- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 3 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
For cast bullets there are several options for either traditional lube or powder coating processes.
Traditional lubes of all sorts have been utilized over the years to aid in having less to no leading build up in the bore of the firearm.
Things to consider: Bullet fit as it relates to bore size is one of the most important to keep lead deposits at a minimum. Sizing bullets 0.001″ to 0.003″ over size are common practices. With 10mm 0.001 to 0.002″ usually works well.
The various lubes are vast and some are simple and others more complex in their makeup. There are many commercially prepared products to choose from for applications from Black Powder firearms, pistol or revolvers to modern High-Power Rifles with higher velocities.There are several Home Recipes for traditional lubes can make for sometimes cheaper to make for the DIY handloader.
Some as simple as Bee’s wax to mixtures of various products such as soap, oils, greases, waxes, lanolin, etc.
Commercial Lube such as ALOX has been a staple in handloader uses. Most all companies that sell handloading/bullet casting products have their own commercial lubes available. An advantage of traditional lube is usually faster in the applications. One drawback has been smokey clouds when shooting and build up in the loading dies.
One company that has a very large variety of lubes in softer too harder for all most any applications from pan lubing to heated lubricating sizers is White Lable Lubes. I have purchased from them and the products have met my needs with lube like the Carnauba Red which sone have used at 2700+ fps velocities.Now the new trend has been Polymer Powdered Pains that are applied and baked on to cure them for very durable finish that prevents alloy contact with the bore and adds lubricity. There have been several commercial companies that sell their products in so many colors in the pallet.
There are several methods that have been used to apply the PC on the bullets.
The Powder Coating was developed as an “ELECTROSTATIC” application to various parts to be painted by using a spray gun to apply the powder on to the surfaces. People have used this process to spray the powders on to the cast bullets. The cost of the equipment may be prohibitive and slower than other methods.
Now on to the more common “SHAKE & BAKE” processes:
There is a liquid/fluid transfer of the polymer to the bullets where MEK or Acetone is used with to adhere the PC product while shaking the bullets around in the mixture then poured out to allow for the solvents to evaporate. Then baked at the specific temperature and time specified by the PC product instructions.Dry applications are used by many people. They place small amounts of the powdered pants in containers usually plastic with the clean freshly cast bullets and shake them around for coverage of the powder. Slightly “FROSTED” as cast bullets seem the grab hold of the powders better.
Using plastic containers may generate a slight static charge to help the powder stick better.
It is said that pre warming the bullets can also help with adhesion of the powders when being shaken around in the powders.
Then the use of the “AISOFT Plastic pellets or BB’s” have been added to the container with the powder to also assist in better adhesion of the powders. What does the use the AISOFT BB’s actually do for application of Powder Coating? Does it help move the powder around inside the container and to make gaps between the bullets for the powder to contact them? It might also add a little static for the powder to cling???Powder coated bullets are less messy when cured, they don’t produce much smoke when shot and dies stay somewhat cleaner as well!
Tip to help when handling the powder coated bullets: Using gloves and dipping your fingers in some of the powder paint helps to maintain the powder that is stuck to the bullets when handling prior to baking on the finish! -
Many are fans of hard lube when choosing a bullet lube. Hard lube has a number of advantages including working well with higher pressure rounds, smoking less during shooting and less mess during handling and storage.
But, hard lubes require heat during application or they won’t flow well, can break up and come off during storage, and don’t always work well with lower pressure loads.
I have become a fan of a home-brew recipe known as “felix lube”. It will flow at room temp and works great across the range of load I produce.
I have also done a fair amount of powder coating using the dry “shake and bake” method. I will say that I rarely get bullets as pretty as other folks pictures. Not sure if their bullets would look like mine in person or if I am just not shaking enough.
The biggest benefit to powder coating for me is the ability to use a plain base bullet in a gas operated action. Normally gas operation will require a gas check to prevent excessive and rapid accumulation of lead in the gas system. I choked an M1 Garand up completely with just 10 shots of plain base bullets with traditional lube. As a notorious cheapskate, powder coat’s biggest advantage is to produce bullets that will work fine in my M1’s and AR’s without a gas check.
-
-
Here is the recipe for Felix Lube my friend “Stuffit” shared from over at the old Handloads_com Forum that I was a member for a long time.
There were so many knowledgeable people on that for back then and many have passed on including Stuffit, rest his soul.
My homemade Felix lube, does contain just a bit of mineral oil and is, according to the rule, thereby disqualified. A good (better than satisfactory) homemade lube for use with the “black et al” powders can be made by combining a 4/1 mix of either olive oil or peanut oil with bees wax. (unable to make a decision, I used 2 parts each of olive oil and peanut oil / one part beeswax and it worked very well.) The resulting consistency can be either pan lubed or smeared on as is your inclination.2 Tablespoons mineral oil
1 Tablespoon castor oil
1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)
1 Tablespoon Lanolin
Beeswax – Piece approximately 3 1/2″ X 3 1/2″ X 1 ”Heat mineral (baby) oil until it starts to smoke.
Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.
Sliver the soap, and stir into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.
Add the beeswax before the lanolin, and then when that is melted, reduce or remove the heat and add the lanolin, thus not running any risk of burning or scorching the lanolin.
1 teaspoon of carnauba wax can be added to give a shiny bore. This can be found on the seal of Makers Mark whiskey, or the red wax on cheese from the supermarket.”
*I add a half tablespoon of Johnson’s paste wax here for its carnauba content.
“Once made, let cool. This can be remelted in a microwave,and poured into the lubrisizer.”
**Or you can make a “mould” for it from a pipe of proper diameter with a long rod through the center so that you can insert the cooled “ingots” it into your 450 L/S.
By the way he was kind enough to share some 40cal / 10mm Lyman Devastators 155 grain cast hollow point bullets he casted and they were coated with his FELIX Lube. It started me searching for that Discontinued Lyman mold: I was able to purchase one from a friend on that fourm years ago!
Lyman 1-Cavity Bullet Mold #401638 10mm/40 Cal (.401” Diameter) 155 Grain Devastator Hollow Point Bevel Base -
-
I use that same recipe. Only change I make is I use a blue crayon in place of the carnuba wax. I would guess two crayons would allow you to skip the ivory soap as well. The soap is there to provide stearic sulfate, which is also found in crayons. It’s job is to keep everything bound together – without it the different oils would try to seperate over time.
I made a 4X recipe many years ago and used 1″ copper tube as a mold. I keep the sticks in the freezer in a couple of plastic costco nut jars. I imagine I have a lifetime supply as I have only used about 25% of it in the last 10-12 years. Most of that was used in the first year or two after I made it before I started powder coating.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.