any tips/tricks,I will be using a normal compressor and a small/touch up hvlp gravity fed paint gun

I use a regular compressor and an airbrush, and for me, it sprays well at about 20-30 PSI, not thinned, just as mixed.

Make sure you clean the spray gun well, you can use Lacquer thinner, acetone or mineral spirits won't touch it. They say to use their reducer to clean, but charge an arm and a leg for it, so I just use their reducer occaisionally. I mix using the tablespoon and teaspoon size in the directions. Whatever you're spraying needs to be absolutely clean, using lacquer thinner or MEK. Blasting the surface is best, I have gotten it to stick to sufficiently rough surfaces without blasting. It will stay sprayable in the bottle for some time, but hardens in the tip rather quickly, so don't let it sit for very long, or you'll need to clean the sprayer to finish.

Fumes are strong, have good ventilation.

You can mix any colors to make custom colors, FWIW.

When spraying multiple colors, like a pattern, you'll need to clear it to get the sheen even. Also, for a rough look, I cover with a light coat sprayed from a good distance last. When done with either clear, or if doing a Parkerizing gray color, the last coat of color, it looks like and feels like a texture, which really sets it off.

Don't get impatient and assemble too early. You can speed up the curing process by baking at about 150 degrees for an hour or so. I also like the hood of a dark colored vehicle in the afternoon sun.


Enjoy !

Two keys to a good Duracoat finish:

1) Prep work; Always remove old finish and completely degrease. I have had good results using a K-Phos base.

2) time; Be patient, let the painted parts sit for over a month without assembling the rifle. Duracoat gets harder with time. All of the failed paint jobs I have seen are because people messed with the parts too soon. Trust me, the paint will still chip after 2 weeks. 6 weeks wait time is perfect IMHO.

I use a cheapo airbrush and compressor form Harbot Freight, still going after about 25 guns.

So I will have to remove all of the old coating & take down to bare metal before I use duracoat,do you mean sand the finish off or use some kinda stripper or just rub it down with aceatone

If you use some sort of stripper, make sure you get it neutralized. It will also help to at least rough up the surface with sandpaper or emery cloth. I have found that just using the lacquer thinner works a little better than acetone.

If you put the Duracoat over top of some other finish, then you are relying on the adhesion of that finish to stay on. If that finish comes of, it will take the Duracoat with it.

This works best on a parkerised finish but you must degrease extensivley. When you think it is degreased,heat it up and you will still see oil come out, parker soaks up the oil AND the Duracoat. Also good on blueing and anodized aluminum. It worked very well on a Sage M-4 M1a stock, Magpul dark earth. I too use a harbor freight air brush and a small compressor. It works well. I also use lauers degreaser because it leaves no residue and I usually order it with my paint so it all comes at once(lazy). Most important, let dry 6 weeks for best results. I usually hang my stuff outside on my kids swingset 24 hours after intial application for a good day of west Texas sun. Too hot to hold at times, temp probably around 150 -175? degrees on HK black. No kids on or around swingset. Ha.Ha