Help , Moly Coating Queries.

[tom1]

Attempted my first batch of moly coating on my own tonight. Placed about 100 HBC .308 into the plastic container with about a quarter of a teaspoon of moly. Tumbled for about three quarters of an hour then decided to check how they were going. On close inspection there appeared to very fine scratches on the surface of the projectiles. Is this normal or do I have to place some material in with the projectiles like cut up cotton rag or an old sock. How long do others tumble for?
Another question, is it common practice to full length resize every time you reload or are there better options. This is for an Omark using Winchester factory brass.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am sure this subject has been discussed many times before. I will have a look in the archives tonight.

[AlanF]

Tom,

Very fine scratching is normal - I tumble for 4 hours to get the moly fully applied - best place to check is on the flat base - if that has a coppery sheen through the moly, then they'll need more time.

I full length resize every time, because if I didn't, with my particular setup it would still be needed every 3 or 4 firings, so better to keep it simple and consistent I think. I believe most don't FL size every time. Some NEVER have to FL size! It depends very much on things like how well your brass matches your chamber. If it fits well enough to spring back every time then neck sizing is all that's needed. In fact some BR shooters have their necks so tight they don't even have to neck size!

I would firstly try going without FL sizing, and see how many firings you get before you start finding either sticky extraction or chambering difficulty. If it doesn't happen in say 6 firings, then you might decide to only FL size when needed.

Alan

[flatlina]

When I moly I use #2 steel shot in with the pills and moly. All I use is a plastic fruit jar in the lathe.

Regards
jb

[trxdick]

Tom,
I tried my first attempt at moly coating a couple of weeks ago due a fouling barrel and was very pleased with the finish.
What I did was:
- cleaned about 70 155gr projies with a few squirts of brake cleaner and gave them a buff with a clean rag then left to dry for about half hour.
- placed the projies into a clean empty 500g AR2208 bottle with about 1/2 cup (~500) of 4mm steel ball bearings and about 1/3 teaspoon of moly powder.
- stuffed the bottle flat with lid on tight into my empty Lyman 1200 vibrating tumbler.
- tumbled for 4 hours.
- when finished I emptied them into a bowl and separated the projies from the bearings.
- gave the projies a buff with a clean rag to remove excess moly and they were shiny, grey and looked like the real thing.
Cheers,
Richard.

[Tatty 4578]

Alan, wondering about Molyed projectiles in a new barrel, would you run the barrel in for 100 rounds or so before using it ?

[AlanF]

Alan, wondering about Molyed projectiles in a new barrel, would you run the barrel in for 100 rounds or so before using it ?

Tatty,

What you say makes sense. On the other hand I've had barrels (1 in 8T 6.5mm) that refused to stop coppering when running in, and molying fixed them, so I now use molyed for running in also, and haven't had any issues.

Alan

[Tatty 4578]

Have seriously been pondering on this subject Alan, Phil ( Redback Precision ) has my new build (280 AI ) close to finished would like to run molyed bullets from the start in the new 32" Broughton 5c Barrel , but was wondering if it may cause me grief if the barrel wasn't settled in first .

[saum2]

I used molyed projectiles in a .223 barrel from new (Running in as well) the barrel was a tack driver.
First serious shoot on a target was a 50.8 in TR
Geoff