Posted: 10/29/2007 11:09:37 AM EDT
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Looking to duracoat an older handgun that I have. The hand gun in question is a Ruger P944 and has about 90% of the bluing left; an aluminum alloy frame; and the following parts are stainless - Barrel, trigger, hammer, guide rod. Will duracoat stick to all these surfaces equally? My plan is to do the entire gun in either tan or a matte black. My reasoning for those two colors is that this will be my truck gun and the interior colors of my truck are Black and Tan. I want to get the EZ Finisher Kit as well as there degreaser and flat clear coat. Anything else I should add to the order? Any tips or advise before I start the project? |
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In order for the Duracoat to stick the metal must be "profiled" by blasting to give it a fine texture that the coating can key into to make it stick once cured. Otherwise it'll flake off with use. I once owned a AK that was built and duracoated by the manufacturer. A year and 1200 rounds later it was worn at many of the corners and high spots. I wasn't impressed. I do my own guncoating and also use moly resin. You can lightly blast the parts to profile the metal and then warm them and apply two misted coats of the GC or moly. Then bake in a old toaster oven to cure! For steel parts I blast, parkerize and then apply the GC. That is a very durable finish and you can do it at home. Gun Cote and Moly get applied in much thinner coats than Duracoat does. They are tougher and more solvent resistant as well. Gun Coat shrugs of acetone and epoxy thinner and brake cleaner. My main carry pistol is a CZ82 that I bead blasted, parked and GC'd a deep blue color. It has yet to show any wear at all. Great stuff for the home refinisher! |
Big +1 for all of the above. I have refinished dozens of pistols and rifles (both personal and for customers) and I use about the same techniques. I sand blast lightly with medium grit aluminum oxide (I get it from Nothern Tools). For steel I park or use GunKote K-Phos as a pre coat after de-greasing. For small stuff/ stuff that easily fits in an oven, I preheat to 150 degrees, then apply fine coats with a Paasche airbrush and allow to dry. Then Bake. I very much like GunKote over Duracote, GunKote is truly awesome, but Duracote is by no means bad. I use duracote on projects too big for the oven. I sand blast/ de-grease/ K-phos the same way, then I use a heat gun to warm the item, then I spray the Duracote on and allow to cure. Most often this is on long barrels, and provides more than adequate protection. My $.02... |
Appreciate the advice guys  Trying to do this on a budget so the method with the lowest overall cost will end up winning. I am going to check out Gun Cote. Will a scouring pad, sandpaper or steel wool be an acceptable alternative to a sand blaster if I am unable to get one? ETA: The guns posted above are very well done, nice jobs! |