Painting vs Durakotes

[spoke78]

I thought there was some threads on how to paint rifles and shotguns but I can't seem to find them thru "Search". I am a bit of a cheap arse and want to try paint before throwing down on durakote materials. Can anyone lead me to the painting threads or repost their pics of the painted rifles? Thanks

 

[Sasquatchhunter]

hey good post. Im interested as well. I have wondered if you could use the grill paint that I see at the store. It has a parkerized look and its pretty tough.

 

[spoke78]

I'm hoping somebody will post their painting results. I have used BBQ black on motorcycle exhausts with success.

 

[bowhunter_1978]

tag

 

[VUPDblue]

Rattlecan paint jobs aren't uncommon. The plus side is that they are cheap and easily removable if you don't like it or if you screw up. The down side is that they are cheap and not very durable.

Duracoat is a good permanent finish. It is not easily removable which is good and bad. It's good in that it's durable, but it's bad in that if you don't like it after time, you're pretty much stuck unless blasting is an option.

Color selection between the two is a moot point, as the selection is endless. The results are often indeterminable between the two, visually, but it all depends on what you intend to do with the gun after it's coated.

 

[NateIU10]

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/accessories_and_gear/19812-camoflaging_your_weapons.html

 

[spoke78]

Thanks everyone. I actually got bored today and tore down one of my Mossberg 535 to try my hand at a paint job. It was already camo but I really didn't like the mossy oak. I tried the Krylon ultra flat green on everything but the forend and stock. I replaced the factory stock with an ATI 6-position stock and left it black. I sprayed the forend with some Caterpillar flat black. This flat black has proved tough on some of my other projects so I figured I would give it a try. It all looks good so far, but I am anxious to test the durability. I am building this up for home defense and I still need to get the sight. I know this all might sound worthless without the pics but they will have to come later. I just sprayed everything today and want to wait a few days to reassemble. Thanks

 

[spoke78]

I am happy witht he results of this so far. Being a pump gun I can already tell there will be some paint wear under the slide. looks and function came out great> I will post up some pics soon. Can anyone advise if shooting shot from a rifled slug barrel is harmless. I have an extra barrel for this and I am thinking of making it my 18" barrel...

 

[IndyGunworks]

looks good, the onlything that would be differant with duracoat is the longevity of the finish, after a while that paint will become brittle and flake off, duracoat WILL NOT flake.... other than that i think it looks pretty nice.... good job.... did you degrease before you painted?

 

[spoke78]

Thaks and I agree. But this was quick and easy and already had the tools to get this done now. Yes, degreased and the alcoholed prior to painting. No runs and even coats came out great. Airbrush kit and Duracoat might be in near future for another DYI project.

 

[hunter46140]

Funny thing you are asking. I have recently painted my ar and a savage 17 cal in camo paint. Rattle can mind you!! I haven't had any complaints on the job. Even had a few people say they thought it was professionally done. I have been looking in on using a sealer/hardner to keep the finish good. I have had no probs with the ar keeping the finish but the 17 is showing ware. And about the ? of shooting shot through a slug barrel, after some time you could damage the barrel. I recommend getting another barrel!!

I also agree with you on the duracoat. Once it is there it is there. No changing it. As for my paint jobs, I hunt with my guns and it looks good in my opinion if it has some wear marks on them, gives the gun character. And in the changing of seasons I can change my camo if I want

 

[wetidlerjr]

As far as I am concerned, there is about ten cents worth of difference between Duracoat and paint. Duracoat is not permanent and can be removed without a great deal of trouble. I learned my lesson concerning Duracoat on two different 1911s (not applied by me) and I will not use it again. YMMV

 

[IndyGunworks]

As far as I am concerned, there is about ten cents worth of difference between Duracoat and paint. Duracoat is not permanent and can be removed without a great deal of trouble. I learned my lesson concerning Duracoat on two different 1911s (not applied by me) and I will not use it again. YMMV

would you please elaborate? the only way i have found to remove duracoat is in my blasting cabnet, or with acetone....

its pretty much the majority opinion in this thread that duracoat is a perminent finish, i would like to know your experience...
who applied it?
how did you remove your duracoat without a great deal of trouble?
wear in parts that rub is to be expected and will happen with EVERY finish no matter what.

 

[wetidlerjr]

would you please elaborate? the only way i have found to remove duracoat is in my blasting cabnet, or with acetone....

its pretty much the majority opinion in this thread that duracoat is a perminent finish, i would like to know your experience...
who applied it?
how did you remove your duracoat without a great deal of trouble?
wear in parts that rub is to be expected and will happen with EVERY finish no matter what.

I am sure it was bad surface prep and it was removed with acetone and elbow grease and no blasting was needed. I noticed it starting peeling about six months after it was done. This was not simple "wear in parts that rub". Also, it was long enough ago that "naming names" would serve no useful purpose and the person did offer to re-do it. A second gun done by the same people was much better (a 1911) but it, too, was starting to chip in a couple of places but this was what could be considered normal. I later had this pistol hard chromed and the first one (stainless steel) was left with a bead-blast finish that looked good after all the Duracoat was gone. The last 1911 I had done was finished in Melonite.
I'm happy if many here have had good experiences with Duracoat but I didn't and I will stick with hard chrome and Melonite in the future.

 

[IndyGunworks]

well, i dont think any spray on finish is going to outdoo hard chrome.....
and acetone is duracoats arch enemy.....
sorry to hear you had bad experiences.... i am looking into melonite now, i just dont think i really like that color all that much....

regardless, that shotty looks pretty good.

 

[hemicharger]

What is that stuff from brownells called? Alumihyde I think? Anyone have any experience with it?

 

[Towertopper]

I **** can paint guns too often. I like to use Brownell's AlumaHyde II, Durakote, or KG Coatings. I did one with Dupli-color's (#DAP1690) Self-Etching Primer and gave one a really sweet Light OD color. I bake-cured the finish on the Dupli-color one as follows and it came out perfect....

250* for 1/2 hour
air cool for 1/2 hour
400* for 1/2 hour
air cool for 1/2 hour
550* for 1/2 hour
air cool and done!

Follow what ever products instructions to the letter for the best results and don't rush!

Prep is everything. Bead blast parts with Aluminum Oxide if you can, scuff sanding may leave marks that will show. Clean parts really well with Birchwood-Casey's Gun Scrubber or CRC's Brakleen. After you think it's clean, than clean it again! Never touch the parts after cleaning with your bare hands, wear gloves.

Give the first coat a light mist coat on the first pass, a "tack coat", then re-coat the tack coat before it dries. After that re-coat again as needed but don't go too crazy.

Believe it or not, most finishes can take a couple of weeks to fully cure so try not to bang them around too much or get in a hurry to take your new gem to the range.

You'll be amazed what you can do with a can of **** paint!

I also like to use a 20" room fan with a 20" home furnace filter sitting on the draw side of it to keep the over-spray down, nothing fancy, the fan will hold the filter for you.

I tried to find a thread on AR15.com that a fellow wrote on how to camo paint a finish on, but gave up on looking after what I had just written above was lost the first time I tried to reply here while looking for it to link.

 

[Bill B]

Shot out of a slug barrel won't hurt the gun. It will spread the pattern all to he@@ and gone beyond a short range.
For a home-defense gun maybe not such a bad idea, take it to the range and pattern it with different size shot and see what happens.

 

[shooter521]

What is that stuff from brownells called? Alumihyde I think? Anyone have any experience with it?

Alumahyde II is all I use. Gives rattle-can ease of use with superior durability, doesn't require baking, comes in a variety of camo colors, and is inexpensive.

Recon Carbine before:

and after:

 

[diverdown219]

you did that shooter521?
Looks very nice!