Duracoat or ......

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Looking to do a paint project on a AR , wondering what everybody uses and where they are getting it ? Duracoat looks like the popular choice .Before anybody suggest spray paint I am looking for a quality product .Are you guys getting it online or local ? Also if anybody has any extra duracoat lying around from a previous project that they want to sell , let me know.
 
i have 2 tones of black, not sure what colors off hand. They don't have a long shelf life, if you are interested pm me. I bought them in december. I have hardner and thinner also.

chris
 
Duracoat is great stuff. I've painted gun with it and it stands up great. You should sandblast the firearm first to get it to really grip the surface, but even without SB, it still works great. It is relatively thick so it can not be used on adjacent surfaces. I've used it on sports car and motorcycle wheels and it has held up for years without pitting or wear. VERY tough stuff. You can handle the part about a half hour after you coat it, but it takes at least two days to really harden.

I also use KG Gunkote which can be used on surfaces that meet each other. But it requires an oven to bake it.
 
Duracoat for sure. The materials aren't that expensive, you need the DuraCoat, reducer and TruStrip cleaner. You need an airbrush though. Best finish is with aluminum oxide grit blasting, or 600 grit emery cloth (you have to sand all surfaces). Don't bother with the aerosol spray kits they sell, they don't work.

Got mine here, great experience.
http://www.houtsenterprises.net/dur_all_colors.html
 
I had an AR receiver that was recently refinished by someone here using Cerakote and it's a beautiful job. From talking to people who use both:

DuraCoat takes a while to reach full hardness, is slightly softer than cerakote, but tougher because it's thicker and slightly "rubbery" Either seem to do a beautiful job and there are some people here who offer the service.
 
I'm going against the grain and going to say Krylon. This was mine done in Krylon camo when it was first built:
M4001.jpg


It's cheap, easy to do and you can find it at most local stores. It is very durable and adds an extra protective layer to the gun. Mine lasts very well and the normal wear points are easily touched up if it begins to bother me.
 
op4guy- how does the paint look around the barrel and flash hider after you pump a few hundred through it? After cleaning? Interesting route you took there! I dig it.
 
It will blow the paint off the FH after a few hundred rounds for sure. This is a very old picture as I now run a PWS FSC556 and never even bothered to paint it because I know it will tear the paint off that thing.

As far as cleaning it goes, oils don't really harm the paint at all though I have to admit, I don't clean it very often. I am somewhere around 7,500rds on this gun now and I think I have cleaned it maybe 3 times. I will wipe it down but that is about it. The only place I see paint coming off is on the brass deflector but even that takes quite a bit. The nice thing about using a technique for painting is 1) Krylon is cheap and easy, 2) you just throw a dab of color on the spots you want to touch up and be done with it. Mine usually sees new paint about once a yearish. It's not a safe or range queen but rather a gun that sees hard use and abuse.
 
If not sand blasting, can you get away with 400-600 grit sand paper? Anyone have experience sanding instead of blasting - how did it come out?
 
The whole sand blasting issue is why I would not do it. I really would not want to put my guns through that at all. Dura is also real thick (as stated already) and I have seen people have to go back and chip the stuff off to make stuff fit.
 
Dura is also real thick (as stated already) and I have seen people have to go back and chip the stuff off to make stuff fit.

Is there a way to thin it by using a reducer?

I'm doing a Saiga conversion and will need to refinish because the gas tube and muzzle brake I'm using are different finishes, plus I've scratched up the rifle here and there. I'm not going to sandblast. I figure a good degreasing, then scuffing with a red Scotch Brite pad which is the equivalent of 360 grit IIRC, should be good enough for prep.
 
I have never heard of anyone trying to thin Dura out. It's not like a typical paint so i don't think it would work but that's just my guess. As far as coating two different finished parts, I don't see it being a noticeable problem with end results and good prep work. It is such a thick coating you should not even notice anything.

As for degreasing the gun there are a ton of products out there to do it but a simple brake cleaner will get it done easy enough and cheap to boot. It's cheap at like $3 a can or you can look into other stuff like SLiP 725 or other gun degreasers.
 
If you are going for a tacti-cool gun to show off, i would go w/ duracoat. if you are going for a gun that will actually be used in the field (hunting or on deployment if you are allowed to make modifications) then i would probably go w/ spray paint.

my reasoning: duracoat is expensive and looks REALLY nice when done, it will take some amount of abuse but if you are going to be beating up on your gun I would just save the $ and opt for spray paint which can be re-applied for a few bucks.
 
I just ordered some Duracoat last night with hardener and reducer. The price wasn't that bad. Reason why I chose to get the reducer is because I have a nice HVLP touch up gun I'll be using to spray it with and I don't want a thick finish. From what I've read its like 2K epoxy primer/sealer.
 
I just ordered some Duracoat last night with hardener and reducer. The price wasn't that bad. Reason why I chose to get the reducer is because I have a nice HVLP touch up gun I'll be using to spray it with and I don't want a thick finish. From what I've read its like 2K epoxy primer/sealer.
I think i am going the touchup gun route also , I have access to a airbrush but much more comfortable with the touch up gun. Anybody try using the touch up gun over a airbrush , obviously will have to regulate the air to the 10 - 15 psi it calls for, just wondering if it has to be applied with the airbrush .
Ray let me know how you make out , I work in Freetown so i am not that far from you , maybe i can swing by the shop and see the finished product.
 
The whole sand blasting issue is why I would not do it. I really would not want to put my guns through that at all. Dura is also real thick (as stated already) and I have seen people have to go back and chip the stuff off to make stuff fit.

Duracoat is great stuff. I've painted gun with it and it stands up great. You should sandblast the firearm first to get it to really grip the surface, but even without SB, it still works great. It is relatively thick so it can not be used on adjacent surfaces. I've used it on sports car and motorcycle wheels and it has held up for years without pitting or wear. VERY tough stuff. You can handle the part about a half hour after you coat it, but it takes at least two days to really harden.








Duracoat is not "thick" it all depends on the person applying the finish. I have had plenty of experience with duracoat and am still to this day amazed how thin of a coat covers. I have some cerakote coming this week to test out.


Mac
 
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