I refinished my first mag the other day.  Cleaned the mag with acetone and then sprayed it with several light coats of Permaslik, following the instructions on the can.  The mag looked great!  However, the finish rubbed off the first time I put it in my rifle wherever there was metal to metal contact.  Same results with the thumbnail test.  What did I do wrong?

Note:  I figure this must be old news, but I checked the FAQ's and did a search before asking and came up with nothing.  Indulge me please!

Richard

Well.. Permaslik isn't paint. Its actually a dry lubricant. It will 'rub' off. I have refinished many a mag, and I usually apply 8-10 light coats. This seems to provide a more durable finish, but as I said, it will still eventually wear.

The biggest thing that seems to help from what I have tried and read is to dry the mags in an oven when done spraying. I know it doesn't say it on the can, but I found this works the best. I also pre-heat the mags as well after giving them a lite scuffing with a red scotch-brite. I also only apply enough finish to cover the mags properly. The more coats the thicker the final finish will be, and the greater chance for the finish to scratch off.

Good point VA. I also bake mine in the oven for 30 min or so at about 200 degrees. I have had really good results with the Permaslik product so far.

What's the magic number for coats then?

Rub all the excess off with a paper towel.  THe wear you see is probably just the excess.  I bet you will be happy after you polish all your mags.

There really isn't a magic number, just enough to cover the mags. I find that 2-3 even coats will do the job. If you find that the finish was to thin and wears off quicker then you want, you can always refinish them again.

I usually polish my mags vigorously after they've cured well with a soft rag and some EEZOX CLP.  I am sure any CLP or lube product would work more or less.  This does wonders for me in keeping the finish on the mags and off everything they come in contact with.  It only takes off the grainy part of the  new permasilkg coating and leaves the mag finish pretty rugged and slick but still matte in color.

Therein lies the issue.  As Grock stated, Permaslik is molybdenym disilfide (MoS2) dispersed in a solventborne binder.  MoS2 is an inorganic compound that is used to lubricate metal components that are under high specific loading per unit area, in other words, high PSI like in ball and roller bearings where the balls and rollers are under load in point or line contact respectively.  The solvent is fairly "hot", i.e., it evaporated quickly, starting as it emerges from the nozzle, leaving dry atomized particles that fall to the surface and may or may not rewet depending on how much liquid phase solvent is on the surface at the moment.  The pigment-to-binder ratio is also very high, resulting in the large amount of unbound particles that rub off.

I have no idea why that particular material would have been selected as a magazine finish, perhaps it was the best available in the 60s.  IMO, the high-performance black MoS2 or PTFE-filled coatings are much more robust and better suited for magazines than Permaslik.

Noah

Alrighty then Noah.
Where do we pick up some of thes pitff or ms2 goo stuff you are talking about?

I am speaking of the black coatings on the Labelle and DPMS mags.  Walter Birdsong will coat mags for $8 ea.  Brownells may sell something similar -- look for "PTFE", Teflon, or Moly in the product descriptions.

At a business with which I am affiliated we use a similar industrial PTFE / MoS2 coating for application to all types of parts, we get the coatings in 55 gal drums.  The manufacturer will not sell it to the public as it requires the right application equipment and baking at 425F for 15 to 20 minutes.