I would like to try powder coating my home cast bullets. I've been researching the process and all seems pretty straight forward except sizing. If you run the post PC'd bullets through your sizer, don't you lose all the benefit of the PC on the bullet bearing surface? Please advise.
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You still need to size your powder coated bullets....Right?
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292
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As I heard on another forum "powder coating is as hard as woodpecker lips." I dump mine from the toaster over pan into water and then run them through a Lee sizer while still wet. Size the first batch while the second is cooking.
Alk8944
US Veteran
For the few I do either powder coat or poly coat I simply give them a very light spray of Hornady One Shot. They virtually fall through the sizer die. If the coating is properly applied it is not affected by sizing except for being burnished.
rockquarry
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I size bullets conventionally with a lube/sizer; never powder coated and probably won't start, but if a bullet is powder coated and the fit is right, would it be necessary to size the bullet?
Dieseltech56
Member
I find powder coating adds at least .002 to the diameter of the bullet so resizing is always necessary. I use imperial sizing die wax and just roll the bullet in my fingers before running it through the sizer. I never had a lube sizer so powder coating is actually easier for me than dip lubing like I did before.
I use the NOE bushing push through sizing dies. I also polish the insides of the bushing with a Dremel before using them to minimize the chance of the coating getting scraped off. So far it hasn't.
I use the NOE bushing push through sizing dies. I also polish the insides of the bushing with a Dremel before using them to minimize the chance of the coating getting scraped off. So far it hasn't.
I find that the powder coat adds .0015 to .002. Depending on how thick your coating is. Depending on how big your bullet casts to begin with, and how large your cylinder throats and bore are, will determine if sizing is necessiary. In most cases it is necessiary. You can size down quite a bit with the coating staying intact. It just leaves a burnished finish. Sizing is not necessiary if you have a 29-2 or a 25-2, with the monster cylinder throats, the as cast diameter + powder coating is about right then.
Nemo288
Member
Yep.
Knowing exactly what your cylinder throat diameters are should be step one in achieving accuracy (and reducing leading).
All the 44's I have from the mid '80's thru the '90's have throats around .432" to .433" including 624, 629, and Redhawk.
Somewhere before 2000 S&W gradually eased back to the nominal .429" throats.
The situation is not quite as bad as the .45 scene but .44 throats can be all over the place.
44 caliber rifles are also notorious for liking larger bullets, especially the micro-grooved ones.
One of the more advanced reloading tools is the pin gauge (or gage) set.
I use these:
Individual English & Metric Gage Pins - Meyer Gage
(no affiliation just a customer, etc.)
They are fairly priced and you only need to buy a few in the range you are interested in.
I got them in .0005" increments.
Later I got a cheap Chinese full set in .001" increments for measuring things like the bore and more.
250 Piece, 0.251-0.5 Inch Diameter Plug and 86463023 - MSC
Pushing or pounding a lead slug thru the throats or bore can be challenging physically and mentally especially when first starting out.
These pin gauges can almost completely eliminate the need for that.
Knowing exactly what your cylinder throat diameters are should be step one in achieving accuracy (and reducing leading).
All the 44's I have from the mid '80's thru the '90's have throats around .432" to .433" including 624, 629, and Redhawk.
Somewhere before 2000 S&W gradually eased back to the nominal .429" throats.
The situation is not quite as bad as the .45 scene but .44 throats can be all over the place.
44 caliber rifles are also notorious for liking larger bullets, especially the micro-grooved ones.
One of the more advanced reloading tools is the pin gauge (or gage) set.
I use these:
Individual English & Metric Gage Pins - Meyer Gage
(no affiliation just a customer, etc.)
They are fairly priced and you only need to buy a few in the range you are interested in.
I got them in .0005" increments.
Later I got a cheap Chinese full set in .001" increments for measuring things like the bore and more.
250 Piece, 0.251-0.5 Inch Diameter Plug and 86463023 - MSC
Pushing or pounding a lead slug thru the throats or bore can be challenging physically and mentally especially when first starting out.
These pin gauges can almost completely eliminate the need for that.
Ditto, on the pin gauges. I bought .011 to .500 in 3 sets, from the old ENCO, 10 years ago. They are a very good investment for measuring cylinder throats, and many other uses, to numerous to mention. If you can get them on sale, they are not that terribly expensive, considering. They come in plus and minus tolerance sets. Most people prefer the minus sets, as I do. Better to be .0005 under than .0005 over, as the tolerances go.
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Dieselhorses
Member
Not to complicate things and yes you’re on the track, but there’s a few variables in finding the right fit. First off, make sure your alloy won’t result in too high of a BHN. Grant it, powder coating (correctly) gives you a cushion so it’s better to be a little “soft” than “hard”. This will give you better bullet “obturation”. Worse thing that causes leading is too hard of a bullet and then the size being too small. Best of luck!
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fredj338
Member
The issue is your coating wont be 100% uniform, so there may be issues with bullet fit in the case. I size after coating, no big deal.
For me it depends on the diameter of the bullet. I never likes sizing any bullet down more than 3/1000th's at 1 time. If the bullets cast large, I size them & pc them and either load them or re-size them if need. Depends on the "target" diameter I'm looking for.
If a mold casts undersized bullets I simply pc those bullets and shoot them without sizing. Several years ago I did a little testing with a mold I flat out hated. A lyman 311291 that cast undersized bullets with anything but strait lino-type. I would of dumped the piece of junk but I couldn't find anyone I hated enough to gift it to them. It's a bore riding nose design than cast an undersized nose. I cast some bullets up out of range scrap and pc'd them. Loaded them in a 308w looking for plinking loads. Nothing more then cast & pc'd bullets/no sizing
If you are pc'ing your bullets correctly & you're sizing die is not "scrapping" your pc off. You will never have to worry about the pc coating coming off when sizing. Playing around with a cast lee 230gr blackout bullet. I cast and pc'd them and then ran them up in a bump die. The bump die changed the boat tail of the bullet to a gas check base & the long weak pointed nose of the lee bullet to a shorter stronger design. That's called some serous sizing of the lee tl 230gr bullet & as you can see the pc coating is still there.
If a mold casts undersized bullets I simply pc those bullets and shoot them without sizing. Several years ago I did a little testing with a mold I flat out hated. A lyman 311291 that cast undersized bullets with anything but strait lino-type. I would of dumped the piece of junk but I couldn't find anyone I hated enough to gift it to them. It's a bore riding nose design than cast an undersized nose. I cast some bullets up out of range scrap and pc'd them. Loaded them in a 308w looking for plinking loads. Nothing more then cast & pc'd bullets/no sizing
If you are pc'ing your bullets correctly & you're sizing die is not "scrapping" your pc off. You will never have to worry about the pc coating coming off when sizing. Playing around with a cast lee 230gr blackout bullet. I cast and pc'd them and then ran them up in a bump die. The bump die changed the boat tail of the bullet to a gas check base & the long weak pointed nose of the lee bullet to a shorter stronger design. That's called some serous sizing of the lee tl 230gr bullet & as you can see the pc coating is still there.
