Been thinking of doing a two-tone look on my AR, and was thinking of the Duracoat Aerosol meathod.
I was going to strip apart my ARs receivers and the rail, but have a few questions their website couldnt answer.
If i spray the inside of the receivers, will that create clearance issues of the parts that have to go back inside?
Or will just a few coats not build up enough material to cause a problem?
Also do i HAVE to use the matte finish to avoid a sheen? I want the finished project to be as matte as possible.
This is my first time painting a gun and im kind of hesitant on doing this.

IMHO, just don't. I used the aerosol on a pistol slide. It looked horrible. Matte black is very shiny in the can. The can is very difficult to control compared to someone knowledgeable with an airbrush system. Take everything to a competent person to get the rifle duracoated.

I went this route on a Colt Sp1 that was pretty beat on the outside .
I use the Duracoat Colt grey for the metal and Flat black for the furniture.
The paint will run after the first coat. You can either wipe it and re coat or let dry , sand the run and re coat.
The paint lasts 24 hours once mixed so you have enough time to re coat.
I let the parts sit for three weeks to cure. Then reassembled. Then put in the vault , and it sat for acouple of months till the weather got warmer to shoot it.
So it was fully cured when I shot it, But three weeks it can be assembled.
There was a minor shine to both paints, but I really like the results and the cost of the whole paint job.
For a Handgun going in and out of a holster, Ceracoat would be better.
But for a Ar rifle that's going from the vault to the range and back, The Duracoat is fine.

Duracoat aerosol Parkerizing spray results

Duracoat aerosol DuraBlue results

I done my Palmetto 10 Build in Aged Bronze Duracoat Aerosol Can. It was a easy project done with minimal tools and prep since the surfaces I sprayed were freshly anodized from the factory.

I took the Upper, Lower, Midwest handguard, and Buffer Tube and cleaned them in the sink with Dawn and Hot Water and let them Soak a while

GLOVES only from this point on and took air compressor and blew excess water off and let dry for one day.

Took the parts and Soaked them in Acetone for about a hour, then hung them on bent clothes hangers for a day.

Broke seal on Duracoat can and shook for 5 min. Took heat gun warmed the parts up to prevent runs and hit them in super light coats. I hit them with the heat gun between coats to flash off the solvents. I did 1 light coat inside and out, then 3 more light coats on the outside of the parts.

ZERO RUNS use a hair dryer or heat gun and spray THIN, Keep the can moving don't sit on any spots. Only Areas I Didnt Spray were the threaded barrel extension on the upper and the buffer tube threads.

I brought inside and hung them in the garage for a day then brought them inside and hung them in a closet for a week.

Assembled upper and lower and have had ZERO issues with it, im not out in the desert or jungle fighting the enemy, but trips to the range and to the field for long range shooting its held up fine I havent exactly babied it either. Only place its wearing is the brass deflector on the upper.

I was very pleased for the $30 or so I spent on the project. I get compliments everywhere I take it

Durakoated the handguard on my .300blk upper Magpul FDE to match the grip, stock and mags. Used the aerosol. Worked just fine. Just have to do light coats and keep the nozzle clean.




Did stay glossier than it should until it fully cured.

Is it still as glossy as it looks in the picture or is that just an artifact from the flash?

seeing the color and how close it matches your furniture makes me want to go ahead and do it but I'm worried about it coming out glossy. 

Can anyone speak from experience using this product in a basement in the winter- is the odor strong?

I'd like to use it on a couple of small projects and am stuck using it inside due to winter temps but also don't want the wife living with a strong odor.

Thanks.

Strong odor.  My wife yelled at me because she was pregnant at the time and smelling it.  Just don't...

I found I got different results with different ambient temps. There is always some shine but the more "average" the temp the better results. I did my SBR when it was about 30 degrees in my garage and it shone like a diamond for years until I finally had it sand blasted and cerakoted.

Exactly what I wanted to know- thanks!

Just did a g34 slide and mossberg 590A1 in the basement a few weeks ago.....stunk up the entire house for 2 days...wife was not pleased.

the one thing that i think Duracoat needs to stress a bit more is the safety aspect of using in. do a search on it. proper ventillation and respirator is a must.please be safe!

Sorry, forgot about this. Its somewhat shiney until it fully cures (camera flash enhanced it. Smartphone camera. Didn't want to bring the D300 out for a quick pic). It dulled out after a couple weeks.

I did a BPS in 10 gauge with matte black aerosol recently. Didn't pay enough attention to whether I had dust floating around the house and some ended up on the receiver(yeah, my fault). Overall I'm happy with the result but haven't taken any pictures. I'll second the advice on not spraying in the house. A friend told me "don't worry about it, just open a window and turn a fan on". Don't do that. Like above, it took a couple days to get rid of the smell.