Mitch535 29 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Hey guys, figured I'd make a thread to follow the progress on my refinishing. About a year ago, I beadblasted my S12 and duracoated it. Bad idea... the bead blast left the finish too slick for the duracoat to adhere, and it has been peeling off ever since. I've been super busy with work, but now that things have slowed down a bit I've started on refinishing this S12. I've re-beadblasted it to get the duracoat off, but this time I've taken to lightly sanding and prepping the metal for adhesion. I'll post some pics of the bare gun shortly. While waiting on a new batch of duracoat to arrive (any day now..) I decided to polish the bolt carrier. Its looking good for my first pass: I'll keep updating this thread to follow the prep and finish. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
D.C.MORRISON 494 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 looking good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulyski 2,227 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Tite. If you want to blast for good adhesion, try 70 grit aluminum Oxide, then heat the gun and wipe it down with MEK, then the paint will hold like there's no tomorrow. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
netpackrat 566 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 A bead blast will not leave metal too "slick" for paint to adhere. There has to be some other reason your paint is peeling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poolingmyignorance 2,191 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Field strip weapon. Remove all furniture, FCG, PG, etc. 1.Use either rolled paper tape, or duct tape, or rubber stoppers to plug both ends of the bore. 2.Use duct tape to protect feed ramps , or high polish internals. For AK’s feed ramps aren’t as delicate so no extra protection is required. 3.Sand blast with 70grt alum oxide or 70grit media of your choice, avoid bead blasting as it we create a dimpled appearance with thin coatings, and comprimised integrity. 4.If your using tape to plug bore remove for next step. Also gloves will be required for the entirety of this project. Even grease from your finger tips will contaminate the finish. 5.Sub merge weapon in acetone, or high strength rapid evaporating degreaser. For 10 min, 6.Heat leech weapon in oven for 20 min. Remove weapon and inspect for any “wet” spots, these are oils that have expanded and “leeched” out . IF any spots are found repeat steps 5 and 6 until no spots are found. 7. Preheat work piece to no less than 100f and no more than 130f before spraying. This will ensure that no humidity has a chance to form on work piece before spraying can begin. 8. Reinsert bore plugs. Hang your work piece carefully either by a thin wire through a hole or from the gas block. 9. Spray the difficult areas first. Begin spraying before your work piece, and continue spraying past it. ( often globs of paint will accumulate on sprayer tips and fly off at each trigger pull) 10. Cure as product directs. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DresNightfire 39 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I recommend a parkerize and then finish with semi-gloss teflon. The semi-gloss teflon engine enamel (got mine from o'reilly auto parts) from the auto store has specific instructions on which grit sand paper to use. Oh man, your receiver is dying for a burnt bronzing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poolingmyignorance 2,191 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) I recommend a parkerize and then finish with semi-gloss teflon. The semi-gloss teflon engine enamel (got mine from o'reilly auto parts) from the auto store has specific instructions on which grit sand paper to use. Oh man, your receiver is dying for a burnt bronzing! You stil have to follow the previous prep points for parkerizing first, park will improve most finishs adhereance. Pour some hoppes no9 on that, and see how it holds up, or stains. Most your spray can finishes don't hold up to copper solvents, oil and gasoline/diesel aren't as harsh on paint for some reason. Edited December 11, 2012 by poolingmyignorance Quote Link to post Share on other sites
corbin 621 Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) If you want to blast for good adhesion, try 70 grit aluminum Oxide, then heat the gun and wipe it down with MEK, then the paint will hold like there's no tomorrow. Agreed. By the way, are you making a post 86 dealer sample select fire S12? Just curious about the selector detents. Edited December 11, 2012 by Corbin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mitch535 29 Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Still waiting on my duracoat to come in. Brownells sent the the wrong color... they sent tactical dark earth. So... instead of sending it back, I decided to go ahead and order their OD green, coyote tan, and black all in their ultraflat tactical series. So until the duracoat does come in.. I'll just keep polishing internals and prepping things. Here are a few more updated pics of the 2nd round of polishing the carrier. *note: bolt and hammer were polished long ago, I just didn't get around to polishing the receiver till recently* Its certainly no "ice rack", but I'm satisfied with the outcome. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mitch535 29 Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Alright guys! The time has come. I took your advices to heart and followed them. I shot the gun down with 70 grit aluminum oxide. Once I got it home, i submerged the entire gun in acetone. I had to use a plastic sled, I had no other container. I look at it as being innovative, and not redneck...haha. The rest of the parts were soaking in a seperate bin, which is not pictured. Afterwards, I baked the gun and associated parts as advised to heat leach any chemicals. I didn't notice any, but resoaked the gun anyway. After it air dried again, I warmed the gun to 120 degrees as advised, and took it downstairs to paint. I know a lot of you guys use disposable airbrushes, but I love my airbrushes and decided to use my Iwata Eclipse Pro, which gave it a beautiful finish. I applied quite a few light coats until I felt the finish was perfect. (I know that it is slightly assembled. I forgot to take pics after soaking it last night so I took this today after I started reassembly.) I let the gun sit for 24 hours to cure before I started my reassembly. After it was assembled, minus bolt carrier, bolt, and recoil spring, I resprayed the entire thing again to make sure that the gun had a consistant coat. I had to mix several batches the previous night and didn't want any mismatching parts. This also served to make sure all my screw heads and axis pins were coated. Then, finally, she was fully assembled. I am very happy with the result. Instructions say that full curing won't occur for another 3-4 weeks, so i think its going to be a safe queen for a while. I really hope that the duracoat sticks this time! and one more with sister (I duracoated the VEPR's muzzle break also) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
poolingmyignorance 2,191 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Looks real good man! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mitch535 29 Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thanks! Here are a few more for the drum crowd: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mitch535 29 Posted January 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Figured I'd post a vid of its first outing since being sprayed. We were having so much fun we forgot to record till the last batch of rounds, so she only shot 12. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 What happened to the green and tan duracote colors? Anyway, the gun looks great, and so does the lady firing it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eric Pate 478 Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Slick conversion! Nice job. Way to be thorough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Terminator03 18 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Looks sweet! Where did you get that cool little skull on the charging handle? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Notefinder 6 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Mitch, Nice!! You did a great job! Can I ask what foregrip you installed and how do you like it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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