Need opinions and info on Durabake

[WillieD]

Found a 10/22 barreled receiver for a good price, but it's in s/s finish and I would like to make it matte black or od green. The s/s is just a paint that Ruger uses over aluminum so that will get stripped off. How well will Durabake hold up on a receiver and trigger group and how hard is it to apply? Would I even need to strip the original finish or just degrease the parts and spray on like a regular spray can, then bake? Anyone have any pics of a finished Durabake coating? Don't feel like getting into the Duracoat setup just yet and Cerama-kote needs the parts to be heated before hand. Thanks

[Allman]

Durabake would serve your purpose, duracoat easier since it cures (slowly) at room temp. Preparation is important, remove all old finish. A cheapo HF airbrush will suffice for application, you can get a canned gas powered one if you don't want to go for an airbrush or other compressor. (A matte type of finish is achieved by the final coat being applied by holding the airbrush farther away and a semi-gloss by holding it closer.)

Do a search and you will come up with a ton of information and advice from prior threads.

[teletiger7]

I'm also interested in using duracoat to refinish the slide on an old Sig pistol. Whats the best way for me to get the old bluing off? Also do i need to completely disassemble the slide and take out the sights?

[WillieD]

I did a search under Durabake and not a whole lot came up, but I would think that the Durabake would be easier than the Duracoat to put on. You can get the Durabake in a spray can. Just clean the parts, spray from the can, them pop in teh oven for awhile. Duracoat looks like a 2 part mix that you would then have to reduce to get it to spray right from the spray rig that you would also have to buy. Am I wrong in my thinking? I just wanted something cheap and easy to do a limited amount of small parts. I'm not thinking of doing anything big. Thanks

[Allman]

Originally posted by teletiger7
I'm also interested in using duracoat to refinish the slide on an old Sig pistol. Whats the best way for me to get the old bluing off? Also do i need to completely disassemble the slide and take out the sights? Bluing, if it's bluing and not some kind of coating, doesn't really need to be removed in my experience. It does need to be absolutley free of any surface contamination by oil or grease or other lubricants or treatments.

As far as disassembling the slide and removing sights, keep in mind that you are spraying a non removable paint on the parts. Don't paint anything you don't want painted and take note that moving parts (or removable parts) will may be glued in place and be or do damage when moved or removed. Dovetails and such will have smaller dimensions when coated and the part installed (sights, etc.) will be trapped. Coating can flow into recesses, holes, around moving parts (like firing pins or extractors) and may epoxy them in place or fill them to smaller sizes.

WillieD, yes the durabake would probably be the easier product for you to use. Be sure to check your oven temp with an oven thermometer, I've found the stuff will not cure properly if the temp is low and may discolor if it is too high and ovens tend to be inaccurate. I've never used the spray cans, but don't see why they wouldn't work as well as an airbrush, but the coverage might be lower as the over spray would likely be greater.

[teletiger7]

Would you suggest taking off the sights and then duracoating slide then putting sights back on after? I also wanna duracoat the sights since they are a little worn out. Do you think it's a good idea? Or will it be impossible to put them back on after?

Originally posted by Allman
Bluing, if it's bluing and not some kind of coating, doesn't really need to be removed in my experience. It does need to be absolutley free of any surface contamination by oil or grease or other lubricants or treatments.

As far as disassembling the slide and removing sights, keep in mind that you are spraying a non removable paint on the parts. Don't paint anything you don't want painted and take note that moving parts (or removable parts) will may be glued in place and be or do damage when moved or removed. Dovetails and such will have smaller dimensions when coated and the part installed (sights, etc.) will be trapped. Coating can flow into recesses, holes, around moving parts (like firing pins or extractors) and may epoxy them in place or fill them to smaller sizes.

WillieD, yes the durabake would probably be the easier product for you to use. Be sure to check your oven temp with an oven thermometer, I've found the stuff will not cure properly if the temp is low and may discolor if it is too high and ovens tend to be inaccurate. I've never used the spray cans, but don't see why they wouldn't work as well as an airbrush, but the coverage might be lower as the over spray would likely be greater.

[Allman]

Originally posted by teletiger7
Would you suggest taking off the sights and then duracoating slide then putting sights back on after? I also wanna duracoat the sights since they are a little worn out. Do you think it's a good idea? Or will it be impossible to put them back on after? You could do it either way. Just be aware that you may need to do a bit of refitting when reinstalling the sights. I'm not sure what pistol you're working on or the type of sights, but I'm assuming a rear dovetail? I would probably remove the sight and carefully mask the dovetail surfaces so that they weren't coated then do the sight separately. If the front sight can be removed easily, or maybe if it's also a dovetail, I think I'd remove it as well just so there was a coating over the entire slide if I ever wanted to replace the sight with another of different dimensions.

But, if you're happy with the slide and sights as is and don't intend to adjust or change them I see no problem with just coating the whole thing. It would be easier that way.