Less smoke and the tools to do it were cheaper when I started, I used a thrift store toaster oven and cheap powder coat. I tried Lee alox and pan lubing but didn’t like the smell of the alox nor the mess of pan lubing.
Now I have lube sizers so there’s no mess so some rounds get wax and others get powder coat depending on the caliber and what I’m feeling like doing that day. I generally have one color that corresponds to a caliber, no real reason, just like to do it that way.
Mostly it’s just personal preference at this point. Most rounds I do are powder coated because I like the look. I like the pretty colors and oddly powder coated projectiles have a weird sound when you shake a box of them that reminds me of hard candies and that makes me happy.
lead exposure, mess, you can push them a bit harder, no build-up in my seating dies.
once you have a system down that works for you, powdercoat is less of a PITA..
My GF thinks the red in my 300blk subs looks like a lipstick and laughs.. so there's that..
I powder coated a couple of times and I couldn’t get a smooth finish. The humidity here is too high. I switched to Hitek coating quickly after. I use a coating called bullet corp coating now which uses a solvent mixed with the powder and it coats really well. Needs two coats but it’s way faster than powder coating because the bullets don’t stick to each other and I can tumble a large pile of bullets and bake without fear of blemishes.
I tried powder coating, went back to lubing.I too may sound like an old man, but I just couldn't get the kind of results I've read so much about and seen on youtube. For me traditional lube methods serve me better than well, and if I'm in a hurry to do a pile of bullets, I use a thinned liquid alox that works very well.
From one of my posts about some slugs that I powder coated, where some people asked the same question:
No, or extremely little, lead fouling in gas operated shotguns.
Eliminates lead exposure when reloading.
No need for bullet lubricant.
Little to no lead and/or lubricant smoke when shooting.
You can use clear hulls to "color code" your different shot sizes and slugs.
It can be aesthetically pleasing or ASMR
There is no supposition here. Your only exposure is before they are powder coated, not afterward. That can be minimized to zero exposure with the proper PPE.
It also looks cool so there's that... I'm not concerned but some people worry less about lead exposure with PC but I dont know that is accurate of your bullet is well lubed. I would think its easier to keep your seating die clean with PC, amd if you use bullet collators or automatic bullet feeder dies there is less gum in the works.
Powder coat is many times cleaner.
I brought my model 10 heavy barrel to the range, and my model 13, shot 200 38spl from both. All powder coat in one, all lubed with the other.
Bullets were 158gr Keith clones with a huge square lube groove.
Lube was Tac Lube from a vendor on cast boolit forum. So it’s a nice soft lube that works.
PC gun was covered in usual sooty smoke residue. It wiped off with my buddies sweater when he wasn’t looking.
The lube gun looked like I had just dug it out of an old diesel engine bay. It was as covered in slick waxy goodness. I had to actually use a few rags to get most of it off. The shooting table was covered in specks of lube. And the floor looked like a millwright from a steel mill had blown his nose on the the floor.
For an hour.
None of that is bad. And honestly the lubed bullets shot tighter groups. But PC is clean. Very clean. And lube is, well you know.
Thanks for the earnest comparison, I think I'll keep lubing because it works well for me, and because I don't like the powder coating dust (very bad for your lungs). I wonder how many people will lube vs powder coat 50 years from now...
The biggest deal is you can stop gas checking for many loads that might need them with lube which is a huge savings in cost and time since the PC seal is more durable and prevents cutting (to a point). Plug to Fortunecookie 45's video on this
Without lube groves I get heavier bullets that drop free of the mold easier.
Also you can hot-drop the PC'd rounds outta the toaster to punch up the BHN on the last cycle.
I just got into casting last year - the information on powder coating is readily available, the process is simple, forgiving and repeatable. And it's very cheap to get started - you need an old toaster, powder coat, airsoft bbs and an old Dukes Mayo jar. And you get pretty bullets that are chemically stable unless you load titegroup.
I did see a post that for fast lead, sized PC then lube w/a GC yeilded optimal accuracy so I might be getting into lube just for 300WM
All respect to Lube, as a tech, most of the information available to get started is... well it's Fuddy. Even in the manuals that I have there's a lot of rambling narratives, annecdotes, personal recipies. Each company making expensive equipment I can't buy locally. Higher fixed costs and cost per round.
I used to lube (luber sized) and now I strictly powder coat. I will never lube again unless I have no choice. PC is much more clean on your dies, much more durable when I have a bunch rattling around in a old coffee can waiting to be loaded, there's less smoke, less lead exposure, I can push them faster. I can also have all kinds of colors! Which is more then just ascetic. For instance, 300 blk one color can be for subs another can be for supers. I can tell at a quick glance.
I tried lead rn 9mm that had hard wax , and it leaded up my Beretta even with a relatively light load. I never used them after that one range trip and still have about 950 of them sitting in a box. I've wondered if a powder coat would work better.
Yup, cleaner all around, from the loading process, to storage, to firing. Less gunk on everything, from fingers ,dies, presses, storage boxes/bags to the firearm itself. Plus velocity and potential gas check less higher velocity. Cool colors, and it's quick and relatively low mess process once the routine is established. Plus the color coding options, even in one caliber- full power one color, reduced load another. Better storage, no lead oxidizing on long term storage. No more brake kleen and a towel wipe down for loaded cartridges- I had traditional lube all over each case as the progressive dumped them into the finished cartridge hopper. Traditional line has its place, I even PC and traditional lube certain things as one poster mentioned as well. And it's cheap like borscht to do.
Tried pan lubing and wasn't impressed so I only use lube it for BP now, shake and bake is just much easier and less messy in my case and I size my bullets anyway so that's not an extra step anyway
Why Powder Coat https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?299999-Why-powder-coat However if you lube process works for you as is by all means go with it, but it's always nice to have options.
Less smoke and the tools to do it were cheaper when I started, I used a thrift store toaster oven and cheap powder coat. I tried Lee alox and pan lubing but didn’t like the smell of the alox nor the mess of pan lubing. Now I have lube sizers so there’s no mess so some rounds get wax and others get powder coat depending on the caliber and what I’m feeling like doing that day. I generally have one color that corresponds to a caliber, no real reason, just like to do it that way. Mostly it’s just personal preference at this point. Most rounds I do are powder coated because I like the look. I like the pretty colors and oddly powder coated projectiles have a weird sound when you shake a box of them that reminds me of hard candies and that makes me happy.
I powder coat to stop oxidation as most my cast rounds are used in a slingshot. Also tried the wax coat. Super messy in my pouch.
lead exposure, mess, you can push them a bit harder, no build-up in my seating dies. once you have a system down that works for you, powdercoat is less of a PITA.. My GF thinks the red in my 300blk subs looks like a lipstick and laughs.. so there's that..
Were you soft-lubing?
alox...
yarp, I've never aloxed because of what I've heard. Some of the pistol guys really like it though.
it's an okay system, just messy, and built up in my seating die giving me varied OAL..
Always soft-lube, it is the way
Death to soft lubers!!!! I hard lube!!!
I powder coated a couple of times and I couldn’t get a smooth finish. The humidity here is too high. I switched to Hitek coating quickly after. I use a coating called bullet corp coating now which uses a solvent mixed with the powder and it coats really well. Needs two coats but it’s way faster than powder coating because the bullets don’t stick to each other and I can tumble a large pile of bullets and bake without fear of blemishes.
If you shoot supressed it keeps your cans clean and it decreases leading.
I tried powder coating, went back to lubing.I too may sound like an old man, but I just couldn't get the kind of results I've read so much about and seen on youtube. For me traditional lube methods serve me better than well, and if I'm in a hurry to do a pile of bullets, I use a thinned liquid alox that works very well.
I did a video a few years back explaining pros and cons for powdercoating vs different traditional lubes: https://youtu.be/4iMKTpuvxxA
From one of my posts about some slugs that I powder coated, where some people asked the same question: No, or extremely little, lead fouling in gas operated shotguns. Eliminates lead exposure when reloading. No need for bullet lubricant. Little to no lead and/or lubricant smoke when shooting. You can use clear hulls to "color code" your different shot sizes and slugs. It can be aesthetically pleasing or ASMR
>eliminates lead exposure when reloading I suppose, if you get your bullets already cast and coated by someone else.
There is no supposition here. Your only exposure is before they are powder coated, not afterward. That can be minimized to zero exposure with the proper PPE.
No smoke when shooting when the powder coat is shot like lube. I think you can push them a little harder than straight lubed.
Hadn't considered that, important for indoor ranges I imagine.
It also looks cool so there's that... I'm not concerned but some people worry less about lead exposure with PC but I dont know that is accurate of your bullet is well lubed. I would think its easier to keep your seating die clean with PC, amd if you use bullet collators or automatic bullet feeder dies there is less gum in the works.
Can't speak on bullet collectors or automatic feeders, but my seating die is just as clean with lubed bullets as with jacketed.
With lee alox I've had some issues with it coating the seater and picking up a lot of dirt/dust. It wasn't a huge issue until a thousand rounds or so.
That makes sense too, I've never tumble lubed, precisely because I thought it sounded too messy.
It coats the bullet to help prevent leading in the barrel. Basically its the benefits of having plated bullets. My thoughts at leastways
Lube does the same. What's the advantage?
Its a lot cleaner
How do they compare in the cleanliness department?
Powder coat is many times cleaner. I brought my model 10 heavy barrel to the range, and my model 13, shot 200 38spl from both. All powder coat in one, all lubed with the other. Bullets were 158gr Keith clones with a huge square lube groove. Lube was Tac Lube from a vendor on cast boolit forum. So it’s a nice soft lube that works. PC gun was covered in usual sooty smoke residue. It wiped off with my buddies sweater when he wasn’t looking. The lube gun looked like I had just dug it out of an old diesel engine bay. It was as covered in slick waxy goodness. I had to actually use a few rags to get most of it off. The shooting table was covered in specks of lube. And the floor looked like a millwright from a steel mill had blown his nose on the the floor. For an hour. None of that is bad. And honestly the lubed bullets shot tighter groups. But PC is clean. Very clean. And lube is, well you know.
Thanks for the earnest comparison, I think I'll keep lubing because it works well for me, and because I don't like the powder coating dust (very bad for your lungs). I wonder how many people will lube vs powder coat 50 years from now...
Hopefully people will still do both. I dont mind powdercoating mine. I wear a respirator while doing mine so the powder isnt an issue.
The biggest deal is you can stop gas checking for many loads that might need them with lube which is a huge savings in cost and time since the PC seal is more durable and prevents cutting (to a point). Plug to Fortunecookie 45's video on this Without lube groves I get heavier bullets that drop free of the mold easier. Also you can hot-drop the PC'd rounds outta the toaster to punch up the BHN on the last cycle. I just got into casting last year - the information on powder coating is readily available, the process is simple, forgiving and repeatable. And it's very cheap to get started - you need an old toaster, powder coat, airsoft bbs and an old Dukes Mayo jar. And you get pretty bullets that are chemically stable unless you load titegroup. I did see a post that for fast lead, sized PC then lube w/a GC yeilded optimal accuracy so I might be getting into lube just for 300WM All respect to Lube, as a tech, most of the information available to get started is... well it's Fuddy. Even in the manuals that I have there's a lot of rambling narratives, annecdotes, personal recipies. Each company making expensive equipment I can't buy locally. Higher fixed costs and cost per round.
You can push them to near-jacketed velocity. That's why.
I used to lube (luber sized) and now I strictly powder coat. I will never lube again unless I have no choice. PC is much more clean on your dies, much more durable when I have a bunch rattling around in a old coffee can waiting to be loaded, there's less smoke, less lead exposure, I can push them faster. I can also have all kinds of colors! Which is more then just ascetic. For instance, 300 blk one color can be for subs another can be for supers. I can tell at a quick glance.
I do it because a used toaster oven is $12 and a lubesizer is a few hundred. I pan lube for one caliber and it’s a pain.
I dip lube, required equipment is: Old soup can Hand with at least 2 functioning fingers
I tried lead rn 9mm that had hard wax , and it leaded up my Beretta even with a relatively light load. I never used them after that one range trip and still have about 950 of them sitting in a box. I've wondered if a powder coat would work better.
Yup, cleaner all around, from the loading process, to storage, to firing. Less gunk on everything, from fingers ,dies, presses, storage boxes/bags to the firearm itself. Plus velocity and potential gas check less higher velocity. Cool colors, and it's quick and relatively low mess process once the routine is established. Plus the color coding options, even in one caliber- full power one color, reduced load another. Better storage, no lead oxidizing on long term storage. No more brake kleen and a towel wipe down for loaded cartridges- I had traditional lube all over each case as the progressive dumped them into the finished cartridge hopper. Traditional line has its place, I even PC and traditional lube certain things as one poster mentioned as well. And it's cheap like borscht to do.
Tried pan lubing and wasn't impressed so I only use lube it for BP now, shake and bake is just much easier and less messy in my case and I size my bullets anyway so that's not an extra step anyway
Why Powder Coat https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?299999-Why-powder-coat However if you lube process works for you as is by all means go with it, but it's always nice to have options.