Duracoat Shake and spray. My hand at it with pics.

Hello all,

This will be multiple posts because of pics.

I wanted to share my experience with the Duracoat shake and spray system. The one rifle I did was all black and to me all black can be boring at times. So I have been wanting to add some color to my Rem 700 in 308. My local guy does cerakote, which is a better finish then what I did, but this is just a bench rifle and it is the XLR element chassis I am changing the color. So there shouldn't be much, if any wear and tear.

The reason I decided to try this was my local guy wanted $150 plus 6-8 weeks. So during the nice summer my main rifle would be out of commission. The duracoat was $35 plus $13 shipping and I took the rifle apart, painted, and put back together in a day. Much better then 2 months.

Here are some before pics:




So I will tell you what I did and add pics, now mind you I am no expert. First I got the package, I chose aged bronze for the color:



Instructions are pretty simple. Spray down with the supplied degreaser and true strip. Let hang for a few minutes then scrub with the scouring pad that is supplied.

Once I degreased and stripped I scrubbed it real good, making sure to get everything. After that I got my air compressor and air blasted it really well to make sure everything was off. I then let it hang for about 2 hours before painting.



After that I was ready to try and paint for the first time. I have never really even used spray paint...



So I did short fast stroked going down to the left. Kept the sprayer about 6-8" away. I started spraying above the part first in order to get the best spray possible. This is the first 3 parts with 1 coat:



It seemed to go on really well. I did end up with a few runs but that was my fault due to inexperience with spray paint. I ended up doing 7 parts of the XLR element with 4 coats. I let them hang overnight before reassembly:

I then put it all together and I like the color.





For my first attempt I think I did an ok job, the runs I left in it aren't to noticeable. If it really gets to me then in winter I can always send it out to be professionally done.

Here are some before and after shots:

Before:


After:


Before:


After:


Before:


After:


All in all I would try it again. I am not sure how the durability will be, but like I said before I don't think it will be an issue for my use. It was really easy to put on and did not take that long. It probably to me as long to post this with adding and editing pics :banghead:

I did enjoy doing it and like doing things myself. Everything done to this rifle was by me and it shoots <.5" at 100yards with my hand loads. It can do 2.5" at 500yards if I do my part.

Well thanks for looking.

ID, I am not sure how it would work for you, I think it will still show imperfections in the metal.