Which coating is best as far as durability, color choice, and application difficulty. I've read and they sound similar just wanting other opinions. I also don't have a blasting cabinet at the moment and I have heard of some people getting good results with just a good paint stripper. If the blasting is absolutely necessary does anyone know of any cheap ones.
cerakote vs kg gunkote
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To get the best results out of any of the coatings out there prep work is going to be key.
My favorite is Norrels moly resin. I have it on a few guns and I tried different levels of prep to see how they hold up. One 1911 was a ground up build. I paid to have it blasted, then home parkerized it and then spraye don and baked the Norrels on. It is holding up exceptionally well.
A Springfield 1911 that was already parkerized but with some wear, was just completely degreased and had teh Norrels sprayed and baked on. It is holding up well except where the parkerizing was already worn.
A Marlin 336 tath was blued but worn was simply degreased, and the surface was roughed up with sand paper before apppying the Norrels and baking it. It is holding up ok, but does not seem as durable as the other two.
All of these products are similar in some ways. Blasting and parkerizing gives the finish a better bond to the metal. A lot of people make the mistake of not taking time in prep work, then they get disappointed with results. Also when using Duracoat in its air dried form a lot of folks don't realize that it takes about 3 weeks for it to really harden. They get impatient and go out and shoot it as soon as it is dried. Also that base that it is applied to is very important. All of the coatingw will wear under repeated friction. That can't be helped. Teh nice thing about Duracoat is that it can be reapplied and is fairly inexpensive and easy for home hobby gunsmith to touch up.
My favorite is Norrels moly resin. I have it on a few guns and I tried different levels of prep to see how they hold up. One 1911 was a ground up build. I paid to have it blasted, then home parkerized it and then spraye don and baked the Norrels on. It is holding up exceptionally well.
A Springfield 1911 that was already parkerized but with some wear, was just completely degreased and had teh Norrels sprayed and baked on. It is holding up well except where the parkerizing was already worn.
A Marlin 336 tath was blued but worn was simply degreased, and the surface was roughed up with sand paper before apppying the Norrels and baking it. It is holding up ok, but does not seem as durable as the other two.
All of these products are similar in some ways. Blasting and parkerizing gives the finish a better bond to the metal. A lot of people make the mistake of not taking time in prep work, then they get disappointed with results. Also when using Duracoat in its air dried form a lot of folks don't realize that it takes about 3 weeks for it to really harden. They get impatient and go out and shoot it as soon as it is dried. Also that base that it is applied to is very important. All of the coatingw will wear under repeated friction. That can't be helped. Teh nice thing about Duracoat is that it can be reapplied and is fairly inexpensive and easy for home hobby gunsmith to touch up.
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Then you did not prep your items properly.
I know that is not what people want to hear, but is is the truth. If a holster "wore" your DuraCoat finish off then something happened user end.
How do I know? none of my finishes done in DuraCoat have worn off one bit.
No one wants to admit fault in prep and always blame the product, which creates a crapton of misinformation.
DuraCoat, CereKote, and GunKote all have their pros and cons, but they ALL suck if prep work is done improperly.
Now I will say this, DuraCoat is probably the least newbie friendly of the three when it comes to bad prep work and will be the least forgiving. But the other ones require ovens to cure and have a limited color selection.
But a properly DuraCoated item will leave you with a armor like finish.
Throw any of the three onto the ground and abuse them then all three will have finishes that fail. None of them are indestructable.
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They're paint.
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Kind of. But a different class of paint than your average Krylon or Rustoleum. They are more of a collored epoxy resin that is suspended in a phenol solution. It gets a much harder surface finish than an enamel or laquer. Even a harder finish than parkerizing by itself. It does need to be applied to a properly prepared surface though to give maximum benefit.
I've used paint and I've used some of these coatings. There really is a very significant differnce in how they wear, and how they protect metal. Any gun finish will wear with use over time though.
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Not to mention being resistant or immune to all of the cleaning solutions that come in contact with firearms.
Go rub some Hoppes #9 on some rattle can Walmart paint and let me know how that turns out if you don't wipe off every last drop in a fast amount of time.
With that said, I am not oppose to things like Krylon on say, bolt action stocks, because you never really clean those with strong chemicals.
So the downside there is lack of color selection.
Go rub some Hoppes #9 on some rattle can Walmart paint and let me know how that turns out if you don't wipe off every last drop in a fast amount of time.
With that said, I am not oppose to things like Krylon on say, bolt action stocks, because you never really clean those with strong chemicals.
So the downside there is lack of color selection.
Hey Coater so what is your take on using duracoat on the inside of a fresh machined 80% fc pocket. I noticed on a friends that after only a dry fire or two it dimples and mushrooms your aluminum (don't say then don't dry fire). The rest is anodized so the pin holes ad the pocket are the only naked spot. Is duracoat hard enough to help keep that from happeing? Or better off just getting it reanodied if I can?
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Can you clarify what a 80% fc pocket is? To be honest I think I know what you are talking about, but I want to make sure. 
Generally I do not DuraCoat anything one cannot see once a firearm is assembled unless:
- the client specifically asks
- the inside finish needs to be redone because its in poor condition (or doesn't have one)
If I do DuraCoat internal items (and things with moving parts) I lay just enough thin coats to color it, but don't bother with a thicker protective coat due to tolerances. (The inside of an AR lower receiver would be a good example).
Allowed to cure properly, the thin coat will be fine, generally the internals of a firearm don't see a lot of traffic.
Generally I do not DuraCoat anything one cannot see once a firearm is assembled unless:
- the client specifically asks
- the inside finish needs to be redone because its in poor condition (or doesn't have one)
If I do DuraCoat internal items (and things with moving parts) I lay just enough thin coats to color it, but don't bother with a thicker protective coat due to tolerances. (The inside of an AR lower receiver would be a good example).
Allowed to cure properly, the thin coat will be fine, generally the internals of a firearm don't see a lot of traffic.
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I believe he is talking about a 80% finished fire control pocket on a AR15 lower . Its aluminum I would personally have it anodized ,Can you clarify what a 80% fc pocket is? To be honest I think I know what you are talking about, but I want to make sure.
Generally I do not DuraCoat anything one cannot see once a firearm is assembled unless:
- the client specifically asks
- the inside finish needs to be redone because its in poor condition (or doesn't have one)
If I do DuraCoat internal items (and things with moving parts) I lay just enough thin coats to color it, but don't bother with a thicker protective coat due to tolerances. (The inside of an AR lower receiver would be a good example).
Allowed to cure properly, the thin coat will be fine, generally the internals of a firearm don't see a lot of traffic.
I have baked on enamels that have held up great even with holster wear and they arent near as hard as the duracoat and ceracoat , and I agree with Duracoater prep is everything , if you fail to prep it properly you might as well throw your money in the trash . That goes for every kind of finish out there including bluing and anodizing
Yes the finished pocket on an 80% lower. I want to do one and I don't want my hammer pinging up the bare aluminum. I just want something to protect it inside and eliminate the little bit of naked aluminum showing at the pin holes. The next thing is if I try engraving mine, what to finish it with then... guess I could duracoat over the hole thing then. I worked in a body shop for a few years so I understand the prepping thing, not that I won't screw it up. Thanks for the input. Ill order some duracoat sample kit to try on this one.
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So long as you have a BCG in there the hammer is not going to hit the lower
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That spot is a tough one. Nothing is going to be 100% resistance, especially if the trigger is allowed to go when an upper is not attached or ammo loaded.
Edit: Someone beat me to it! haha
I would do a very light coat around and in any pin holes due to tolerances being tight.
Edit: Someone beat me to it! haha
You smash metal on metal enough and any finish is going to wear out. With that said, a thick spot of DuraCoat right there when the hammer can make contact with the receiver should hold out a long time if allowed to cure properly.
I would do a very light coat around and in any pin holes due to tolerances being tight.
Ok Coater and Havoc, I appreciate the info. It had just been assembled and we were testing basic functions. I figured it didn't hit with a bcg in the way but just in case. Plus I do notice the pins being a little sloppy so I figure it would be nice to take up a little of that and blend the silver out. Ill probably still put locking pins in mine but that's me. Thanks again! So how tough would it be to anodize the whole thing now? To a class ii ish spec, the process has me more interested than anything.
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There are places that will do it , however factory type coating is a hard anodizing process which is different than standard anodizing . Standard anodizing will be cheaper but not as abrasive resistant and if wanted you could have it done in any color or finish .
US Anodizing does them I believe its $50 -$90 depending on what you want done with Hard anodized process.
http://www.usanodizing.com/pricing.htm
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Thats a question I cant answer . I think they can go over the hard ano but its alot thicker than normal anodizing , Im not sure it would come out even and look right so I will leave that answer to the Pros
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