke on CB.
I only did 10 bullets in each group of bullets i tested. All bullets were processed the same. Until after being sized. So with the first group of bullets I left them as is with BLL on them. Group #2 were just wiped with a clean rag. Group #3 were wiped with a clean rag with mineral spirits on it. Group #4 was soaked in mineral spirits for 5 min. Then wiped with a clean dry rag. All bullets sat for 2 days to have any affects of the MS evaporate form the bullets.
All 4 groups of bullets were PC separately, as i normally coat my bullets. All bullets were baked at the same time on the same tray.
All i was interested in was finding out if the coating stayed on the bullets. The light bulb went on in my head and i decided to measure all 40 bullets and see if there was a size difference, as well as seeing if the bullets had a good coating.
The smash test. I used the anvil part of my vice as a base and a small mall. Each bullet was hit twice on the nose than 3 times on the side of the bullet. All bullets including the bullets with a coat of BLL on them passed the smash test. No coating flaked off.
When i measured the bullets I was surprised that all 4 groups of bullets averaged at the same size. There was a difference in all groups as to the variation in the measurements. The as coated bullets showed the widest variation in dia. almost .003 smallest to largest. And the group that was wiped clean with just a clean rag showed the smallest variation of .001
I know that many more bullets have to be tested to see any kind of pattern of what works and what doesn't. This is just my first test. Kevin
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
This was interesting, Kevin!
I am quite new to the powder coating process, shot my first PC bullets this winter. Mostly, I run my bullets through a push through sizer before coating. Since my sizers are also used with lubed bullets (cleaning up pan lubed bullets, for example), there is usually some remnants of lube in them. I have degreased the bullets before applying PC, as I have thought any kind of grease on the surface would interfere with the coating. But if you can powder coat bullets with BLL on them, the degreasing might be totally unnecessary. Will surely try. Thank you for posting!
 

Ian

Notorious member
I do like Spindrift, jar of paint thinner and a screen basket just for washing pre-sized bullets. So we may have been wasting our time?
 

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
Will certainly test it! My rifles are so hungry, that feeding them is a struggle sometimes. All the workload I can spare is very welcome!
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Kevin - I was testing recooking some PC, a few had been overcoated with BLL. The overcoated ones had some LLA cooked into the surface (looks like a filagree) , thinking the surface tension of PC made it collect in fine lines - sort of encapsulating it. No sign of any wax. The LLA didn't scrape off either. BLL isn't really wax (?), more an acrylic coating? I didn't add any MS to my mix - that stuff is *** on my sinuses.
 
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