Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: callturner on January 21, 2021, 10:39:18 AM
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Looking for the best way to color a SS barrel and action
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Kg guncoat covers stainless beautifully and wears very very well
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I duracoated my rifle a few years back. Given the time and money I sank into materials, prep, rework, I wish I would have paid someone else to cerakote, or alternatively I would have used the brownells rattle can product, which I've read good things. The bad: Duracoat is peeling at the muzzle/crown, and on and other areas that get abused. No easy way to touch up, and what was tactical flat black has burnished to a gloss black, so it ain't pretty. Called duracoat and they said 'yeah, sorry, our flat products dont stay flat if there is any contact or friction/rubbing on the surface...' ...so I wasn't very happy. That being said, it is pretty bulletproof.
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Cerakote has the exact same chipping/polishing problems as the duracoat has
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Kg guncoat covers stainless beautifully and wears very very well
Is that the stuff from Brownells?
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Cerakote has the exact same chipping/polishing problems as the duracoat has
Wow, that's too bad. In that case I would have opted to go with brownells aluma hyde I think its called Much more forgiving process, easy/cheap touch ups/cheaper. All I really wanted was something to protect from elements, looks decent, and protect from surface rust.
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I have used both.
I do have a few chips on the allumahyde or whatever it's called but would imagine touch ups are easy.
The duracoat I haven't really beat up the rifle too much .so I can't really give a review.
So is what it is.
Allumahyde you can touch up anytime as long as your tip doesn't clog up.
The duracoat spray can kind you have to use the spray can within a month or it will harden in the can.
Both kinds I did two rifles with one can.
My opinion for it ,to have a all weather rifle that's not rusting and snow and rain gets under the stock and not having to worry about rust is great.
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Here is an example of kg gunkote witch is a spray and bake finished. This is my edc 45 after 9 years of holster were in both kydex and leather holsters only areas that have wore off are at very fine edges of the weapon that I should have polished off before it got coated. This one was done by Dave at south ridge arms ( I used to work there many moons ago) it has worn exceedingly well and I am nothing but happy with it. Safety, hammer,barrel keeper, beaver tail are all parkerised so they did not wear as well and have begun to polish off with the constant use but frame and slide still look mint 👌 my one and only ar that got cerakoted I stripped after a year of training with it (chips off and scratches easily) and had Dave do it up in black gunkote as well and it is holding it's finish beautifully as well. If you are interest you can visit his we sight and see my pistol the day it was finish assembled in his photo gallery for comparisons sake(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210121/c0884225f739378fa7594a82e218ca9f.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210121/c8b2a7c6daba32ffe2ddd084058ea155.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210121/e615f87b280dffe6491638d515427eba.jpg)
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Kg guncoat covers stainless beautifully and wears very very well
Is that the stuff from Brownells?
Brownells brand is Aluma Hyde Ii
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Duracoat is a no bake product
Alumahyde can be baked it just speeds up the cure process
Basically they are both epoxy based paint made to harden.
The longer you can let it cure and harden,and prep the metal before coating the better long lasting finish your gonna have.
Which makes this time of year a good time to apply it.I would not try to coat a week or two before season.Alot of these products claim dry to touch ,but small print will say 15 to 30 days to fully harden.
When I did mine I just
Remove stock and bolt,tape off trigger assembly.
Stuff earplugs in the chamber and muzzle
Spray with brake cleaner wipe metal off with clean rag.
Don't even touch with bare hands ,oils of your fingers
Let dry from brake cleaner then spray with product.
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I just watched a review and the brownell stuff beat out the ceracote and krylon and duracote. I would like some more comments though.
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Alumahyde
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Duracoat
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Nice!!! which seems toughest to you?
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I just watched a review and the brownell stuff beat out the ceracote and krylon and duracote. I would like some more comments though.
I would assume you will need to touch up regardless which one you choose. AH is 12.99 a can, duracoat is $50+. For that reason I dont touch up my Duracoat at all, and From what I've read AH is easier to work with... food for thought.
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I also have done an ar with alumahyde and the only chips are on the shell deflector which you know it's got hot cases hitting right there .Have hunted with that ar and no chips except the shell deflector,and flash muzzle brake ,but you can't expect it to hold up in areas like that.
Just price wise I think the alumahyde product is pretty dang good for the money.
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Yes, before I opened for business and wanted to refinish my firearms, I was using DuraCoat. You can get good results using their TrueStrip, a ScotchBrite pad, and an airbrush at the bare minimum. That's how I got started. If you don't use their Quickener, they publish a full cure time of 30 days. If you use the maximum ratio of Quickener, they publish a full cure time of about a week.
After I opened for business I was still using DuraCoat and began using Cerakote as well. It didn't take long for me to stop using DuraCoat due to the additional needs such as Quickener and TrueStrip, and longer cure times comparted to Cerakote in addition to the published required mil thickness of DuraCoat. Lauer Weaponry, makers of DuraCoat, published that it needs to be 3 - 5 mills thick. That's too much for some items. Cerakote has to be applied .25 - 3 mills thick depending on the product and color. Also, depending on which Cerakote product is being used, the cure schedule is 1 hour to 5 days. There are more factors involved with my decision to only use Cerakote but, I'll get back on topic with your question.
If you want to apply a color finish on your barrel and action yourself, DuraCoat is good choice. Your best results will be realized with proper prep. I still have firearms finished in DuraCoat that I take into the field during the fall-winter hunting seasons.
Most importantly, wear the proper PPE.
Also, I can refinish it for you.
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I Duracoated my stainless 338-375 Ruger Savage 116. I modified a Harbor Freight blast cabinet and used 150 grit media to blast it. Blasting is the recommended prep if you want it to adhere best and be more durable longer. I used a Harbor Freight 3 or 4 oz HVLP spray gun to apply the Duracoat.
Honestly I think it turned out great. The finish is holding up great. I did let mine cure for like 5 weeks before a started taking it out to shoot.
Here's the link to my build.
https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,242762.0.html