Sumsky 115 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 (edited) Whats the best process for prepping the Barrel and Receiver before painting? I will be using Aluma-Hyde. Edited March 12, 2010 by Sumsky Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rustynuts 3 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 I would media blast with medium/fine grit (NOT beads). Then wash with water & clean detergent (nothing that will leave residue, maybe just laundry booster) and dry. If you live in FL like me, you WILL get flash rust, but don't worry. Rub down with MEK and pre-heat in warm oven (like 100-deg). After that spray with K-Phos pretreatment. All that flash rust will magically disappear before your eyes! Back in the oven for pre-heat again, and SPRAY! Bake and then you are done. Be sure to plug your barrel/gas port. I just stuffed wadded paper towels in there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sumsky 115 Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 I would media blast with medium/fine grit (NOT beads). Then wash with water & clean detergent (nothing that will leave residue, maybe just laundry booster) and dry. If you live in FL like me, you WILL get flash rust, but don't worry. Rub down with MEK and pre-heat in warm oven (like 100-deg). After that spray with K-Phos pretreatment. All that flash rust will magically disappear before your eyes! Back in the oven for pre-heat again, and SPRAY! Bake and then you are done. Be sure to plug your barrel/gas port. I just stuffed wadded paper towels in there. Bake? Aluma Hyde have to be baked? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Klassy Kalashnikov 1,393 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 If you're using Aluma-Hyde II, the main part of prep will be these: Seriously, I worked with Aluma-Hyde II Dark Parkerizing Gray about 6 months ago and it was the most god awful, finnicky project I have ever done! Anything can ruin the finish - just a single drop of grease hiding under the gas block or FSB will give the barrel spots like a cow, room temperature, can temperature, cure time, distance sprayed, variance in can pressure while spraying, etc. I have seen about 3 dozen different ways of applying the stuff, everyone has their own process. I pained a gun with that stuff and seriously regretted it. Two sides of the receiver came out great, barrel was a different color than receiver, one side of the receiver was cracked and scaly, and the top cover had a textured like sugar mixed with water and came out so brittle it scraped off with a fingernail. The parts were all painted the same way on the same day and dried for the same time...... If you can get out of Aluma-Hyde now, I'd recommend going with DuraCoat instead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sumsky 115 Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 If you're using Aluma-Hyde II, the main part of prep will be these: Seriously, I worked with Aluma-Hyde II Dark Parkerizing Gray about 6 months ago and it was the most god awful, finnicky project I have ever done! Anything can ruin the finish - just a single drop of grease hiding under the gas block or FSB will give the barrel spots like a cow, room temperature, can temperature, cure time, distance sprayed, variance in can pressure while spraying, etc. I have seen about 3 dozen different ways of applying the stuff, everyone has their own process. I pained a gun with that stuff and seriously regretted it. Two sides of the receiver came out great, barrel was a different color than receiver, one side of the receiver was cracked and scaly, and the top cover had a textured like sugar mixed with water and came out so brittle it scraped off with a fingernail. The parts were all painted the same way on the same day and dried for the same time...... If you can get out of Aluma-Hyde now, I'd recommend going with DuraCoat instead. I am going to check out DuraCoat. I hate finicky stuff. Especialy if you have to bake it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Klassy Kalashnikov 1,393 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 You don't need to bake Duracoat or Aluma-Hyde. Though with A-H quite a number of people do so. I have seen people have good results with Aluma-Hyde, but not me. Granted, I'm no DaVinci, but that stuff was way too finnicky for my tastes. If you check out DuraCoat, make sure you get a good air compressor because I have heard the one it comes with is not that good. There's a guy on here, gr8santini I believe his name is? He's got some serious talent and does a lot of amazing paint jobs. See the thing with Duracoat is, a setup puts you in the $120 price rang, plus your time. And at that point, well, you're $100 away from being able to send it away for a professional finish like CeraKote, MolyCoat, etc.... (I went through absolute hell with a finish of mine...I know all this the hard way!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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