PC Questions...

So I PC'ed my first batch of .38's and .45 Colt's this week. The Powder Coating process and the end result went well (I believe thanks to Smoke's product and the info I gleaned here).
I do have a couple of questions about the process;

1. I heat treat (cast, size, heat for 1hr @ 400deg., water quench, then lube) .45ACP's, 9mm's, and heavy .45 Colt loads. None of the bullets are gas checked. In the case of the 9mm's and the .45 Colts, the loads are around 30KPSI, so I do it to prevent fouling. In the case of the .45ACP's, I've found that my Kimber much prefers heat treated WW as opposed to plain WW bullets. In regards to heat treating, does the Powder Coat process (400deg. at 15-20 mins) anneal the bullets back down? Have most of you found that the Powder Coat will make loads less particular where hardness is concerned in terms of accuracy and fouling?

2. Some have strong feelings about shooting jacketed over lead fouling and vice versa. Are there any opinions out there about swapping back and forth from conventionally lubed bullets to Powder Coat? Does one need to thoroughly clean the bore before going from one to the other?

Thanks!!!

Excellent question.

I have tested conventional casting processes like towel dropping & water dropping. I find water dropping powder coated bullets best helps RETAIN hardness before PC.
When the PC is allowed to air cool it softens.

What it would do to your heat treated would be interesting to learn.

I suggest you test. But know, it should take you about a month to have results. I would test hardness out of water drop and not side by side take notes and re check bullets every week from day one to 30 ish days.

CW

This Canadian has done many videos on hardness of cast and quenching (most of them are 5 years back in his main channel https://www.youtube.com/@TATVCanada/videos ...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fbjs-lErL0

I cast my Boolits and mostly just PC them without Water Quenching them.
But I am using #2 lead which is harder than WW's , even if the WW's are quenched.
But I am always afraid that the heating for PC ing will take away the water quench hardness.
But I could be wrong.
But the Boolits I shoot lubed and not PC'ed , I do water quench them.
Even the #2 lead as well as Linotype lead.

I believe before I got too wound up I would load a few that have been coated and try them. You may be looking for a solution that does not have a problem.

I've read before that if you water quench bullets, then powder coat them, the curing temperature for the PC will take away about 85% to 90% of the heat treat hardness. The bullets will still be harder than air cooled bullets by a little. Because the powder coat acts like a jacket, you can sometimes get away with a softer bullet when using PC where you'd usually use water quenched and conventionally lubed. You can heat treat powder coated bullets by taking them directly from the powder coat oven and dumping them into cold water. If you want heat treated & powder coated bullets, the best way is to just let them air cool after casting, then quench them after powder coating.

TATV test show that with COWW's this was his end results, he also stated that the results may vary due to the composition of the COWW's used. About 25% of my bullets get air cooled at casting and after powder coating, while the remainder get air cooled at casting and water quenching after powder coating.

1. If you air cool your bullets when cast then PC them and allow them to air cool again the second time, there is no change in the as cast BHN of the bullet.

2. If you air cool your bullets when cast then PC them and quench them right out of the toaster oven, they will gain a hardness of about 75% over the as cast BHN.

3. If you quench your bullets out of the mold to begin with then PC them and allow them to air cool, they will soften around 50% from the original first quenching BHN.

4. If you quench your bullets out of the mold to begin with then PC them and quench them right out of the toaster over a second time, you only loose around 15% hardness from the first quenching.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Potsy

...2. Some have strong feelings about shooting jacketed over lead fouling and vice versa. Are there any opinions out there about swapping back and forth from conventionally lubed bullets to Powder Coat? Does one need to thoroughly clean the bore before going from one to the other?

Thanks!!!

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When I shoot my rifles I sometimes take jacketed and cast to the range. I shoot jacketed first, then the cast. After one or two rounds the cast shoots just as well as from a clean barrel.

One thing I found, the gas checked bullets will remove some of the copper fouling left from the jacketed bullets. Makes cleaning easier.

Way back when...I would use jacketed bullets to 'clean out' leading from cast bullets in my pistols. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

When not a necessity, I never shoot jacketed bullets and traditionally lubed or coated bullets in the same secession, just my preference, which isn't a problem as 99% of everything I shoot is cast lead in both rifles and handguns. Thats being said, unless your bore has a significant amount of either copper or lead that can be an issue to accuracy or pressure to begin with, I don't think it makes a lot of difference switching back and forth on the majority of circumstances, especially if you clean your firearms on a regular basis.

How do you test hardness of a PCed boolit? Do you cut off the PC first?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE

How do you test hardness of a PCed boolit? Do you cut off the PC first?

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Yes grind off PC enough to test alloy beneath.

CW

Great Replies!!!
Thanks guys!

A little tip you BHN Testers might like to know about...My friend Harry Tobin a Pennsylvania member here made this mould for me from an old Lee 2 cavity. He used a router bit to flatten one side of the cavity.
When I run a batch of cast I can cast several of these flat sided slugs and have plenty of test material for watching the BHN over time.

https://i.imgur.com/x3AETDk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZPBLcYq.jpg

No filing a side flat and clogging up a good flat file.

https://i.imgur.com/BDLQknB.jpg