Duracoating

[Jicko]

When you duracoat(camo) an AR, do you dissassemble the whole rifle, and apply the base color to the whole surface of every part?
- question, will it add thickness to the surface and make reassembling hard?
- question, will it make things out of spec?
- question, will it affect functionality?

Or do you leave the rifle assembled, and just coat the surface
- question, will the duracoat dry, and stick the parts/holes together?
- question, will duracoat not coat some of the hard to get to surface?

I'm researching and trying to figure out what I'm getting myself into....

I am thinking about desert-camo'ing my 24" SS Barrelled AR...

[Stanze]

Why would you want to camo the insides of your AR?

Here's a informative thread at Arfarf.com.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=255393&page=1

[sintax]

cause its tac, all the desert mall ninjas are doing it =P

[Jicko]

Why would you want to camo the insides of your AR?

Here's a informative thread at Arfarf.com.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.htm...=255393&page=1

I won't apply the whole camo scheme in the inside.... but I don't mind to apply, say "Desert Tan", inside and out of the lower receiver.... duracoat is a finish... it is a coating..... to protect the prized lower.... ;-)

[crs1]

Duracoat won't protect the lower from anything except scratches. And, Duracoat scratches by anything metal or abrasive. AR's are supposed to have scratches, they are combat weapons.---Kind of like how Jeeps and Hummers look more cool with mud on them.

That being said, if you are going to duracoat a stainless barrel, you should sandblast or bead blast it first. My friend duracoated his stainless savage 110 and didn't prep the barrel right and it just doesn't stick. See the reviews also on Midway USA for some helpful insight. It's all about the prep, so the longer and better you prep, the better the results.

I have seen rifles factory Duracoated from DSA, and it looks like they do partial disassembly (sights and moving parts, like the bolt) but for the most part do the rifle as a whole. Probably should mask off the bore and such. I Gunkoted my whole Mossberg 500, disassembled, because it was easier to fit in the oven. The parts went back together fine. I don't know how much thickness Duracoat adds.

[madkiwi]

I believe the Duracoat is less than 0.002" thick when applied correctly. You can paint parts and they can be reassembled with no problem with fitment.

[TonyM]

When you duracoat(camo) an AR, do you dissassemble the whole rifle, and apply the base color to the whole surface of every part?

As a personal preference I've never done camo, but have refinished 4 rifles and 2 handguns with Norell's. I started out stripping everything down, but later on one of my AR rifles I left in the bolt catch, pins, trigger and trigger guard, only removed the springs (even though they should withstand the oven okay, it was only a minutes time to remove them). Norell's goes on so thin that there were no issues with the parts sticking or binding.

- question, will it add thickness to the surface and make reassembling hard?

Not sure with DuraCoat, but I assume it's like Norrell's. Norell's is so thin you shouldn't have issues unless you setup your system incorrectly.

- question, will it make things out of spec?

Not sure with DuraCoat, but Norell's goes on so thin you would need to add 30+ coats, or incorrectly apply the finish to even get out of the tolerances of the parts.

- question, will it affect functionality?

Shouldn't at all, unless you completely flub up the spray procedure. I've also read that in colder weather with DuraCoat you may have to wait 30+ days before the finish is cured enough to fire it w/o possibly damaging the finish, so be sure it's hardened before you handle it too much, put in in a safe by other rifles where it might get bumped, or fire it.

Or do you leave the rifle assembled, and just coat the surface
- question, will the duracoat dry, and stick the parts/holes together?

Like above, with Norell's, when applied correctly (thin coats) I've had no problems with this, not even with the dovetails for sights on my Sig 220 or Glock 23 I finished.

- question, will duracoat not coat some of the hard to get to surface?

My experience with Norell's is that if I can see it, and I can spray it, It will coat. Prep is important though, a polished surface will not hold the finish for long at all. You would need to blast/sand anything that is polished smooth for the finish to take. Some items will always wear, like the barrel hood on a pistol barrel. The hood on my pistols are wearing just like the original finish did, but the rest of it looks great. On my Sig the slide rails are holding great.

I am thinking about desert-camo'ing my 24" SS Barrelled AR...

You'll really want to have the barrel removed from the upper and have it sandblasted. At least with Norell's (haven't read on DuraCoat's site) they say that bead blasting with glass beads will leave the surface too polished for a good solid finish and to only use sand media to blast as it will give a better surface for the finish to stick to.

FYI, in my replies I'm assuming that Duracoat's procedures and finish is like Norrell's, but not 100% sure as when I read about the drying time and mixing parts I removed DuraCoat from my list of options.

[Jicko]

For my DPMS 24" SS Bull Barrel.... if I do not have the ability to remove the barrel, what's the best way to prep the surface so that Duracoat will stick?

Does sanding with a coarse sandpaper work?

[TonyM]

For my DPMS 24" SS Bull Barrel.... if I do not have the ability to remove the barrel, what's the best way to prep the surface so that Duracoat will stick?

Does sanding with a coarse sandpaper work?

Honestly? Your best bet in my opinion would be to get the tools to remove the barrel and have it blasted. Chances are very good that if you just use sandpaper you will see the sanding marks in your finish. When you blast it you will keep a nice uniform texture on the barrel and not have "drag marks/lines" showing where you sanded it with paper. When you add the finish with an airbrush you add color, but you still see the texture of the metal below the finish.

Also, if you do just use paper, 220+ grit would work (I think I'd use 300 grit personally), you don't want ridges and valleys in your barrel, unless it's fluted!

[TonyM]

Oh yeah, lastly, make sure you get a good respirator mask to wear while spraying the finish. That fine mist of chemicals shouldn't be allowed to enter your lungs. Safety First.

[Jicko]

First, I don't have the tools to remove the barrel.... secondly, DPMS don't recommend that I remove the handguard as the bi-pod nut may not come back to the same location if I twist the HG off and put it back.... *sigh*...

I am looking for a way to sandblast or to sand my barrel without having to remove it.....

[Army]

First, I don't have the tools to remove the barrel.... secondly, DPMS don't recommend that I remove the handguard as the bi-pod nut may not come back to the same location if I twist the HG off and put it back.... *sigh*...

I am looking for a way to sandblast or to sand my barrel without having to remove it.....

If the handguards won't come off....so what? The barrel underneath will still be covered by sand colored handguards!

DuraCoat will stick very well to the park on the barrel as is, no need to beadblast. Just degrease heavily everything you want painted. By applying only very light coats at a time, there should be no reason to disassemble anything. Tape over the rear sight assembly, and make sure you rotate the selector between coats.

I did my Savage 12BVSS with the EZ Finishing Kit from Lauer Weaponry.

[taloft]

Now that is purple!

Damn, that thing looks like a purple mockup for a show. Maybe we should paint all the black rifles with every offbeat color, to confound the DOJ.

[Army]

I was going to paint it "electric Yellow", but my daughter thought that would have been too pretentious...

BTW, it will do this with factory ammo...