I have been thinking about buying the kit with the airbrush to give it a shot and I was wondering if anybody here has good or bad experiences with applying it themselves. I have also been considering using it on the exhaust on my Harley so if anyone else is using this stuff on something other than a gun let me know!
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Any one here applied Dura Coat?
- Thread starter dm1333
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aguyindallas
Member
I know RRTX has done it and had good luck with it. He did the slide on my P32 and also did my Aimpoint for my AR.
Came out decent, and its durable.
Came out decent, and its durable.
osteodoc08
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- Jun 23, 2005
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I just applied Duracoat to a 45 of mine. It came out splendid! All I can say is degrease, degrease, degrease. Then degrease some more.
What I did is took the parts I wanted to Duracoat and sprayed them down with brake cleaner. Let them dry and spray them again, and again, and again. Before I applied the Duracoat, I wiped them down with denatured alcohol. Then I waited for it to evaporate and started spraying. Here are some tips:
1. Make sure they are absolutely clean. When I first started I used a toothbrush and the brake cleaner to make sure all the old gunk was gone and sprayed, sprayed, sprayed the brake cleaner. Be sure to get the non residue and fast drying kind. Before applying the duracoat, I wiped down with denatured alcohol. This evaporated relatively fast. Use a clean, lint free rag to wipe it down. I used a clean, cotton t-shirt. Be sure there are no fibers or anything on the finish before you spray. See fan precaution below. I also covered my entire work area with newspaper to protect from overspray.
2. Make a rack and hang the pieces with wire so that you can handle them.
3. Wear nitrile gloves with no powder. Or at least latex with no powder. I started with regular latex, but the latex messed up when the duracoat was on them (tore easily) and the powder went everywhere. Had to rewipe down the parts with alcohol and switch to the nitrile gloves (luckily I had some)
4. Practice on a piece of something before you do the actual spraying. Don't start spraying while aiming at the piece, begin off to the side and sweep across it to the other side so you don't get a concentrated shot on one location. Keep the distance equal so that the finish is even. I was a few inches off the parts being duracoated.
5. Be sure to turn off all fans. I had a piece of dust blow into the finish and there is a slight bump in the finish, but is barely noticeable, so I didn't bother redoing that piece.
6. Apply many thin coats as opposed to a few thick coats.
7. Apply more coats in high wear areas such as the front and back strap, muzzle area, etc.
8. Buy a cheap tsp/tbs set so that you can get the proper mixture. I mixed 2tbs of duracoat to the recommended amount of hardner. It was enough to do one handgun and I had some left over.
9. Don't let the pieces touch anything after you sprayed them.
10. Move the racks around in the oven before you're ready to put the pieces in the oven. I left mine in for 1.5hrs at 170 (lowest the oven went) and took them out after to cool. I let cool overnight and then reassembled everything to check for fit and function in the morning. Everything was fine.
11. I let it cure for another week before I added lube and oil to test fire.
Everything went great and was super easy. Not to mention that I am extremely satisfied with the turnout. It has been 2 weeks and the finish is getting more scratch resistant. I can tell because I coated one of the spare magazines and use it as a test sample to check for wear properties, hardness, lube/oil resistance. So far, everything is good to go. I lubed and oiled the gun and tested it the other day. I had some wear on the slide area (to be expected), but everything else is fantasticly finished. Where it did wear on the slide is looked worn from metal sliding over it and not chipped, which is fine by me. If I think of more tips, I'll be sure to let you know.
What I did is took the parts I wanted to Duracoat and sprayed them down with brake cleaner. Let them dry and spray them again, and again, and again. Before I applied the Duracoat, I wiped them down with denatured alcohol. Then I waited for it to evaporate and started spraying. Here are some tips:
1. Make sure they are absolutely clean. When I first started I used a toothbrush and the brake cleaner to make sure all the old gunk was gone and sprayed, sprayed, sprayed the brake cleaner. Be sure to get the non residue and fast drying kind. Before applying the duracoat, I wiped down with denatured alcohol. This evaporated relatively fast. Use a clean, lint free rag to wipe it down. I used a clean, cotton t-shirt. Be sure there are no fibers or anything on the finish before you spray. See fan precaution below. I also covered my entire work area with newspaper to protect from overspray.
2. Make a rack and hang the pieces with wire so that you can handle them.
3. Wear nitrile gloves with no powder. Or at least latex with no powder. I started with regular latex, but the latex messed up when the duracoat was on them (tore easily) and the powder went everywhere. Had to rewipe down the parts with alcohol and switch to the nitrile gloves (luckily I had some)
4. Practice on a piece of something before you do the actual spraying. Don't start spraying while aiming at the piece, begin off to the side and sweep across it to the other side so you don't get a concentrated shot on one location. Keep the distance equal so that the finish is even. I was a few inches off the parts being duracoated.
5. Be sure to turn off all fans. I had a piece of dust blow into the finish and there is a slight bump in the finish, but is barely noticeable, so I didn't bother redoing that piece.
6. Apply many thin coats as opposed to a few thick coats.
7. Apply more coats in high wear areas such as the front and back strap, muzzle area, etc.
8. Buy a cheap tsp/tbs set so that you can get the proper mixture. I mixed 2tbs of duracoat to the recommended amount of hardner. It was enough to do one handgun and I had some left over.
9. Don't let the pieces touch anything after you sprayed them.
10. Move the racks around in the oven before you're ready to put the pieces in the oven. I left mine in for 1.5hrs at 170 (lowest the oven went) and took them out after to cool. I let cool overnight and then reassembled everything to check for fit and function in the morning. Everything was fine.
11. I let it cure for another week before I added lube and oil to test fire.
Everything went great and was super easy. Not to mention that I am extremely satisfied with the turnout. It has been 2 weeks and the finish is getting more scratch resistant. I can tell because I coated one of the spare magazines and use it as a test sample to check for wear properties, hardness, lube/oil resistance. So far, everything is good to go. I lubed and oiled the gun and tested it the other day. I had some wear on the slide area (to be expected), but everything else is fantasticly finished. Where it did wear on the slide is looked worn from metal sliding over it and not chipped, which is fine by me. If I think of more tips, I'll be sure to let you know.
smince
Member.
The instructions with mine sadi full cure takes 3-4 weeks. You don't HAVE to use the oven, it just makes initial curing quicker. If you don't care to use the oven, I've had great results with Brownell's spray-on GunKote. Degrease, pre-warm at 150*, then spray on, and bake 30 minutes at 300*. I have a SA1911 that was done about 8 years ago and it is holding up very well.
BsChoy
Member
I have not used Durakote but I do have a few cans of Alumahyde from brownells I plan on using on a Stevens 200 in 223. I will post a report and pics when done.
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