Ever spray paint a barrel?

[Osprey]

Hey guys. A few weeks ago I removed the finish from the barrel on my XD because I was going for the bling bling look.

Being who I am, I grew bored of the bling and wanted to go with something a bit more demure.

So I bought a bottle of the Birchwood Casey Perma Blue, and reblued the barrel a few hours ago.

It looks decent, but it didnt come out exactly that way I'd have liked.

I've heard of people spray painting their barrels before, in fact someone whose knowledge of firearms far exceeds mine (a gunsmith) recommended this route to me prior to using the BC bluing kit.

It seems to me that spray painting would be the easiest way to get a really dark finish (which is what I'm going for) in a much shorter amount of time.

Basically, what I would like to know (as you could probably guess from reading the title of this thread... LOL):

(1) Have you ever spray painted a barrel instead of bluing?

(2) If yes, which brand(s) of spray paint do you recommend?

(3) How long should I let the paint dry?

Thanks!

[metalhead357]

I've used Gun Kote from Brownells and also Alumahyde II...bot great products. Have a looksie on the search for the post(s) on it. Some love duracoat but I aint tried that one yet.

Between the two I mentioned I like Gun kote but ya' DO have to oven cure.

[bu-bye]

I don't think a spray will work well on a pistol barrel. There will be a lot of moving a rubbing on that barrel. Most of it will come off after a few rounds. I have never refinish a barrel on a pistol with any luck outside of blueing or beed blasting.

[NeoWeird]

As already posted, ANYTHING wearing against ANYTHING will eventually wear down over a time period. I've seen plastic wear down steel. That said, you need to look at what you want from it.

Your best bet is to hope and pray that the barrel hood that shows in the ejection port will have color while the rest probably won't (because of wear). The way most modern pistols lock/unlock means the barrel is going to only go as low as is needed to unlock. This will most likely make the slide rub against the first portion of the hood and wear there the most. More towards the center and mouth of the barrel will have less wear but will show wear slowly over time. You also need to be careful, as your barrel locks and unlocks on a very tight tolerances, especially around the hood/locking lug. Adding too much could prevent your firearm from closing and/or opening properly.

Your best bet is to get it blued again, however there are some spray on finishes that have exceptionally high abrassive resistance (was it CeraKote?). CeraKote is only sold in bulk to people in the business as far as I know, and it takes a bit of skill to refinish anything with any spray finish. That said, I think your best bet is to look for professional means to get it done. You could leave it alone, or you could do it yourself carefully but it would probably wear at a fast rate. If you want something that will be done and you won't have to worry about it again, well, professional help might be your only option.

[metalhead357]

hmmmm, well sounds like no takers on my gun kote stratagy It *seems* to hold up ok on actions but yeah, a high wear area like a barrel might be a bit different.

My only other suggestion then would be to parkerize the barrel. Pretty easy process if you have the stuff...tad pricy if you're not set yet to do it (I'm only half way there ).

BTW- there IS better bluing besides what your using, Take a look over at Brownells and/or Midway under thier finishes and you might find even a better suggestion, if not at least a better bluing.

[Osprey]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice.

It seems as thought the problem has been solved. I bought a Sharpie at SavOn and used that to reblue my barrel

Just kidding.

I'm not too keen on having the barrel done professionally. Yet. If I happen to screw things up that badly, which really seems unlikely, Bar-Sto will bail me out for $200 (I'm talking about a new barrel altogether).

I'd really like to give Gun Kote a shot, but I'll have a hard time convincing my girlfriend that we'll be able to eat food cooked in our oven ever again without being poisoned.

Is that a legit concern? Seems odd to cook dinner in the same oven you just used to refinish your barrel.

Anyway gentleman, thanks again.

[ohsmily]

My only other suggestion then would be to parkerize the barrel. Pretty easy process if you have the stuff...tad pricy if you're not set yet to do it (I'm only half way there ).

Uh, parkerizing is a horrible idea for this application...it is a fairly rough abrasive finish which is simply a horrible idea for an automatic handgun which cycles and locks and unlocks in the manner similar to a 1911, sig, glock, etc...

If the barrel is fixed, like on a Ruger Mark II or Walther p22, then parkerizing would be ok.

[metalhead357]

Uh, parkerizing is a horrible idea for this application...it is a fairly rough abrasive finish which is simply a horrible idea for an automatic handgun

Ummm ohsmily....not to nit pick too much but have ya' looked at some of the Parked Milspec guns out there? From 1911's to M1 Garands and M1 Carbines...all parked parts that saw war use and came with gusto. Park is a finish designed to hold oil/lubricants better...so if/when properly lubed it shouldnt be a problem in the slightest......YMMV...but millions of battlefield guns had parked parts throughout thier actions, bolts etc..... So I dont understand the misgivings.....

Hank, as for the Gun Kote... I hear/share your concerns. I personally use my BBQ (propane) as I can monitor the temp at differnt locations, bigger area to work with AND the fear of fuming up the house; but many claim to do just as the directions say...use it in the oven. As said, take a look at all the specs before you decide. Sounds like you're going the new barrel route...not a bad idea but you can do the Gun Kote for like $29 IIRC... might STILL give it a try after you get the new barrel. Give us your Own report of how the stuff wears...or wears out.

[NeoWeird]

The problem with using an abasive finish on the barrel hood is that the hood on an XD is the ONLY thing retarding the direct blowback. If your barrel hood has a sharp or abrassive edge and it starts to wear on the front or rear of the ejection port you can start to get loose breech, which will eventually cause case problems as the head begins to blow off and shoot gas and crap in your face.

I am not saying pakerizing would do this, but if you had an abrasive edge or surface on your barrel hood it could very easily do this. I am not sure if pakerizing is abrasive enough to do this, even after thousands of rounds, but it could still be a problem. I am not so sure it's a HORRIBLE idea, but there are better alternatives.

[metalhead357]

The problem with using an abasive finish on the barrel hood is that the hood on an XD is the ONLY thing retarding the direct blowback.

I am not so sure it's a HORRIBLE idea, but there are better alternatives.

Thank you! Now THAT explains things a lil' better to me & the problem(s) faced. Interesting that there is so much.....dependant...on just that interesting delay. Learn something everyday around here

I know there's truly some other higher, much higher tech finishes out there but do truly require the professional edge and cost prohibitive to the regular user or even small gunsmith (like the finsih on Glocks). My thoughts ran/run to the cheap-o cost effective solutions to problems like this one posed....

So back to the bluing.... IIRC there's a COLD blue out there; not to be confused with normal cold bluING process. Stuff supposedly kicks but over the lil tubes.

Short of the bluing or a new barrel...I'm outta ideas for the moment.

[rod]

Use that spray paint for BBQ's on it.

[Turbinator]

I'd like to see a picture of the polished factory barrel, if you have one.

Turby

[metalhead357]

Use that spray paint for BBQ's on it.

Did ya' bother to read all the posts? We've all kinda figured by now that something like that aint gonna work. Besides the BBQ paint will NOT resist the chipping and wear that could be had with either the already mentioned-and forsaken gun kote and Alumahyde II......

[rod]

Did ya' bother to read all the posts? We've all kinda figured by now that something like that aint gonna work. Besides the BBQ paint will NOT resist the chipping and wear that could be had with either the already mentioned-and forsaken gun kote and Alumahyde II......

I was hoping my reply would be taken as a joke. I should have mentioned it in my original reply.

[Osprey]

I'd like to see a picture of the polished factory barrel, if you have one.

Turby

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures.

However, this is the thread from XD Talk that inspired me to polish it in the first place:

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13089&highlight=barrel+polishing

There are some excellent pictures in that thread.

I used a Dremel tool, the cleaning/polishing kit sold seperate from the tool, and sandpaper (140-115 micron IIRC).