Best DIY finishes for firearms?

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DustyGmt

DustyGmt

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Im looking for some recommendations for spray on finish that would work well on guns.

I've got my old mossberg 500 12ga stripped down to the tight and curlies, it had been sitting for quite a while and there is some pitting on the steel bbl and scratches on the alum receiver so I've got it all apart and am gonna go through and strip it all down to bare metal and put a new finish on it. I was thinking of Cold blue with some perma blue but since the receiver won't take a blue I was considering something else like KG gun kote or Duracoat but if there are others I'm not aware of shout em out.

Also, for guys who have done this sort of thing, alot the finsh on my internals have worn and was wondering if there was a good way to give em a shot of new life. Would it be best to just leave em be or if I felt so inclined to get after em with some fine grit sanding and polish up a few parts on the bolt and maybe refinish some of the parts that have the finish worn off, what would be the best way to go about that. Is there a finish I could apply that would stand up to the friction and heat that would be present inside the receiver? Possibly cold blue those parts or? Or am I going the wrong direction and should leave the internals be?

Also was thinking about putting some new furniture on it for a new look, it has the old wood furniture, I was considering a synthetic furniture set. Any recommendations? I'd really like a collapsible stock but they cost more than I paid for the gun so...
 
Depends what you want it to look like. Duracoat cerakote and blue are most popular. Krylon works too. The mossberg 500 isn't stellar with a pistol grip. The slide release and the safety aren't in a super great spot for it.

Not hating the 500. I actually prefer it in a regular stock over the 870 or Nova that most compare to. But not for a pistol grip.
 
im a broken record here, but i'll say it again. If your up for a small challenge, parkerize the steel parts, its under $100 dollars, and it will be a real finish, not paint. After that, I would see exactly what color it is when finished, and do a decent sand/priime/clearcoat on the aluminum receiver with automotive primer. I would chemical strip the wood and refinish it, probably in ebony/black, and lighten it up a little with sanding to match the matte finish. But that just my opinion, and you may think its ugly. Beyond that, the only do-it-yourself thats not junk would be a Cerocote type paint. The nice thing about a wood stock is that if it doesn't fit you, cut it down 1/4" at a time until it does. Collapsible stocks aren't great on shotguns, but a correct fit will reduce felt recoil about 50% and make shouldering very quick and thoughtless.

Forgot to add, don't worry too much about polishing up parts on a modern shotgun. They usually wear in until they wear out and that takes a long time. The old, old, old rifles/shotguns would wear and parts would start to gall, or fray, or shave, but thats not usually an issue with the successful designs that are still made today.
 
20210220_165747.jpg

That gun was an old 500ag. Was seriously abused and neglected. Duracoated and new stock and forearm.

Operating it is still a pain. Just a poor layout for the pistol grip.
 
I'd buy a few cans of Krylon and go with a camo finish. Wouldn't put a lot of money or effort into it. I've done a few and they looked pretty good IMO. Lots of ways to get creative.
 
If you do the prep and finish work, cold bluing with Dicrophan T4 (Brownells) is great. The more polished the surface, the better the result. If the surface is not nice and smooth, it doesn’t come out great. Then, the painting options may be better.
 
If it will see alot of use then look into parkerize it. Other wise rattle can will work. Just have to repaint it every so often.
 
Pakerizing is one of the easiest DIY finishes I have encountered. It is much easier to apply than Cerakote and even canned Duracoat. But, it only works on steel. And most people don't like the look of it. Alumnium can be a little bit harder to finish well. The aluminum receiver is likely already anodized so you could try dying it yourself. While I haven't used it, I have heard good things about Brownell's Aluma-hyde finish as well.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...re-aerosol-paints/aluma-hyde-ii-prod1117.aspx
 
Duracoat also makes a blue. Supposedly looks like blue but is still a two part paint. Ive read good things.
 
herrwalther said:
Pakerizing is one of the easiest DIY finishes I have encountered. It is much easier to apply than Cerakote and even canned Duracoat. But, it only works on steel. And most people don't like the look of it. Alumnium can be a little bit harder to finish well. The aluminum receiver is likely already anodized so you could try dying it yourself. While I haven't used it, I have heard good things about Brownell's Aluma-hyde finish as well.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...re-aerosol-paints/aluma-hyde-ii-prod1117.aspx
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with a DIY parkerizing, how exactly does that work?
 
Mauser lover said:
Please do not cold blue it. Or anything for that matter. If you want blue, slow rust bluing is easy and not expensive. And beautiful.

Brownells has a paint called Aluma-hyde. It's paint, like duracoat, but I've had pretty good success with it. A whole bunch better than krylon or hardware store rattlecans.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...re-aerosol-paints/aluma-hyde-ii-prod1117.aspx
Click to expand...

Cold bluing is awful, right? Nothing comes out well...

index.php
 
Rustoleum rattle can camo colors works good for me. My guns are tools, not works of art, so I don't need to spend a lot of money on a high quality coat. The nice thing is when they need to be touched up, it's equally cheap to do that, and easy.
 
I've had good luck with Van's Instant Blue. Uniform finish, of course degreasing prep is paramount on any coating you decide on.

As far as the stock, if you have the time and don't mind the effort, a military look tung oil finish is nice, especially if you decide to Parkerize.
 
I just hose my long arms down with khaki Krylon. When they chip up, I sand any rough spots a little, and spray them again. They always look brand new every trip to the range. Grey works well to. I want to build a flat white winter one soon.

Perfectly finished rack Queens are ugly to me.
 
Speedo66 said:
I've had good luck with Van's Instant Blue. Uniform finish, of course degreasing prep is paramount on any coating you decide on.

As far as the stock, if you have the time and don't mind the effort, a military look tung oil finish is nice, especially if you decide to Parkerize.
Click to expand...
Yes sir. I may just go with that. Simple. Probably won't actually parkerize but I will try to find a flat bake on epoxy spray paint and get a nice dark oil for the wood.

I know rustoleum has a black epoxy that doesn't require priming and is very scratch and Chem resistant, I'm gonna see if I can find the same thing in a very dark grey
 
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Ill second parkerizing for a DIY project. Not really something you're probably going to want to do for just one gun though, as it requires some stuff on hand, or external help if you don't have that.

Another thing about it is, once you do get organized and start, nothing is safe. :p

I did this back in the late 90's in my buddys garage. We parked all sorts of stuff on a Coleman stove and a SS tank.

enhance.jpg

And even better way to go and a bit of an upgrade is paint over park, which was/is a standard military finish for a number of countries. HK did it with their guns, and after a couple of decades of abuse, I redid my MP5 by parking it, and then painting it with Aluma Hyde II in matte black.

The stock is factory HK paint, the rest of the gun, AHII. Turned out a real good match.

enhance.jpg
 
I personally like Duracoat. It is pretty tough and not hard to apply with an airbrush. Even though it says 24 hours to cure i wait a week.
If you use Rustoleum make sure you use a few coats of flat clear spray to protect the pigmented color. It will last much longer and is more chemical resistant
 
I had a $30 police auction Mossberg 500 that I refinished using black ceramic engine paint. I heated up the receiver, sprayed it and then baked it in in BBQ grill a couple times. It's held for 15 years.

Before...

hJfHH91.jpg

After...Also replaced the wood with Maverick 88 plastic stocks.

KaYNMcu.jpg

I've also done a couple pistols and worn 22 rifles that way.
 
I was going to go with alumahyde but the ship times were not ideal. I'm considering rustoleum appliance epoxy black cuz a few ppl said it was very rugged
 
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I cold blued my 4 bore rifle then rubbed it back with steel wool until the bare metal started to show through. It looks great and is really nice with all the engraving.
 
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