I am babysitting basketcase of a J-frame right now. The weapon was utterly neglected causing massive rust months ago when I first encountered it, so I offered some flitz and elbow grease. My good deed went punished with a good 80% of the finish being removed. I felt bad about the whole thing and tried that god-awful cold bluing which resulted in the most horrifying pinto of a finish. As such, I would like to try something like duracoating, but want to minimize cost and have no finishing tools.

I was thinking about trying this: Duracoat Shake N Spray Kit. Does anybody have any experience with this kit, or have a suggestion for a similarly-priced self-contained refinishing option?

Duracoat or any of the paint finishes probably won't be the best choice because they really need a matte surface for best adhesion.

You might look into stove top parkerizing or rust blue, both of which can be done pretty cheaply.

Brownells gunkote is pretty good stuff.  Spray it, let it dry 30min then bake for an hour.  Very durable and tough.  I've used it several times and as long as you don't overspray it, you'll be fine.

Old world rust blue it.

Give it a go.  Worst thing could happen is you might have to do it again. Oh yeah, show us pics after you do it.  Good luck!

This or possibly some patience and a lot of sandpaper of appropriate grits and backers of appropriate shapes.