Do It Yourself Gun Finishes? & a Confession

[Mike J]

So I have a Kel Tec P11 that came with a blued finish. It has always tended to rust easily. I have usually gotten around it by coating it up with Johnson's wax every cleaning or just cleaning & oiling regularly. It has worked out the past couple of summers though that I have been in situations where I haven't been able to shoot as much & haven't had a lot of free time. So I have had to knock rust off with fine steel wool & oil. I spent a few weeks in between jobs recently & while I was home bored I spray painted the slide. Of course this is already chipped up. So which of the do it yourself gun coatings have ya'all had the best luck with. I guess I could get an air brush rig but a rattle can would be a lot easier.

The confession is that I was also bored enough to try painting the plastic grip of the pistol. The dark maroon spray paint I had bought turned out looking raspberry when it was all said & done. I actually managed to make it look worse. I was going to let it go but I was disgusted enough that I actually cleaned all the paint back off of it today. Fortunately it came off with a little help from non chlorinated brake cleaner & a brush.

Sorry for the long post & no I don't have a pic of what it looked like. I didn't take one because I'd really rather forget.

 

[427mach1]

I did a 22 rifle with Dura Coat and am happy with it so far.

 

[damienph]

Sorry for the long post & no I don't have a pic of what it looked like. I didn't take one because I'd really rather forget.

Yep, posting it on the Internet should help you forget!

 

[dwd]

I have heard that ceramic paint like they use on headers works good. Where you paint it and bake it in the oven, let it cool and heat it up even more let it cool etc. the directions are on the can I've bought the paint but never got any further. Of course you can't put a Keltec frame in the oven

 

[Mike J]

I have heard that ceramic paint like they use on headers works good. Where you paint it and bake it in the oven, let it cool and heat it up even more let it cool etc. the directions are on the can I've bought the paint but never got any further. Of course you can't put a Keltec frame in the oven

I'm going to leave the black plastic grip alone now. I'm don't care to go through that again. Though I could buy another from Kel Tec for not that much money.

I appreciate ya'alls suggestions. It may be a while before I have time to make another attempt & see if I can get this right.

 

[santabob]

i have done the frames on my sr22 and p345 with duracoat. works great with cheap airbrush from harborfreight.
do not paint any rubber like stuff.

 

[freedomcosts]

For you folks who duracoated- did you take the slide apart to spray it? I mean remove in innards? I want to duracoat several pistols but I'm not really handy- I have a g'smith clean the innards for me. I think I could coat it myself, but only if I could maybe- plug up the holes.

 

[powwowell]

Have you thought about having the slide Hard Chromed? I don't have anyone to recommend. Yet! But, I plan to send a G17 slide off to someone Tuesday, or Wednesday.

My Hard Chromed P-32 slide is the bees knees. Carried daily in a pocket holster and it still looks new.

 

[mohavesam]

There comes a point where a job is best taken to a pro.

Spray paint is for birdhouses.

 

[JMiller]

Duracoat is an okay finish, basic, gets the job done, not expensive, and doesn't have to be baked to cure, and there are many colors to choose from. However, if you let it air cure, it takes up to three months before it's fully cured, and can easily be removed with bore cleaning solvents during that time. You will need to fully strip the slide, and be sure to cover anything you don't want to get the duracoat into, it will build up, even light coats can be enough to make reassembly difficult, the coating will need to be removed so the parts will fit, and you don't want to get any on the slid rails, it can cause the slide to bind, and cause malfunctions. It also works best on fresh parkerize, the porous surface "sponges" up the finish, and keeps it from being easily scratched. I have coated two rifles, and it turned out ok, but, if you can bake the slide, the Durabake would be best for what you are looking for, it comes in a spray can, and is more durable than the regular coating. Lauerweaponry has everything you would need, to get the job done, including airbrush kits, and the shake and spray setup. Duracoat is also good for use on plastics, if you want to paint the frame, that is a good option for that too.

 

[RoninPA]

Another option is Cerakote. You can get it in rattle cans from Brownells (and probably MidwayUSA). It can be had in a air cure type but it takes at least 7 days for it to harden correctly. If you get the bake on finish and use an air gun, it will come out good. After curing in an oven (250F for 2 1/2-3 hours) and letting it cool, it is ready to go. Plus in the type the you mix and spray you can get about 120+ different colors.

Many manufacturers use Cerakote on their finished products (the ones you see in OD, flat dark earth, etc.). I do Cerakoting as part of my gunsmithing business and have had no complaints yet (been doing it for 4 years now). For the best adhesion, you are better off roughing up the surface that you are going to coat. I blast all the parts to be coated with a 120 grit aluminum oxide to rough up the surface. Once the Cerakote goes on, it smooths everything out (be warned though, it will not fill in major pitting, it's not thick and not made to do that).

The biggest thing when coating any firearm is the prep work (just like doing auto body work). If you skimp on the prep it will show up in the final product (adhesion bad, not durable, etc.). Take your time and prep it good. Make sure there is ABSOLUTELY no oil on the parts you are going to coat, this goes for any brand coating.

 

[freedomcosts]

Question Ronin- a bright stainless steel- is this what you'd recommend as a protective coating? I worked hard to get it shiny, and want to preserve it- is that what I should do? Clear cerakote? (Talking about the slide, and probably the barrel.)

 

[RoninPA]

Question Ronin- a bright stainless steel- is this what you'd recommend as a protective coating? I worked hard to get it shiny, and want to preserve it- is that what I should do? Clear cerakote? (Talking about the slide, and probably the barrel.)

If the slide is a bright stainless steel I wouldn't do anything with it other than keep it wiped down. A silicon gun cloth would work fine. Cerakote does come in a stainless steel color, but it would be a darker, matte look. I have not seen a perfectly clear Cerakote ( Cerakote is a ceramic based 2 part coating so I don't know how they could get a clear).

As whether or not to coat a barrel, on a semi auto, I probably wouldn't as a typical barrel will get rub marks on it just as a matter of using it due to the movement of the barrel and the slide. You can put a fine polish on a barrel, and if it were a SS barrel, again, just keep it wiped down and it should continue to look fine. The only barrels I've Cerakoted were rifle, shotgun and a few revolver barrels, I have not coated any semi-auto barrels. Many 'smiths won't even Cerakote a revolver cylinder because the Cerakote discolors some after firing due to the barrel/cylinder gap and the hot gases that escape. It's noticeable if you look close but from a distance you can't really see it. The coating is discolored but is not burned off and still protects the cylinder.

 

[freedomcosts]

I do like the Ruger forum, exactly what I needed to know- and was afraid of. I already keep a light coat of oil on it, and also use a silicone cloth when I can't oil it down- so I guess I'm better off leaving well enough alone. Thanks man.