[Jesse H]

Just got a new (to me) CZ75 with the black polycoat finish. Previous owner had the slidestop and safeties smoothed up so obviously the finish had been rubbed off. Friend has a powdercoating machine and oven so I figured to give it a try.

Then I thought, what about an entire slide? Any idea how well this stuff holds up to gun cleaners? Would it be mean to borrow a friend's USP and return it pink? :D

[blackhawk2000]

As long as you don't coat any places where something needs to move (slide rails) then why not?

[DMK]

That's pretty much what Gunkote is isn't it?

Powdercoat is pretty tough against harsh chemicals. I've powdercoated lots of stuff under the hood of the car.

[JohnBT]

The CZ finish is powdercoated over parkerized. My Military model has held up very well to bore and spray cleaners over the years.

John

[Dave P]

Can we powdercoat at home? If so, how and what?

TNX

[jrhines]

Yes you can powdercoat at home. Harborfreight has a home kit, runs about $75 for the gun & power supply. Cans of paint run $10 or so, many colors. Downside is the oven, it has to be electric (fumes are flammable), and you can't use Mama's 'cause it stinks it up. You should also have a good vent system. The cure temp is less that 400F, so a bank of IR lights can do it.

[Bowlcut]

yea you can do it at home. need a small air compressor and that kit. we have done it a few times and turns out pretty good for home use. most times you have to bake for 10-15 mins at like 375 or more. its pretty easy, but kinda have to be picky to get it right, kinda like a good spray paint job.

powdercoating is pretty durable. i wouldnt take any harsh cemical strippers/cleaners to it. pretty sure aircraft stripper would take it off but that stuff is more like acid then cleaner :)

[braindead0]

Heating up tempered steel parts to 400degrees is going to make them more ductile. Probably a very bad thing to do to gun parts, I would strongly suggest not powdercoating.

Of course, it's probably okay on any stamped or cast parts..

[JohnBT]

I was interrupted earlier and wanted to post this Q&A FAQ from the CZUSA site:

Q: What is the finish called "Black polymer"
A: Black polymer is electrostaticly applied powder coating that is then oven cured to a hard shell. The coating is applied over a Parkerized or Phosphate finish which is very corrosion resistant in itself, the parts are thern racked and given a negative charge and sprayed at the guns components. This charged attraction literally draws the coating to the parts, this gives the parts a uniform finish and reduces overspray. The parts are cured in a oven and this produces a tough Mil. spec. finish.

[Jesse H]

Hmm...sounds just like powdercoating. Wonder what temps CZ bakes their stuff to.

[Spanky McFly]

I have powder coated a shotgun barrel. It was an older Winchester 18 1/2" riot barrel that had turned brown. I had cold blued it a couple of times over the last 12 years. I polished it with a buffing wheel and clear powder coated it. With the clear you only cure it at 350 degrees. It turned out pretty good. I will see how it holds up.

[KC]

Powdercoat is great until you chip it, then the only way to repair it is to strip off all the old powdercoat, and refinish it. Powdercoat is also a lot thicker than a more conventional finish, up to roughly that of latex house paint, and very uneven. This stuff is very resistant to corrosion; a company I worked for used it to protect naval bronze sonar housings from saltwater and barnacles. Some secondary autopart manufacturers coat car frames and body panels using this process.

[veloce851]

I've used powdercoating lots of times on motorcycle projects.
While the home kits are fun and neet. For a truly blemish free surface I'd suggest taking it to guys that do it for a living. And have all the nice equipment.
Look for a powdercoater that specializes in car/motorcycle parts.
Since they tend to cater towards small parts, and small runs.
You should be able to have it done pretty cheap if you are willing to either wait awhile(they don't like to do one part at a time, but rather runs of as many parts as possible) or go with a very common color.
Since the real cost is in the labor involved in cleaning the equipment when switching between colors.

As far as an uneven surface: preperation is everything. Which is why I lean towards paying to have it done. Since they will have nice beadblasters.

You should expect to spend about $20-40 to have a slide or two done.
Think oven space here... the quanity of items doesn't neccessary cost more. But the size of the item does. Which is why I would try and think of anything else you can imagine having powder coated when you take it in.
That should keep the cost down.
TIFWIW

[Spanky McFly]

As Veloce said, I have done about 30 Harley and Triumph parts with black. I took my Astra 90 that had a very rough frame and disassembled it. I only needed to refinish the frame. I had some Camaro silver paint that neeeeeded to be tried out. Here is how it turned out.
I do not have any pics of the Winchester with the riot barrel yet. Now I am going to see how this stuff holds up before going too crazy.

http://upload.bowlcorp.com/storage/leftside.JPG
http://upload.bowlcorp.com/storage/rightside.JPG

[Bowlcut]

hehehe my pics turned out pretty good.

the gun looks really good in person. only 2 real blemishes to note of. both could have been prevented, but doesnt totaly detract from the look of the gun. slide works really smoothly nothing dragging or scraping. prep work is key and having a buffing wheel handy to smooth out things really helped spanky. if i had an older gun that was looking down in the dumps and nothing speical...id probaly powder coat it at spankys house. thought of redoing the hi point carbine has come up actualy :D. only part on that astra that really stands out as the finish not being stock is the take down lever. the grooves are a *little* filled in from the powder. but over all, id say a 8 out of 10 score. now we will see how it shoots either this weekend or next.