E-Z Powder Coating

Powder Coating (PC) is simply the process of treating your cast bullets with a baked-on polymer coating. This coating acts as the bullets’ lubricant as it travels down the bore of your gun. For 25 years I sized/lubed my cast bullets traditionally on an RCBS Lube-A-Matic II. About six years ago I heard about Powder Coated bullets.

I was perfectly content with sized/lubed bullets, but admit curiosity was tempting me. After thinking it over, I decided to give it a try. If it was easier than size/lubing my bullets, and if it gave as good, if not better results, I might switch. Long story short: It was faster, and my results were better, so I’ve been a die-hard convert of PC the past six years — and I love it!

Here are the bare basics for Powder Coating your cast bullets.

Powder Coating Process

Let me explain how I do it, then I’ll cover the benefits of powder coating your cast bullets.

1: Allow your freshly cast bullets to cool to room temperature. If you water quenched your bullets, make sure they are totally dry.

About ¾ teaspoon of powder is all you need to PC your bullets.

2: For batches up to 200, I use a plastic ice cream container. Larger batches of up to 400–500 bullets, I use a case tumbler to apply the PC. For 200 bullets, I use about ¾ teaspoon of PC. It’s better to start with less, as it allows more static electricity to form, which is what keeps the PC on the bullets.

Add your dry bullets to your plastic container to shake, rattle and roll your bullets in the PC powder.

3: After closing the lid, swirl, tumble and spin your bullets for about one minute. Check your bullets. If they aren’t totally coated, shake them some more. When bullets are completely coated, stop.

This is what well-covered cast bullets look like after shaking them or tumbling in a brass tumbler.

4: Place a colander, or wire fry basket on some newspaper and dump your bullets in the basket. Now shake off all excess powder. It will collect on the newspaper. Save it and shake it back in your container for the next application.

Dump your freshly coated bullets into a wire fry basket to shake off any excess PC powder.
This is probably the most important step for best results in the PC process.

5: Dump your bullets onto a baking tray cover with parchment paper. It is cheap and I found it works best, with absolutely no sticking of bullets. I’ve used the same sheet for 10 to 12 baking cycles.

Dump your shaken bullets onto a baking tray with parchment paper. I’ve found
this to work the best, and the parchment paper can be used up to a dozen times.

6: With your toaster oven pre-heated at 400 degrees, place your bullet tray into the oven. Most powders recommend a 20-minute bake.

Here’s what they look like after baking for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Clear PC
keeps the traditional look of sized/lubed bullets if you don’t fancy bright colors.

7: If you use wheel weights as part of your alloy, you may water quench your bullets, to make them harder, otherwise, just let them air cool. Hardness factors depend on how fast you plan to drive your bullets.

Tank used an MP Molds copy of the Hensely & Gibbs 503 in .45
caliber for this session. They weigh 290 grains.

8: Now we’re ready to size our bullets. Size does matter for the best accuracy. For years I used Lee push-thru sizer dies with my single-stage press. Now I use a Lee APP press and love it. For a $100 investment, you can size bullets as fast as you can pull the handle.

Sizing bushings are $10, or half the price of the push-thru sizers. Either way is quicker and easier than an RCBS Lu-Bri-Sizer, trust me.

The LEE APP press is a very convenient, easy and fun way to size your PC cast bullets.

Why Powder Coat?

Simply put, PC allows softer alloy bullets to be driven faster with better accuracy and no leading. I’ve had great results and doubt I’ll ever go back to traditional lube/sizing again. PC is much cheaper than traditional bullet lube. You can use different colored PC to color code your loads, like hot or plinker loads. PC bullets can be stored for years without risk of bullet lube drying out or bullets oxidizing.

While shooting, there’s no unpleasant smoke or obnoxious fumes. I have guns where I’ve shot over 500 rounds without cleaning and there is no sign of leading in the bore. Cleanup involves wiping powder residue from the cylinder face and frame.

No sticky blue fingers or dies while handloading. Like M&Ms, you’ll have no mess on your hands. You won’t have to clean your dies out from the gunk accumulated from traditional lube.

The biggest reason is accuracy. PC bullets seem to shoot better. Because they’re softer, they fill the grooves better by bumping up if need be from their original size. Softer alloy also makes for more expansion on game animals. I can process 400–500 PC bullets in half the time with less effort than traditional lube/sizing. That is reason enough! The other benefits make it a no-brainer.

Eastwood Powders work great, and I got my start with Harbor Freight PC. Red and white colors work well. Give PC a shot, you just may be impressed. Whatever way you choose, just keep shooting, loading ammo and have fun doing it!

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