Do any of you Duracoat your guns?

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  • Paradude

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    Oct 22, 2008
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    Hi,I want to Duracoat a gun of mine but have never done it before.I have seen the kit's in Shotgun News and wonder how hard it is.Would I need to dry the paint in my oven?Any help is appreciated.
     

    Jeff B

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    May 28, 2008
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    Flower Mound, TX
    Disclaimer... I've never done this... but i talked to a guy that sells quite a few guns on another site, that has. We discussed it during a transaction. According to him, you need a cheap (Harbor Freight) blasting cabinet, media gun and air compressor. Then you strip the metal and finish off the item to be coated, solvent clean it to remove any grease or oil and then apply the Duracoat. Supposedly the application kits the sell work well, but for a number of pieces, you should look to getting your own airbrush.

    I've got a Mossberg project gun I'm thinking about trying it on.

    Jeff B.
     

    SteveW

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    Apr 2, 2008
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    Austin TX
    It's my belief that one of the selling points of Duracoat is that you don't need to 'bake' it in an oven to cure it. It will cure on it's own over time.

    I have never used Duracoat, but use Norell Moly Coat on all my Military style guns. HKs, FN-FALs, ARs. Very happy with it. It does need a blast cab and an oven to cure the resin. As with all re-finishing, it is very sensitive to the underling surface. Prep is king..

    Matt Black FAL:



    Matt Black HK:


    Park Green and Black HK:




    Matt Black HK again:


    AR in Colt Grey (upper/lower receiver + barrel) and Matt Black (the rest):
     

    phatcyclist

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    Feb 22, 2008
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    Austin, TX
    I have a cheap little Hungarian Surplus .32 that I want to do some Duracoat on. I've thought about parkerizing it too, but I don't know if you can do that to aluminum.
     

    lilricky2

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    Aug 17, 2008
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    S.E. Houston
    I do Dura, KG, and Norrells as well as some bluing and parking. You will do fine if you remember a coule of things.

    1. The paint needs to be well mixed. before application.

    2. Most importantly clean and degrease THOROUGHLY. Even the oils from your skin will ruin the new finish. I wear powder free latex medical gloves when I spray coat.

    You don't need to bake it to cure it, but for them to warranty the work it must be allowed to air cure for up to a month. Yes a month. Blasting is best but it can be sanded if necessary. You are just giving the coating a little "traction". Don't use glass beads and don't go too aggresive on the blasting media as you can actully create pits in carbon steel. Blast aluminum at a lower pressure than steel. I do aluminum at 40 psi and steel at 80-100 psi. Acetone works well on cleaning up your airbrush, spills and mistakes.

    Rick
     

    phatcyclist

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    Feb 22, 2008
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    Austin, TX
    I do Dura, KG, and Norrells as well as some bluing and parking. You will do fine if you remember a coule of things.

    1. The paint needs to be well mixed. before application.

    2. Most importantly clean and degrease THOROUGHLY. Even the oils from your skin will ruin the new finish. I wear powder free latex medical gloves when I spray coat.

    You don't need to bake it to cure it, but for them to warranty the work it must be allowed to air cure for up to a month. Yes a month. Blasting is best but it can be sanded if necessary. You are just giving the coating a little "traction". Don't use glass beads and don't go too aggresive on the blasting media as you can actully create pits in carbon steel. Blast aluminum at a lower pressure than steel. I do aluminum at 40 psi and steel at 80-100 psi. Acetone works well on cleaning up your airbrush, spills and mistakes.

    Rick

    Lots of great information, thanks!

    :cool:
     

    lilricky2

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    Aug 17, 2008
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    S.E. Houston
    Dura

    Not a problem. PM or email me if you have problems. If needed we can set up a phone call. It doesn't hurt to get a little help sometimes. Believe me, I've spent hours on the phone with John Norrell asking about his molly resin and everything else from degreasing to temperature settings, to humidity.

    Rick
     

    Shorts

    TGT Addict
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    Mar 28, 2008
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    Texas
    I parked mostly but thought about Duracoat for a change of pace. Regardless of the finish, the guys above said it best, 'Prep is King'. You shortcut or get careless with that and the final finish will pay the price.

    Get your supplies, take your time and enjoy the fruits
     

    CanTex

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    Mar 4, 2009
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    Pflugerville
    I have done dura on a number of guns, Semi auto .32 in pink for daughter, Single .22 for grandaughter (also pink). Black (flat) on CZ82, Black (gloss) on CZ82 (different gun). Couple shotguns as well as an Iver Johnson .22 revolver. Current project is a Derringer. PREP is the Key. My tools are sandpaper, wire wheel, dremmel, dental pics, paint stripper and masking tape all used as required. Acetone for removal of oils, gloves to prevent finger print oils on prepped surfaces. My airbrush is a cheap Harbor Freight kit with a decent air compressor and my paint booth is a Stetson hat box. I use pieces of wire coat hanger for hanging parts as/after painting as well as some hemostats for holding the smaller pieces.

    Again, Prep, clean and then clean again. SHAKE the bottles until the metal ball rattles for 2 min, then shake a bit more. While spraying, after you get an initial coat on let it flash over (dry slightly) before you add more. You can re-coat as required to get coverage and wait at least 2 hours for the pieces to be dry enough to touch.....however, leaving them overnight is better. Wait a day or two before re-assembly and at least 7 days before you oil or use them.

    Last 2 projects, I used a gold kit from Forster to complete the project, filling the stampings. I waited 5 days before adding this step and realized I had messed up in prep on one of the two guns when the finish wiped off with the rubbing (and solvent) required to remove the excess gold. On the other I am very happy with the results (was offered 4 times the purchase price of the piece first time it was shown).

    I attached a couple pictures..

    View attachment 2869 View attachment 2870
     

    Texasjack

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    Jan 3, 2010
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    I used Duracoat on an old .22 I had laying around. It had been in my uncle's barn for years and the bluing was in bad shape. I got one of those kits they sell and was really surprised at how easy it was to use. The hard work is in doing the prep on the barrel, as others have pointed out. A couple of friends saw how it came out and started using it on knife projects and such, and they also found it easy to use and very durable.
     
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