I have a stainless rifle I would like to finish matte black.  I have been considering Lauer Custom Weaponry finish, or the Brownells Baking Lacquer route.  Does anyone have any experience with the ruggedness of these coatings?

Hi,

You won't be happy with the baking laquer. It is not very durable. We used to use some stuff called electrofilm. But that is not available. The new stuff from Brownells is pretty good. It is a resin bonded PTFE/Moly coat, flat black. Real easy to apply with an airbrush,(if you get the pint can) The new stuff from EM corporation is not to good any more. Because of the VOC requirement, it dries way too fast, and leaves cob webs everywhere. I am going to try and reduce it with some slow reducer, and see if that helps. A sandblast cabinet with fine aluminum oxide works very good on preparation. Just be sure not to use a lot of air pressure on aluminum parts, and never quit moving, or you will put a low spot on the part. clean parts with laquer thinner, hang parts on wires, spray with airbrush, then cook in the oven. (Make sure wife is gone, as it stinks pretty bad)LOL
Hope this helps!
Wayne