Powder coat varieties

62chevy

Active Member
I've had some 45 acp with signal blue from Smoke for about a year with Bullseye and no change in the case after shooting.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Don't use TG but Rl7 with HF red (epoxy) and Smoke's black (poly), no problem. Loads were 100% density in BO.
 

Ian

Notorious member
The powders which eat polycarbonate powder hoppers eat polyester PC. HF PC is epoxy, not poly. I don't use epoxy so don't know what it reacts with. The powders for sure that I know to watch out for are Hodgdon Longshot, Titegroup, HP-38/WW231, probably a few others which react with poly PC and soften it.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I'd be wary of anything that clouds the powder tubes.
or any of the 'high energy' type powders.
at least until they were tested.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I've never had 231 eat into my plastic hoppers and I've been loading lots with it since it came out many years ago. TG, yea, bad news.
 

Hawk

North Central Texas
Sorry to hear Longshot may have issues.

I bought a pound to try in my 10mm handgun with PC boolits that may stay stored for a couple of years.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Longshot just ate the bejeezus out of the brand-new tube I just put in my Uniflow. Left it 1/3 full for a couple days with the lid on and it's toasted. Guess I'll have to find a better plastic in tubing form and make my own on a lathe, I'm the worst about leaving powder in hoppers.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I've never had 231 eat into my plastic hoppers and I've been loading lots with it since it came out many years ago. TG, yea, bad news.

I had the new stuff (different, I don't like it nearly as much as the old Winchester stuff) eat my Uniflow hopper, which seems the most sensitive to powder solvents. The Lee hoppers are pretty much impervious to anything, though I've never left TG in one to see.
 
F

freebullet

Guest
I've had tg sitting in the hornady for I don't know how long on my endless batch of 9mils. Little darkness on the tube but nothing crazy. Some old bullseye did bubble one hornady hopper tube, but the newer stuff didn't seem to do it.
 

Hawk

North Central Texas
Guess I could get some plain base aluminum gas checks for the 9mm and 10mm pistol cartridges.

I'll have to test A1680 too. I'm going to use it for the 7.62x40WT with PC'ed boolits. They are GC designed, but a GC probably wouldn't work because the boolit protrudes into the case past the GC.
 

Hawk

North Central Texas
Well, set up some PC'ed boolit with Red Dot, Blue Dot, A1680 and Longshot in separate glass jars to go along with my Unique.
After 24 hours the RD, BD, and A1680 don't seem to have any reaction, but the Longshot has completely coated and stuck to the PC'ed boolit.
The A1680 and Long shot were bought within the last two years, but the Unique, RD and BD have price stickers of $10.00 per pound, they were all bought 20 - 25 years ago.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
the newer alliant powders had about 2% nitro-glycerin added to them a couple of years back.
those are in the containers marked 'now cleaner burning' with the little star flash logo.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
It is likely dependent on concentration of nitroglycerin present in the powder.
Coating on granules of powder may also play a role.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I need to try this with Reloder 7, it's supposed to have one of the higher total nitro contents of modern powders, I've read 15% a few times. Funny it never has messed up a powder measure, though.

What sucks for me is my two currently most-used powders with PC bullets are Titegroup and Longshot, which both seem to be at the top of the list for reactivity.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I think ball powders will be worse than stick or flake. The method of manufacture may lead to use of solvents that remain in trace amounts. Those solvents may be part of the problem we are seeing.

Ball and Stick/flake powder have very different manufacturer processes so I'm not really that suprised to see differences like this.
 

Hawk

North Central Texas
I'm using Smoke's black, from the CB forum.
I didn't see where this is an acrylic or poly powder. Does anyone know? I hate to ask him as I'm sure he has been asked many times.

I want to use Longshot in the 10mm with 190 grain, plain base, shallow HP boolits. I may have to order or make some aluminum CG for the plain base boolits.

I've been using Blue Dot, but the muzzle flash is pretty bad. Guys next to me at the range always comment on it.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I'd say try Power Pistol but it flashes like the fourth of July. HS-6 is another good choice for the 10mm.

Smoke really should include an SDS or at least a web link with the stuff he sells. Polyester TGIC powder is a first-class carcinogen, so much so that it will likely be outlawed here soon as it has been in many other places in the world, and most people don't know how to properly handle the stuff or don't realize that the risk is very real. If that's what he sells, people need to know, so bug him until he tells you and let us all know.

Brad hit on something I've seen discussed but don't remember the details: Powder manufacturing processes. Smokeless powder must be washed with water as a final process, and afterwards it becomes toxic waste (in the US, at least). Disposal is expensive, so washing is cut to a minimum, and some of whatever it is that's rinsed off remains. This may be the deal with Titegroup and Longshot fumigating some plastics. Something about the powder plant in Florida that makes a lot of IMR/Hodgdon/Winchester powders? Also some new powder technology at Alliant which has resulted in all these new powder designations which baffle us as to their necessity...probably more an EPA-driven business decision than a marketing one. Eventually we may have to say bye-bye to our old faves like Unique, Red Dot, and Bullseye due to being too expensive to manufacture under current or future EPA regs. Just rambling, does anyone have the facts on this?
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
BE-86 is the same burn speed as power pistol and is flash suppressed.
I have heard 800-x mentioned as a good powder for the 10mm a time or two.