Anybody ever thought about duracoating....you can do it!

[TacticalJ]

I just did a duracoat job for the first time and thought I might share it with you guys. It's not difficult and can be accomplished on a budget. I refinished this whole rifle for about $50.00. Granted I had the stain and poly for the stock and the spray gun for the duracoat. I also have experience with auto body repair and painting, but I'm convinced that with time and patience almost anybody can do this. If you have any questions about this operation, feel free to contact me.

here's the link to my post on snipershide of the operation.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=189430&Number=2124312#Post2124312

 

[Maverick21]

I actually did my own refinish job on an old jc higgins 12g pump that was gratefully given to my by my uncle. The gun was in terrible shape so I cut the bbl down, refinished the wood, and duracoated it. For the price of the duracoat (35ish) and the airbrush ($20 at harbor freight) i was able to bring that sucker back to life! It turned out great, especially considering I have none of the above experience. All that is needed is moderate handy man skills and much patience for prep and application.

It was great to see a finished product that I did myself more than anything.

 

[AirMech74]

I've done a few pistols for myself and for a couple of family friends. Two XD frames and one P3AT that was in pretty rough shape. All three turned out better than I expected....its a fun process, looking forward to doing more...just gotta find the time to do it.

 

[TacticalJ]

Thats all it takes really is patience and preperation. The finish is only as good as it's prep underneath. I put less then $50 in the project and it looks like a new gun. The only thing I forgot was to hit the top of the screw heads, but I'll get to it here shortly. I'm just saying don't be discouraged or intimidated about it, it's not that difficult.

 

[ez bake]

I just did a duracoat job for the first time and thought I might share it with you guys. It's not difficult and can be accomplished on a budget. I refinished this whole rifle for about $50.00. Granted I had the stain and poly for the stock and the spray gun for the duracoat. I also have experience with auto body repair and painting, but I'm convinced that with time and patience almost anybody can do this. If you have any questions about this operation, feel free to contact me.

here's the link to my post on snipershide of the operation.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=189430&Number=2124312#Post2124312

That looks pretty darn good man. You plan on blueing any of the internal parts inside the receiver or leaving them unfinished (I couldn't tell if they were blued before you re-finished or not)?

I'd say that turned out really well.

 

[ez bake]

I've done a few pistols for myself and for a couple of family friends. Two XD frames and one P3AT that was in pretty rough shape. All three turned out better than I expected....its a fun process, looking forward to doing more...just gotta find the time to do it.

BTW - love the new Avatar.

 

[Traxxis]

Couple things, the end product looks great... but since you didn't blast the surfaces, I don't see it lasting nearly as long. When you blast, you also don't have to worry about chemical strippers.

Some secrets, I don't give out, but if you really want it to hold, parkerize them before you paint. Its cheap, and greatly extends the life of the finish.

Also, I always see people saying that duracoat should be allowed to cure for weeks before shooting the gun. Is this recommended by them? If so, I think it is a crock of crap. Cerakote is much better stuff, and you can use the heck out of it as soon as the parts cool enough to put the gun back together.

Another thing, spraying it in a climate controlled environment is always better (if you've done body work, you already know this) because there is no wind, and the parts aren't warmed too much by the sun.

Good application though, it seems to have went down smooth.

 

[Old Fart]

People do it for a lot of reasons, but taking an old gun and making it look good is one of my favorite reasons.

 

[TacticalJ]

EZb, I painted the inside of the reciever and all the internal parts, except three which were not blue or coated at all. I'm not sure what type of finish was on them, but there was nothing wrong with em and no rust on em. Oh yeah and I kinda like that gun as well!

Traxxis you are correct, blasting is highly recommended, however duracoat states that you can apply directly over the blue that is already there. Just hit it with a scotch brite pad and clean it up. My rifle had blue worn off and lots of surface rust on it, so I opted to remove what was there and the rust. Duracoat also states that after a couple hours, when you can handle the parts, you can put it back together and use the gun. I put the gun back together the same day as it was painted. I did not shoot it that day, but I function checked it several times to make sure it worked ok. They do say that it takes 3-4 weeks to fully cure.

Old Fart that is exactly why I did this project, because it is more gratifying to make an old gun look good again on your own. Not paying somebody to refinish your gun, plus it was done on a tight budget.

Thanks for the responses fellas, again I was simply trying to point out that people can do this and get a good looking product when finished.

 

[Traxxis]

EZb, I painted the inside of the reciever and all the internal parts, except three which were not blue or coated at all. I'm not sure what type of finish was on them, but there was nothing wrong with em and no rust on em. Oh yeah and I kinda like that gun as well!

Traxxis you are correct, blasting is highly recommended, however duracoat states that you can apply directly over the blue that is already there. Just hit it with a scotch brite pad and clean it up. My rifle had blue worn off and lots of surface rust on it, so I opted to remove what was there and the rust. Duracoat also states that after a couple hours, when you can handle the parts, you can put it back together and use the gun. I put the gun back together the same day as it was painted. I did not shoot it that day, but I function checked it several times to make sure it worked ok. They do say that it takes 3-4 weeks to fully cure.

Old Fart that is exactly why I did this project, because it is more gratifying to make an old gun look good again on your own. Not paying somebody to refinish your gun, plus it was done on a tight budget.

Thanks for the responses fellas, again I was simply trying to point out that people can do this and get a good looking product when finished.

Certainly. But don't misunderstand, my critique was constructive in nature and meant to help you improve should you decide to do it again.

Again, I really think it looks good. In fact, I saw that rifle in the classifieds too, but it just seemed too expensive for how rough it was. But, that's exactly what I was going to do with it... go full blown tacticool cowboy.