Powder Coating Already Lubed Bullets?

[mmattockx]

I have a fair pile of cast 245gr Keith SWC bullets for my .44mag. They came from Ben Hunchak years ago and are traditionally lubed. I would like to try powder coating some of them to see how that works on them. Is there a reasonable way to remove the lube before coating them?


Thanks,
Mark

 

[yomomma]

Removing the lube can be a pain in the ass.

Most people will tell you to melt and recast.

If you still want to do it. Boil bullets to remove most of the lube. Then, several washes in acetone. Depenting on composition of lube you may need to rinse bullets with some other cleaners before your final rinse with acetone.

 

[remington jim]

Removing the lube can be a pain in the ass.

Most people will tell you to melt and recast.

If you still want to do it. Boil bullets to remove most of the lube. Then, several washes in acetone. Depenting on composition of lube you may need to rinse bullets with some other cleaners before your final rinse with acetone.

After you boil the lube out of them use Dawn Dish Soap and Limishine in hot water and wash them clean ! RJ

 

[tigrr]

Then spray them with brake cleaner and shake in a plastic container with a 5 in the triangle or buy the sprayer and go to town.

 

[ted_dent]

Definitely not worth the effort (ask me how I know ). As long as they are good quality lubed bullets they will shoot just fine. You will generate a little more smoke than with PC'd bullets and a bit of leading is not unusual but the difference in performance is not great enough to compensate for all the work of getting the lube off.

I have pretty much switched completely to PC'd bullets and would not go back but I do have a stash of various conventionally lubed bullets which I am shooting as is. When they are used up I will pretty much stick to PC.

 

[4n2t0]

Bake then soak in Xylene. Rinse the bullets well after the Xylene soak.

 

[EhGun]

I boiled mine...let the water cool so that the lube firms up(like when chicken gravy is put in the fridge)...MUCH easier to skim off the top. Did a quick rinse in a small amount of isopropal alcohol and let dry. Powder coated them no problem.

 

[junkdude]

I've just put them in suitable container with some gasoline. Let them soak for a bit, shosh them around and repeat. Rinse with boiling water and some dish soap. Seemed to get all the lube off and took the powder coat okay.

 

[mmattockx]

As long as they are good quality lubed bullets they will shoot just fine.

They are a touch undersized and do cause some leading. Ben said they dropped from the mold at .429" instead of a bit oversize to allow sizing to .430"-.431". I've shot lots of them as they are and they shoot fine otherwise, but with the rise of powder coating and my experience so far with it I wanted to try some and see if the PC works OK and prevents the leading I get.

Thanks to all for the suggestions, I have some things to try. Has anyone tried an ultrasonic cleaner along with the various solvents?


Mark

 

[Butcherbill]

With the right solvent it’s easy to remove a wax lube, I prefer (surprise!) liquid automotive wax and grease remover lol. It works awesome, any automotive paint supply shop will have it, Canadian Tire carries it in a smaller size also.


Put it in a glass jar and fill till it’s over the bullets, let it sit for 20-30min with the occasional swish/gentle shake. After draining the solvent flashes off quick, I usually give a second quick rinse in lacquer thinner or 99% isopropyl.

This was a 500 box of cast .400dia .40/10mm Lee alox lubed bullets, I haven’t got around to powder coating them yet but they are wax free.

 

[boxhitch]

Ben said they dropped from the mold at .429" instead of a bit oversize to allow sizing to .430"-.431".

PC'ing adds about .002" so should be good for yours, may not even need the resizing step
I experimented with removing lube, using a small oring pick the lube popped off a cool bullet pretty easily, then acetone then mineral spirits baths
cuz thats what I had on hand, it worked. Okay for 50 not sure I'd do 1000 that way though

 

[ted_dent]

With the right solvent it’s easy to remove a wax lube, I prefer (surprise!) liquid automotive wax and grease remover lol. It works awesome, any automotive paint supply shop will have it, Canadian Tire carries it in a smaller size also.
View attachment 932913

Put it in a glass jar and fill till it’s over the bullets, let it sit for 20-30min with the occasional swish/gentle shake. After draining the solvent flashes off quick, I usually give a second quick rinse in lacquer thinner or 99% isopropyl.

This was a 500 box of cast .400dia .40/10mm Lee alox lubed bullets, I haven’t got around to powder coating them yet but they are wax free.

Since those are tumble lube bullets the lube layer is very thin and therefore relatively easy to dissolve. On bullets with prominent lube grooves the lube in the grooves is much thicker so it's harder for the solvent to penetrate all the way through without multiple applications of solvent.

 

[BattleRife]

I just conducted this experiment this week. I had two batches of commercial cast bullets with conventional lube. I boiled them in water a single time, for about 5 minutes.

One of the batches, the lube was not fully removed, I will have to take greater measures if I want to pursue powder coating those.

The other batch, the lube melted right out and pooled on the surface. I poured the water off, rinsed one time in tap water, let them dry and proceeded to powder coat. Exactly one bullet out of the batch of 50 has a bare spot on the nose where some leftover lube contaminated the surface. I suspect it was during the rinse and drain process that a gob of floating lube reattached to the nose. If I do a big batch I will probably boil them twice. But I won't be resorting to any solvents,. I don't see the need.

 

[Butcherbill]

Since those are tumble lube bullets the lube layer is very thin and therefore relatively easy to dissolve. On bullets with prominent lube grooves the lube in the grooves is much thicker so it's harder for the solvent to penetrate all the way through without multiple applications of solvent.

Have to ever used an automotive wax and grease remover? It’s pretty strong stuff, I have no doubt it would work with the other style of wax lube. Might have to soak it longer but that’s what it’s designed to do, remove wax and grease.