[ccr]

Trip83
Duracoat and Cerakote are both good DIY coatings. Duracoat is a two part Epoxy paint.

THe key to any good refinishing is in the prep work done to the metal . First off the current finish needs to be completely removed and then you can remove any dings or blems in the metal. Being that you said you take this Rem 870 into harsh weather conditions I would suggest that the 870 be parkerized before applying any coating. Parkerize will give you a additional layer of rust and corrosion protection. Then you can apply the Duracoat

If you have any questions please feel free to ask

[TheOldMan]

Originally Posted by Trip83

Thanks for the response folks! DuraCoater, What kind of price am I looking at for a remington 870? Just looking for a basic Black. Dont need anything fancy.

Since retiring from my regular job I've taken up restoration as a full time side business... Barring any "major" clean up work, I can restore your 870 for $100.. You pay shipping both ways. Price includes minor wood restoration, blasting old finish, and DuraCoat application.. Surface rust removal and minor pit removal is what I consider "minor" work and is included in the $100 price.

PM if interested..

[DuraCoater]

Originally Posted by ccr

Trip83
Duracoat and Cerakote are both good DIY coatings. Duracoat is a two part Epoxy paint.

THe key to any good refinishing is in the prep work done to the metal . First off the current finish needs to be completely removed and then you can remove any dings or blems in the metal. Being that you said you take this Rem 870 into harsh weather conditions I would suggest that the 870 be parkerized before applying any coating. Parkerize will give you a additional layer of rust and corrosion protection. Then you can apply the Duracoat

If you have any questions please feel free to ask

One thing I want to expand on. Sometimes removing the old type of finish actually harms adhesion than promotes it.

DuraCoat especially loves it some parkerized or anodized surfaces because they are rough and offer lots of bite. In a professional setup most people who apply DuraCoat will actually have parkerizing as part of the process.

Its not absolutely required, but it makes adhesion less likely to fail on a "oops" moment with bare metal that has been prepped.

Now lets say you have an old coat of DuraCoat you want to respray (or even change color) - as long as the old coating is not very thick, it is ideal to simply "scotch pad" the old DuraCoat for the new Duracoat, instead of completely stripped it.

With that said, knowing what is acceptable to recover without stripping comes with experience. So when in doubt, strip it - it is your fail safe.

Also, a lot of the complaints on DuraCoat are with thickness. Some people have no learned to be slow and patient with multiple passes, building up millimeter by millimeter.

You see these guys make 2 passes and coat the entire item. There are always exceptions to the rule, but this generally means it is being laid on too thick. For some areas this is no big deal, for others it just causes a headache with tolerances until it "wears" down a bit.

[TheOldMan]

Originally Posted by DuraCoater

One thing I want to expand on. Sometimes removing the old type of finish actually harms adhesion than promotes it.

DuraCoat especially loves it some parkerized or anodized surfaces because they are rough and offer lots of bite. In a professional setup most people who apply DuraCoat will actually have parkerizing as part of the process.

Its not absolutely required, but it makes adhesion less likely to fail on a "oops" moment with bare metal that has been prepped.

Now lets say you have an old coat of DuraCoat you want to respray (or even change color) - as long as the old coating is not very thick, it is ideal to simply "scotch pad" the old DuraCoat for the new Duracoat, instead of completely stripped it.

With that said, knowing what is acceptable to recover without stripping comes with experience. So when in doubt, strip it - it is your fail safe.

Also, a lot of the complaints on DuraCoat are with thickness. Some people have no learned to be slow and patient with multiple passes, building up millimeter by millimeter.

You see these guys make 2 passes and coat the entire item. There are always exceptions to the rule, but this generally means it is being laid on too thick. For some areas this is no big deal, for others it just causes a headache with tolerances until it "wears" down a bit.

With all due respect, I've been doing this for about 13 years... I don't know everything but I do know about providing a good surface for the DuraCoat. Most of the work I do is restoration of MilSurps.. I try (and so far have been very successful at) restoring to the original finishes.. The Remington shotguns have very forgiving tollerences.. anything you apply to the outside will not effect performance.. My offer stands =)

[DuraCoater]

Good surface is subjective term.

Do I strip entirely before refinishing? Absolutely.

Do I do it every single time? Not at all. Majority of the time, but not all.

I'm not saying a clean/prepped area is not needed, I am simplying saying that cleaning the existing surface finish may be more beneficial then stripping down to bare metal.

Key phrase is "may be".

If something has a parkerized finish and I can clean that top layer of parkerization to acceptable standards - that parkerized surface provides exellent bite, then say - bare metal that is media blasted in -> some cases <-.

[TheOldMan]

Another shop in my area park's before applying DuraCoat.. I do believe in his practise but don't think it's needed at all times (hence the lower resto prices).. Depending on the OP's shotgun, if it's an Express model, it won't need the park (IMA).. If it's the Wingmaster, then blasting with oxide should provide the surface needed for DuraCoat... But for me and my business, prep is everything... most of the cost in resto work is in the prep.. The materials for doing the work is very minimal.. A lot of times, customers can reduce cost buy tearing down the weapons themselves. The less I have to do, the less I charge the client...

[DuraCoater]

Agreed 100%

Man hours are what make a restoration project succeed. The materials are but a fraction of the total bill.