What should I coat my new stock with? Alumihyde, duracoat?

[misterT 174]

 

 

O.K. I have my new stock for my %$#@*& slant cut MAK90 nearly complete. Now I need to decide on a coating for it, hard coat is basically out because of minimum charges (no one wants to do ONE part). I have read threads on Duracoat and Alumihyde, both look very promising. I also want to try and match the color as close as possible to either the receiver or the other furnature. It looks like the matte black is probably my best bet. Anyone have experience with BOTH of these that can make a comparison, it would be great to hear from others that have used one or the other also. Is one more durable than the other, any problems applying either one?

[fbird 2]

I just recently sprayed two shotguns with duracoat. It was my 1st using an airbrush and using duracoat. I must say it was a really easy process. Just make sure everything is scuffed up and really clean. You can touch the parts almost immediately but need to wait a few days to assemble. I did one of mine in their tactical black which is super flat. The next I did a mix of the flat and semigloss hk black. Both SGs came out awesome.

[misterT 174]

 

Here is the final product before coating, after a LOT of research on here and reading reviews of the coatings on other sites I found that

 

Brownells alumahyde is the least durable of "epoxy type" coatings and will not withstand heat on a barrell. In addition all of the spray can coatings have some problems with sputtering and cloging tips causing uneven finish problems. ( you will need extra tips) and it tends to go on to thick!

 

Ceracote is THE most difficult to apply correctly but when done so is the hardest finish, the prep is extremely critical for this finish to adhere properly

 

Duracote is also difficult to apply correctly again it must be prepped correctly blasting with "clean" 60 grit aluminum oxide cleaned with their stripper and handled with latex gloves. (same for Ceracote) and it is reputed to be less hard than cured Moly Cote

 

Norrels Moly Cote Is reputed to be the next hardest finish to Ceracote and is easier to apply. It is also suggested to sand blast with 60-90 grit and clean with acetone or MEK but many reviews stated that they just scuffed it up with red scotch brite. I did not find any reviews stating that they had problems with flaking or peeling as all of the others did,so it would seem that the Moly Cote is easier to use.(somewhat idiot proof). They have both an air dry and a heat cure the air dry is water based so clean up is easy but it is NOT recommended for large metal parts or anything that gets HOT. I ordered the heat cure type even though it is for a stock, maybe I will refinish my S12 with it after I try it on my stock. I also ordered a Badger 350 external mix air brush as recomended to spray it (on Ebay for $22.95 new).

 

I hope this info helps anyone else considering refinishing and I will post pics of the finished stock as soon as I get it done.

Edited February 19, 2013 by misterT

[Ronin38 2,117]

So I'm guessing engine-paint or Krylon are out?

 

Good luck with it, I haven't worked up the nerve yet to paint any of my firearms...

[Trespasser 7]

Have you considered powder coat?

[misterT 174]

I did seriously consider powdercoat I actually have an account with a local powdercoater that does my motorcycle parts. There are some problems getting powdercoat into tight places like the tang slot in the top and the area where the two bars meet the front mount. I probably should have had him look at it but I made the decision to try this and already ordered the stuff.

 

As far as the engine paint I did use it on the bottom of my S12 receiver and I painted the FSB that I made with it. The bottom of the receiver is fine but I found that the paint on the FSB is fairly easily scratched and chiped so I will be coating it with the moly coat as well. When I told the wife what I had planned she said no %$#@^&% way are you putting that in MY oven so it looks like I will be trolling the Goodwill stores for a used convection or toaster oven.

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

So I'm guessing engine-paint or Krylon are out?

 

Good luck with it, I haven't worked up the nerve yet to paint any of my firearms...

 

 

I've got a spare roller you can use!

 

I did seriously consider powdercoat I actually have an account with a local powdercoater that does my motorcycle parts. There are some problems getting powdercoat into tight places like the tang slot in the top and the area where the two bars meet the front mount. I probably should have had him look at it but I made the decision to try this and already ordered the stuff.

 

From my experience having things powder coated, the big problem is not getting powder where you don't want it, not the other way around. The sole exception would be completely enclosed corners, which tend to make a Faraday Cage (same phenomenon that makes your radio reception go out if you drive under a bridge) and isolate those areas from being properly charged. It's not that common of a situation on most smaller parts as you can pretty much "shoot" the powder at those areas and gravity alone will let it hang there until it bakes.

 

I had an alternator case done and it took me 3 hours with the dremel and other assorted power tools to get the powder cleaned out enough to get it reassembled. I wouldn't recommend it for moving machinery unless you really like carefully sanding and grinding. That said, it did turn out really nice.

[Big John! 2,062]

Whatever happened to the days where we primed and painted? Not knocking you guys at all. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite. But... For a folder, I don't see why a self etching primer and some decent rattle can and good to go. Touch up as needed.

 

For a barrel I'l probably do some more research into something better.

 

There are some great product out there these days and again I can see you guys taking pride in your guns.

 

I guess it just seems like everything seems so over thought.

[Big John! 2,062]

When I told the wife what I had planned she said no %$#@^&% way are you putting that in MY oven so it looks like I will be trolling the Goodwill stores for a used convection or toaster oven.

So much easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

[misterT 174]

John I know what you are saying and I already used the rattle can engine enamel on the FSB i made and it rubs off to easily even though I baked it on. The stock being a part that will get touched and rubbed a lot I am afaraid would need touching upquite often. this way I coat it once and it is done.

 

You are absolutely right on the forgiveness I realized that as soon as I opened my mouth, it is too late now she would be really pissed if it did it now!

Edited February 20, 2013 by misterT

[Maxwelhse 1,285]

Whatever happened to the days where we primed and painted? Not knocking you guys at all. As a matter of fact, quite the opposite. But... For a folder, I don't see why a self etching primer and some decent rattle can and good to go. Touch up as needed.

 

For a barrel I'l probably do some more research into something better.

 

There are some great product out there these days and again I can see you guys taking pride in your guns.

 

I guess it just seems like everything seems so over thought.

 

In my exact case, I wanted the durability/heat resistance and deep luster of the powdered finish that I selected. The powder I selected has metal flake in it, which just doesn't come out of a rattle can the same. In the pic below the belt tensioner and alternator (left) have been done, but the water pump and A/C compressor (right) have not.

 

I've participated in paint adhesion testing before and even the best paint job isn't even close to as good as the worst powder job. Nothing wrong with either approach, but they are different animals. If powder at all makes sense and is affordable for your application, I highly recommend it.

[misterT 174]

 

 

My stock is complete now and I ended up coating it with Norrells Moly Resin which went on very well. I used an electric space heater to preheat the parts to the recommended 100 degrees approximately. I did run into one problem as I was on the third coat the spray coming out of the air brush became lighter and seemed to slow down. To compensate I held the airbrush even closer to the parts which caused some "wet spots" which left minor blemishes. I later found that the propellant can that came with the Badger airbrush was freezing up. So I would recommend getting the adapter fitting and use an aircompressor instead. To heat cure the parts I used an old "roaster pan" that was thermostatically controlled which I had set up ahead of time and used the wifes candy thermometer to get it adjusted right. On this one I found that about 265 degrees on the dial produced 300- 320 actual degrees. I made parts racks out of coat hangers to hold the parts after letting them dry for about 1/2 hour in front of the heater. The hanger racks worked good and did not leave any marks on the parts and the finish seems very hard. Overall I am very happy with it in spite of the minor blemishes and Norrels site says you can reshoot over the finish so at a later date I will touch it up to cover the blemishes because I AM that analy retentive!