camo glock...uglyness removal tips?

[mjoilner1911]

SO, I picked up a glock 21. problem is that it's camo colored (factory they tell me. and it's starting to flake off the frame and slide in spots. does anyone have any expierience removing this crap? will paint thinner do the trick without harming the frame?
any input would be appreciated. the gun was too good of a deal to pass up, but it's ugly and i want it to be not ugly (at least as not ugly as a glock can be:supergrin:

thanks guys
---Mick

[GlocksterJeff]

The camo finish on these Glocks is applied by Dynamic Finishes, see their website for contact info: http://www.dynamicfinishes.com/

[mjoilner1911]

So, I call Dynamic Finishes, and not only were they polite and profesional, they were really helpful as well. The owner, John, pointed me towards a product called "bulldog flexible bumper paint stripper", available at your local o'riley auto parts. apparently this is what they use at the shop to strip glock frames of the finishes before applying new ones, or fixing mistakes. he did caution me to not let the stuff sit on the frame too long as it will mar the frame if left on for more that 5 min or so, and told me to wash the product off with dawn dishsoap and water when i was done. I will be attempting my projest tomorrow nite and i'll let you guys know how it works.
all the best
---Mick

[freeidaho]

Alot of the camo finishes were done over OD green frames. Have you made sure you are going to like what is underneath?

Just a thought, but you are probably way ahead of me.

kr

[PzGren]

An OD frame can be easily dyed, a black cannot.

[freeidaho]

Tell me more. I have a Dynamic Finishes camo job on my G21, and the kydex holster is beginning to wear it off of the slide.

How exactly does on dye a OD Green G21 to black. What products does it entail, and is it hard to do?

Thank you ! ! !

[PzGren]

I had an HK USP in grey and dyed the frame black. My first attempt led to a slightly purplish color but on the HK Pro site somebody recommended to add about 20% green to the dye and this resulted in a real deep black. Before you can start disassembly and a good degreasing will have to be done.

The products used are liquid Rit dye, the same as used for clothes. It has to be dissolved in water at a fairly high temperature. I used a meat thermometer to check the heated water to be at 170 F and kept the frame in the hot solution for a little over an hour.

Afterwards the dyed part has to be scrubbed until the water runs off clear.

The frame is then dyed, not just coated, so scratches will not show up in a different color.
You can only dye to a darker, not to a lighter color.

It's really quite simple. A two hour, $6 job.

[Catbird]

Are you saying that you need to keep the frame in the 170° water solution for an hour or do you just mix the dye and water at that temp, submerge the frame and let cool? I have a Walther P22 with a blue/grey frame that I may want to try changing the color to OD green or darker.

[PzGren]

The time that the frame, or part, is being immersed in the hot solution has an outcome on the shade, or so I read on a site where people coloured frisbees(!).

I kept it simmering on very low, making sure that the frame was not touching the bottom of my pan. I figured temperatures might be higher there.

[PzGren]

Sorry for the size but you'll get the general idea.

[PzGren]

Even though it still looks a little purplish in the last pic, it did not under different light.
Note that the Safe and Fire markings are gone from the safety, too.

[freeidaho]

Thank you, I may try this out. How well does the dyed finish hold up to cleaning solvents, etc?

Thanks again ! ! !

kr

[PzGren]

The process is a dyeing, i.e. it penetrates the outer laywers. I have just shot the gun several times and cleaned it with CLP. There was no deterioration in the finish. I finally traded the USP off for a S&W 629.

One of the reasons, that I did not like the grey frame, was that it was so hard to clean after shooting. The black fixed that for me.

On the HK Pro site there are several posts about people dyeing the frames of the USC carbine. It seems to hold up for a long time.

[freeidaho]

Originally posted by PzGren
The process is a dyeing, i.e. it penetrates the outer laywers. I have just shot the gun several times and cleaned it with CLP. There was no deterioration in the finish. I finally traded the USP off for a S&W 629.

One of the reasons, that I did not like the grey frame, was that it was so hard to clean after shooting. The black fixed that for me.

On the HK Pro site there are several posts about people dyeing the frames of the USC carbine. It seems to hold up for a long time.

Thank you, CLP is all I ever use on a gun... except the barrel.

kr

[mjoilner1911]

The bulldog product performed as advertised....spray it on, let sit for 30 seconds, scrub it with a toothbrush, rinse with hot water, repeat as necessary. I will warn you all that you really want to wear gloves for this project, and test them with the paint stripper first to make sure they won't melt. the stripper is EXTREMELY caustic, and burns like hell when it gets into the wrinkles on your knuckles. it turned out great (and yes the frame id od green, but i like it). the most difficult part of the process is detail stripping the gun, which is easy if you read one of the threads giving you instructions. all told I'm very happy with the result.
all the best guys
---Mick