DuraCoat or Engine paint & sand/bead blast vs sanding

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ithaca49

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I have a 40 plus year old mossberg 500 12 gauge. So its fair to say that it needs to be refinished at this point. I have a few questions before i go for refinishing it:

  • Do i have to bead blast it or can I sand blast it (aluminum reciever)
  • What finish do I use: should i save up for some duracoat or just buy some duplicolor engine paint
  • How much would It cost if i were to pay to have it done
  • Will painting/coating the bottom of the receiver fill in the engraving that says mossbert, etc.

My goal is to eventually have it all refinished to black and then get a synthetic stock & forearm set for it and be done with it.
 
http://www.shootiniron.com/FINISH OPTIONS.html

Thats "Mac" another forum members site who does refinishing.
After speaking with him a few times i felt comfortable enough to let him refinish my 1911 i just did a full rebuild on. Hes very knowledgeable and easy to deal with, I know as im picky and he accommodated everything i asked about.
His TG-2 finish for long guns sounds indestructible, But for a hand gun i went with the TG-1 which is available for long guns also.

The main reason i posted his site is his pricing is about as low as most good refinishes start at, It only gets higher from there.

Some guys in the "Trades" section offer to do really low priced work as they are new and learning, May be worth looking into as everyone needs to start somewhere.

You could have it media blasted and buy Duracoat in an aerosol can from Midway. Or mix and spray yourself if you have an airbrush.

Lots of options but id stay away from engine paint and things like that if you want something that will look good for many years.
 
NCsmitty- That thread brings up a point about what i really liked about how Mac does his jobs, Which is he parkerizes everything first also before the Duracoat.
A finish like that should last a lifetime, At least im hoping so anyhow.

Im hoping the Parkerizing will help with chipping which many of these type coatings can suffer from if the prep isnt great or they don't have something good to hold onto like a rough surface. But even if it were to chip the parkerizing would still remain and no metal would be exposed.
But ive also heard even after chipping the Duracoat leaves tiny particles imbedded in the metal that still protect it even tho the top coat is gone.
 
Thanks for the help. I think that I will just buy some duracoat and i think that I have an airbrush laying around here somewhere so that won't be a problem. The instructions are great, especially since they were based off a mossberg 500! Then i have also decided that I will sand and then stain/poly the stock and forearm. Hopefully it will end up like a brand new gun!
 
Parkerizing is probably the best base for a painted finish because in makes the surface slightly porous giving the finish a good anchor. It also theoretically allows some of the finish to persist if the surface is worn down.

Grit blasting (not bead blasting) is probably the next best surface prep. It not only provides a profile for the finish to adhere to but it also increases the surface area giving the finish more to adhere to.

Note: bead blasting gives a smooth surface without any "tooth" and is not a good prep for paint.

Sanding is a last resort and will not give the adhesion that the other methods will but it is better than nothing.
 
I didn't mention that you cannot parkerize aluminum, that is only good for ferrous material.
Surface treatment of aluminum most often is anodizing. But anodizing solution will usually etch or eat up anything steel.

IMO, sand blasting will give you a surface that the paint will adhere to best, but a thin coat of primer, with a dry time, cannot hurt on bare aluminum.



NCsmitty
 
I started powdercoating awhile back as a hobby type thing, one thing led to another and now I pretty much coat anything metal that I am working on, lol. I've been doing a lot of sight assemblies for rifles, barrel shrouds, receiver covers, triggers, etc. and really like the results. Plus the variety of finishes available was astounding to me, everything from epoxies to high temp ceramics let you accomplish about anything you want to, and affordable as well.
 
I dont want to highjack the thread but while reading the thread it made me remember something i been wanting to ask.

What kind of investment would it take to get a basic abrasion blasting and air brushing so i could start doing some of my own work?

Seems guns is gonna be a hobby i keep for a long time since i ccw as thats a lifetime thing imo for me. So i could see many reasons to do some stuff myself.

Comperssor,Air brush, Abrasion setup i think would get me started, whats a basic setup look like when done reasonably?
 
What kind of investment would it take to get a basic abrasion blasting and air brushing so i could start doing some of my own work?
Click to expand...

If you have an air compressor that pumps 115psi and has enough CFM to reasonably keep up with the blaster, the rest can be gotten pretty reasonably. You'll need a pressure regulator and mist cups to keep moisture out of the airstream.
I use my blaster outside and it's a total loss on the sand, but you may want to use a box to reuse the sand.
Look at www.harborfreight.com as they have most everything that you need to get started.
Lowes has clean play sand.




NCsmitty
 
Just remember that when you sand blast (or even bead blast) an alluminum receiver etc. you will remove some or all of the anodizing. This will leave the surface soft and easily dinged and scratched. Duracoat will not help protect the soft aluminum.
 
Ty NCsmitty, Luckily i have a Harbor Freight within 45 minute drive from my house.
Im only lacking space except for an outside shed which would make it hard to work in during the Ohio winters. But it sure would be a fun and usefull set of tools.
Especially the Air compressor as everyone needs one of those which i currently lack.
And since i like to personalize all my guns and accessories i could see many uses and give me the ability to actually restore guns which id like to get into.

I gotta have a few old Police riot 12 gauges id love to restore.
 
I use aluminum oxide to blast in a cabinet I got at Harbor Freight. They have these units (I got the floor model for just over $100.00) on sale periodically. The larger one will easily hold a barreled receiver.

I use an automotive touch-up gun to spray DuraCoat, with a vented tabletop spray hood to catch fumes. I tried the air brushes, and find them too finiky.
 
I'm not even going to blast I decided. I think ill just rough it up with the scotch brite.
 
I'm not even going to blast I decided. I think ill just rough it up with the scotch brite.
Click to expand...
From everything ive heard and read from people who do Duracoating that would be a mistake. I think at a minimum if you took 220 grit paper to it would be better.
Scotch bright would actually polish it and not create a surface to grip onto.

But i could be wrong, Not having the experience others here have.
 
Red Cent can you elaborate on the link?
I know i have no clue as to what your trying to say or imply.
 
yeah, i'm not doing the scotchbrite. The site for duracoat says 600 grit so thats what ill use. I'm assuming you only need a couple coats of duracoat right?
 
Well i finished it. The barrels, mag and other small parts are duracoated but the duracoat ran on the receiver so I sprayed it with header paint and baked it.
Before:
100_0255.jpg 100_0256.jpg
After:
100_0565.jpg IMG_0349.jpg

What do you think? this is my first restore so i'm pretty happy with it.
 
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