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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Alternative To Blueing?


Paul Stuart

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I was wondering if anyone on here has used duracoat finish on barrels and actions? I would be using it on a sporterised mauser. Does it look goofy on that type of rifle and does it hold up well? I dont want it if its prone to chip or scratch off and I would only want to use black or grey. I cringe at the thought of a purple rifle.LOL

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After having the same debate myself I am going with a parkerized finish and then duracoat.

 

I have not gone through the process yet, but from what I have read it's all in the preparation of the piece you are wanting to paint.

 

If anyone has actually done this please jump in and correct or give their real world experience.

 

From what I understand you need a quality airbrush and small compressor as I have read that this is also key to a quality even finish.

 

I also understand that duracoat loves a rough and super clean surface so you should at a minimum to sand it with a 220 grit or have it sandblasted.

 

Alot of people who swear by duracoat then parkerize the parts before duracoating. Sounds like a lot of work, but if it truely does what duracoat says it will the finish should outlive us all.

 

I am still building my parking tanks and trying to get an airbrush and compressor, so I guess we'll see. :unsure:

 

JMHO :)

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Paul,

What's generally called an "automotive detail gun" will work fine for this. You just don't want a spray pattern 8" wide, unless you want to waste a lot of paint, and at the prices they charge, you don't want to do that. A nice 1" or so spray pattern is what you want. A good sized air brush would be OK, but I think you're better off with the detail gun, unless your main gun will go down that small.

I've used Brownell's (dupont, actually, just rebranded because dupont won't sell it to individuals) teflon in a spray can with mixed results. I may not have had the surface clean enough or maybe I didn't bead blast it enough. It came off in a few areas and I haven't messed with fixing it. I have the same stuff on my 30-06 Mauser set up for high power prone, applied by a very good professional gunsmith in Texas City who mostly built custom guns. I brought him the gun for him to bed the action. My home cold blue job wasn't that great, so I asked him about blueing it and he said the teflon coating was the way to go, as it was much tougher than blueing. Duracoat wasn't out then. So I had him do it and it turned out very nice, but again, he really knew what he was doing.

I bought some of the Duracoat high temp stuff. You don't need to bake it. The hotter it gets, the harder it gets and they use it for machine gun barrels. I bought it to coat my wife's drag pipes on her bike. I didn't get to it before our trip and just set it aside. A year later, I dug it out, opened the box, read the directions and noted that they recommended useing it right away, not waiting a year. A bunch of the thinner in it had evaporated. I shot it on the pipes as best I could with the thinner provided, and maybe some extra acetone after I figured out what was going on. I put it on too thick (not thinned enough) and it blobbed a bit, but it looks OK. It was the Stainless color, which is not quite stainless, but more silvery. It held up OK except for where the saddle bag was rubbing on it. It rubbed it off there. I don't know if anything could withstand 2000 miles of leather and grim rubbing on it with the vibration of a solid mounted V twin at 4K+ RPM. I plan on cleaning it a bit, scuffing it and putting some more on. I have a little left, but I don't know if it will work out or not.

From what I've been reading in the AK building realm, Rustoleum appliance paint is some serious tough stuff. I'm planning on going that route when I build an AK. I wonder if Avacado Green is still available? Or Day Glow Orange?

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I've coated a few rifles that I have built, and I'm very happy with the results. It is more durable and not as prone to scratching as a straight blue job. The longer it sits, the harder the epoxy based coating becomes.

I have a good compressor that works well with a Harbor Freight sand blaster and Lowes sandbox sand. I also use a HF air brush with the regulator set at 10lbs. The key to a good finish is CLEAN. I use carb cleaning spray for all the cleaning and fix a wire for hanging in the rear action bolt hole

I use Lauer parkerizing concentrate @3 1/2 to 1 ratio of water to solution. I try to maintain 185-195 degree as I use it.

Most of my actions are Turk Mausers with Remington barrels fitted and headspaced before finishing. I've been fortunate to get actions that do not need a lot of clean up to look good. I use HF 1" emery cloth in various grit to achieve the level that I want. The sand blasting takes care of most slight imperfections.

 

My procedure is to polish barrel and action assembled as needed first, and I tape the inner action bolt rails prior to blasting as well as making wood plugs for the chamber and muzzle to protect through the whole procedure. 1/2" and 3/8" dowels work when belt sanded to proper fit and seal.

Spray clean with carb cleaner and let it evaporate, then sand blast to a uniform look. Hang the assy with the wire through the rear action hole. I do not use a tank to parkerize. I'm able to parkerize with a much smaller quantity of solution. I heat the parkerizing solution in an enameled pan with a cooking thermometer and try to keep around 190 degrees on a camping gas stove. While heating the solution, clean the assy with the carb spray and DO NOT TOUCH THE METAL. Hold the assy by the wire over the parking pan, and using a small pouring utensil, pour slowly over the assy from the top, continue pouring repeatedly, all the while watching the temperature of the solution to maintain optimum temp. Depending on the metal, it will take 5-10 min of pouring to get the gray-green patina needed. If you have a tank, use it according to the instructions.

It probably would be good to practice with something before doing the actual part. Don't forget the small parts you might want to coat. They can be put into the park pan.

Be aware the next steps are time sensitive due to the paint being mixed with the epoxy. I find if you can hang the assy in the sun, the warm up will help prevent drips if you try to apply too thick. Clean the assy again before coating.

Do not touch the metal without cleaning after. Fingerprints can leave oils that may not hold the paint. Practice with the air brush sprayer a little to get the light spray that works best. I usually apply 3-4 light coats with a minute or two between applications. If you remember nothing else, the word is CLEAN. No touching the metal to coat.

Let dry in the sun if possible for an hour or two. I usually let it sit overnight before touching.

It's not difficult really, just a little time consuming. Kind of like typing this.

 

 

Spiris

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I have had the best results with KG Gunkote, I have tried both types of duracoat and the ceramacoat from brownell's. The ceramacoat is a close second to the KG IMHO.

 

James

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