i bought a rock island 1911 and have put some ed brown and nighthawk parts in it.  i want to give a daultone look but im a little confused with all the offerings out there (duracote, gunkote, cerakote,alumahyde......)

i also dont have an airbrush so buying a product in a rattlecan that can leave an even coating is important.

what would be the best choice with quality and low price in mind?

im shooting in a bowling pin match in june and would like to show up with something a little different.

In for the education.

Brownell's sells Gun-Kote in rattle cans, though I haven't used it.  It needs to be baked, I have a toaster oven which I have used for baking guns, works well.

Duracoat needs an air brush, but does not have to bake.  Not quite as durable, but it does come in lots of pretty colors.  

Your RIA should already have a parkerized finish, which is a good base coat for paint.  It needs to be thoroughly degreased prior to painting, however.

Before I moved up to the dedicated firearm paints, (they really aren't, they are just marketed that way), I experimented with both engine and header paint from my local auto parts store.  Duplicolor engine paint works sort of well, and I used VHT black header paint on a .22 Smith that was really badly pitted.  Looks fairly decent now, and I am tempted to try it again on a parkerized finish.  This is a really low dollar approach, however.

I like the looks of that gun kote stuff but damn is it expensive

Gunkote and Alumahyde are both good low cost options you can apply quickly and evenly from a rattle can.  Of the two Gunkote is tougher but as mentioned requires some baking to cure it properly.  Cerakote and Duracoat are both airbrush mixtures, though the latter has a pump spray kit I've heard it's not very good.



For the least expensive, quickest route I'd say grab a couple cans of Alumahyde II and have at it.

will all of these stick well to bare metal as well as park?  im asking because i did some sanding to blend the beavertail and the back of the slide to the frame. its coming along nicely ill have to post some pics.

it should stick fine, gunkote works great ontop of park, and if the bare area you mentioned was bead blasted it should be fine. If you are concerned, you could apply this to the area (or even bead blast the whole gun and do the whole area)

Yeah, that spray apparatus that comes with Duracoat I think it is, has been around in the painting world for a long time and is terrible. If it is the one I'm thinking of it has an aerosol propellant, and a glass bottle. They are extremely sensitive to how much you've thinned the product, or not thinned it. There is a VERY small window in which the paint is the right viscosity. If it is not right it will come out all speckly (actual raised dots), and you have to thin it so much that it won't cover worth a crap. Spray cans are WAY easier to get a nice finish with. Anything that doesn't come in an aerosol can, is best used with an air brush, HVLP, or cup gun with regulator and compressor. Just a couple tips I hope can help somebody, while we are on the topic.  BD

An airbrush is easy.  The air compressor is the real problem.

I wouldn't use Duracoat or Alumahyde on a pistol.   They take a long time to cure and don't hold up well to use in my experience.

Gunkote and Cerakote are better suited for handguns.  The rattle cans do a fair job, but it's easy to apply too much paint with them, and don't expect to get more than a few uses out of them.  The nozzle will clog up and render the can inoperable long before you run out of paint.

I agree, on the duracoat it is really a paint more than anything. I have had better results with Aluma, but I bake it like gunkote, but still not as durable as gunkote.

I use disposable canned air for my air gun since my compressor has a lot of moisture and is a bigger ordeal to work with.

In order of preference, cerakote>gunkote>alumahyde>duracoat

the first two are thin and much easier to get a nice finish, you will be amazed at how fast alumahyde will build up.

If i was confined to spray cans, I might try this out
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?tabId=8&categoryId=11335&categoryString=649***10400***

The trick to keeping spray can nozzles unplugged is (when you are done with them)  to hold them upside down and spray until no more paint comes out. This clears out the nozzle, using very little proppelant, and makes them ready to store. No more plugged up spray bombs, and they keep for a long time as long as you do this.  When someone has left a nozzle with paint in it, and it has dried, I swipe one off another can.  BD

That works with regular paint but it never seemed to make any difference on my Brownell's cans.  They even sold extra nozzles but the paint had apparently dried somewhere within the can valve itself.

Yeah I'm sure you're right, I made the assumption that it behaved like a reg spray can. my bad.  BD

I painted one of my K98 Mausers with Duplicolor high heat engine paint. I baked it at 300 degrees for an hour. In the sunlight it has a slight brownish tint to it. But in artificial light it looks satin black. It has held up well for several years. Including the ball on the bolt handle. Once cured, it seems impervious to gun solvents.

Krylon flat black then bake it on 250 degrees for 40 minutes you will be amazed.