Ready to refinish???

[drine]

I'm ready to refinish my CETME. I would like to parkerize it but won't. I've settled on Duracoat/Durabake. Can anyone with experience with these products tell me good and bad, how to, etc..? It seems the Durabake comes in an aerosol can so I wouldn't have to buy an airbrush that I'll never use again. Durabake anygood? Can/would you cure it in your oven that the Christmas ham goes in? Any help is appreciated. PS, I'm going to use the Parker color. How's that look, in person? Lots of questions I know but as always someone here has the "know".

[Shovelheadfxwg]

I have never used Duracoat/Durabake, but have used alot of GunKote.
I feel pretty sure that the Durabake is a similar product. The GunKote works great, but you will need a decent (Badger, Paasche, etc) airbrush to spray it on.
If the Durabake is like the GunKote you do not want to put this in your kitchen oven, as it puts off quite a bit of fumes as it cures (bakes) out. I have an old oven in the garage that I rigged up for powdercoating, and it works great for curing out the GunKote. Whenever I do bake one, it fills the garage with fumes that smell similar to high heat black paint burning off, mixed with a burning teflon odor.

[M1 Tanker]

I've used Gunkote with great success, and I agree with Shovel that it is probably similiar to Duracoat.

But, I'll disagree on some Gunkote points here. I used $9.99 airbrushes that Perro had used from Harbor Freight with zero problems. Also, I bake in the house oven. I waited until the kids were at school and did it. Simply turn on the fan and open the windows. The odor was gone an hour after I was done. I wouldn't recommened it if the wife/kids were at home.

[okie shooter]

Drine, if it bothers you to bake it in the kitchen oven, look for a good used one and put it in the shop out back. They useally aren't that expensive

[Geilt]

I have used a lot of Duracoat and attended one of their seminars on how to use the stuff (cough - overpriced). Duracoat itself is exceptionally strong if applied correctly. That is to say, you have the piece totally degreased and then mix the Duracoat properly.

Essentially you have the Duracoat color of your choice and then mix in the hardening agent. Lauer includes a enough hardening agent with each order of Duracoat. Typicaly the mix ratio is done in a 10:1 or 12:1 ratio. The more hardener you put in, the more of a semi-gloss sheen you'll have. Once the hardener has been added the Duracoat really has only 3-4 hours before it starts to really clot up and can't be sprayed.

If you suspect that it will take you more than one session to finish the firearm I highly recommend that you also purchase some of the Duracoat Clear Coat. Once all your pieces have been finished off apply a couple thin coats of the clear. It will even out the different sheens you got while mixing the Duracoat and hardener. (if you want an example I'll post a pic of a Yugo SKS I did early on with the gas tube having a different sheen than the rest of the gun.)

Some caveats for its use though;
1) This is NOT as durable as parkerizing, powder coat or epoxy based paints but it is very tough.
2) DEGREASE DEGREASE DEGREASE DEGREASE
3) Apply it only with an airbrush or HVLP sprayer. Cheap airbrushes work just fine and if you get cans of Airbrush propellant make sure to get more than you think you need. You'll get spattering as the pressure in the can drops below a certain point.
3) You may find that you'll need to clean the airbrush needle and nozzle in the middle of an application.
5) Finally build up to your final coverage by applying several light coats with overspray. Let each coat dry longer than Lauer states. I've gotten better results letting each coat dry 20-30 minutes as compared to the 10-15 the suggest. You can decrease cure time between coats by heating the parts in the oven. I personally haven't done this yet.

[Lon Moer]

I've been using Gunkote in the can from Brownell's (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=1150&s=)

[NavajoNPaleFace]

I've been using Gunkote in the can from Brownell's (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=1150&s=)


I bought a can from Brownell's and put it on the shelf unused.

I went back a few weeks later and it had either lost it's pressure somehow or the spout inside the can was clogged since the can never would spray and it was all wasted.

Based on that experience I would tend to stick with the hand mixed - air brush ideas.

[grifter95]

I've used Duracoat, gunkote. and brownells Teflon/moly. Duracoat is good for scopes, plastics and other "unbakeable" items. However, I feel for metals there are better products which cure faster and last longer. Gunkote is better than duracoat for metals. However, I feel brownells teflon/moly to be the best. If you use the 4-coat steps shown in their video you will get great looking results which will last a long time!

[jfowl31]

Drine... did you get that puppy running right?

I never saw an update after the FTE issues with the new barrel.

[Lon Moer]

I bought a can from Brownell's and put it on the shelf unused.

I went back a few weeks later and it had either lost it's pressure somehow or the spout inside the can was clogged since the can never would spray and it was all wasted.

Based on that experience I would tend to stick with the hand mixed - air brush ideas.
I have a couple of partial cans that are over a year old, that still work fine.:)

[okie shooter]

The biggest thing on keeping aerosol cans clean is cleaning the tips and riser tubes by running them out upside down(useally I shoot them on the inside wall of a trashcan) thus there isnt paint to dry and seal up the tip.

Now getting one that you didnt use and it plugged would suck, might try a pin to clear the nozzle.

[drine]

On the FTE problem. I went back and put all my old parts in and still get .013 boltgap. I thought I was too near the high end of the spec with all the new parts. I know I squeezed my receiver a bit trying to get the rails aligned to the trunnion. One side was off. I think it made it tight. No more issues since I spent every night after work dry cycling it with a buncho oil. No range update. I'm jumping the gun a bit in that I have all the butchering I did welded and/or JB welded over and sanded smooth.
I noticed during dry cycling that the bolt didn't close all the way sometimes. 85%or 90% good and that's with the slap method. I seems to have disappeared now. I noticed the bolt head was in but the locking piece and bolt carrier where still back some. Drop the hammer and it goes where it should but what would happen with a round? That may be what happened during the first range test. I know this is a fork in the original post but you guys let me know what you think. Thanks!

[RIGID04]

sorry drine...i'm stuck on the original question. Has anyone ever powder coated their rifle? I powder coated 60% of the chopper I built, and I love the durability of the stuff. I know that the thickness of the powder coat is an issue...not sure if any other issues might crop up.

[Shovelheadfxwg]

I bought a can from Brownell's and put it on the shelf unused.

I went back a few weeks later and it had either lost it's pressure somehow or the spout inside the can was clogged since the can never would spray and it was all wasted.

Based on that experience I would tend to stick with the hand mixed - air brush ideas.

Navajo, I know that you said that your can was unused, and you guys may already know this. After spraying from the spray cans, before storage, turn them upside down and press the nozzle until only clean air comes out. This will clear the siphon tube, valve and nozzle. I even like to pull the nozzle off and drop it in a little cup of thinner for a few minutes. The teflon and/or Moly really seems to clog up the whole works. You may have to do this during a spray job just to keep it from spitting.

[Perro]

century arms uses a powder coat finish on there cetmes
i hate it personally - crappy color

ive recommended kg gunkote for a while now - i just recently got tanker to try it and you can see he likes it too. It is some fantastic stuff.

it seems expensive at first
$30.00 for a pint
$5.00 for a china charlie airbrush
$50.00 for a china charlie airbrush compressor
total - bout $100.00 after everything

but, that does about 10 battle rifles per pint so its only $10.00 per gun for a quality finish.

after the airbrush is paid for, your guns drop to about $3.50 per gun for a quality finish.


it does stink - your neighbors will think youre cooking up a batch of meth, but the 2401f flat black is a better finish than anything duracoat, brownells moly, and anything paint from an aerosol can can offer in MY opinion

it is not as tough as centurys powder coated crap, but the only way to get it off once you bake it is to sandblast it, and the pigmentation in it is PERFECT for a military style firearm (the 2401F)

try it, youll like it :)

[RIGID04]

thanks for the info perro. gunna give guncoat a go. was the color the only problem? or did you find any mehanical issues when using powder coat?