Refinishing Suggestions.

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I know a few of you guys here have used Duracoat in the past. What was your method of application? I plan on stripping the gun down completely and bead blasting it. I also have a cheap airbrush that has served me well in the past. Is the Duracoat ready to spray out of the can or does it need reducing? I also have seen that they sell hardener as well. Necessary?

Here are a couple pics of the gun, I plan on going with some sort of flat earth color for the frame and black on the slide. Any other color combo suggestions would be nice as well. Yes, I know the gun is ugly as shit right now.[shocked] When I purchased it the bluing was beyond salvageable. Other than that it was in pretty good condition. I picked it up for a great price as well. I just want to make her pretty again. [smile]

There is some on the side of the frame as well. Would Duracoat fill that at all?

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Mike send Tackleberry a PM. He has painted a number of guns with Duracoat and knows what is needed. He did a 10/22 receiver for me and it turned out great. If the scratches are in the metal and not just the finish you will want to clean them up. I spent quite a lot of time on my 10/22 receiver to get it smooth, and I think Tackleberry did a little more.
 
I have used duracoat in the past.....its not a paint so regular paint thinners do not work for clean up. I ruined my crappy spray gun the 1st time around. I did some mags and 2 old 22s. I did not spend much time cleaning up the defects and the results where VG in my eyes for a home kit.
Down side is it takes for ever to dry. several weeks.
I did some more AK mags with brownells molycoat spray can and a toatser oven I picked up out of the trash. That worked great.
Now I live where my work space is limited, do not have a compressor or air brush any more and limited time. SO
Greg Derr of derrsprecision does great work. He refinished a CZ82 in ceracoat and I love it. I had already wasted money on a bench top sand blaster and a home parkerize kit with so so results.
I also did a 870 in guncoat from brownells that worked well also http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1150/Product/GUN_KOTE_trade__OVEN_CURE__GUN_FINISH. This gun was left in a duck blind for several months......dah wheres my 870? Yes my friend did this and wrote it off as junk. I wirewheeled it and coated it. looks good to this day. I actually got paid from my friend for this work, he was so happy to revive it. Haveing a full size oven in a garage or work space is key to the bake on finishes.
 
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I have used duracoat in the past.....its not a paint so regular paint thinners do not work for clean up. I ruined my crappy spray gun the 1st time around.
Lacquer thinner is the best to use for cleaning up Duracoat. Cleans the gun really quickly.

Duracoat is really easy to use and comes with instructions on how it needs to be reduced. I bought it from lauer and it comes with the reducer which is more than enough. First time around I bought extra reducer and its still sitting on the shelf. As someone else said, it does take a while to dry. Oh, the odor is really strong too. It is really easy to use and results are great.
 
Duracoat is pretty easy to apply with a regular airbrush. Just make sure you degrease and use alu-ox to blast surfaces to be finished. It will clean up with lacquer thinner ,but you should get the reducer for a final clean up of you airbrush or just in case you might have to think out the product a bit.

If you want a one part ambient dry then you should check out Cerakote (c-series). If you have a means of baking I would recommend using H-series cerakote and bake the parts.They also can be applied with an airbrush and are tougher than the Duracoat.Cerakote cleans up with Acetone and require the same prep as Duracoat.
 
Duracoat is easy to apply with an airbrush. Buy the reducer and cleaner, they aren't expensive. Grit blast is best for prep, then degrease with the Duracoat cleaner (spray it on with your airbrush). Then change to the duracoat. You can't use the solvents you normally use for paints. Prep is key. If it is a good surface and you can control your airbrush you will be golden. It is applied in thin coats, just spray it until it looks right and then stop It dries very quickly. Good stuff! YOU NEED TO USE A RESPIRATOR WITH THE RIGHT CARTRIGE (Solvents)!
 
Thanks everyone. I am going to see if I can find anyone at the Springfield show this weekend that sells Duracoat.
 
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