Refinish a 10/22 Receiver? <Pics Added>

[TenSeven]

Added pics, see post #15

<Foreword: This is a 2007-ish 10/22 with the matte-black fininsh, nothing special at all...>



So... today I stripped my 10/22 down to the bare receiver for a good cleaning.

Then I dropped the darn thing onto my concrete floor, and of course it hit 2-3 metal items on the way down.

Then, when I bent to pick it up, I accidentally kicked it 6 feet along across the floor.

Ugh... one bonehead move after another and now the part is pretty scratched up.

I decided to go ahead and sand and repaint it myself. After doing some sanding, I was not getting the results I had anticipated. The black finish (whatever it is, it is not ano or blue... I'm thinking it is krinkle-paint) from Ruger is pretty thick and I could not cleanly get to the inside of the receiver. I thought about having it sandblasted at a local shop would do the trick.

I have never had an aluminum part blasted before, is this OK or will the process damage the aluminum of the receiver?

Or should I get some chem paint-stripper (I hate that stuff, when I use it I never fail to get at least one small burn) and do it that way?

[BSlacker]

A talented blaster with good equipment will not harm the part. Will most likely use a walnut shell or soft such to blast it at a low pressure, takes a long time. Minimum is around 75 bucks just to look at a part. Good to get an even finish all over inside and out. Get a knuklehead to do it and your part will look bad waves and pits and such.
Use some lotion on unprotected skin wear a long sleeve shirt before putting on gloves too use remover, it will help with any splash or drip on skin. If you are not to far off this is what I would do.

[MAD SVT]

$100 should get you a bead blast and a powdercoat... just have them tape off the inside of the receiver and the part where the barrel slips into because it does add some thickness and is a PITA to sand off later.

I will be powdercoating my receiver on my next build because i i have a couple scratches and chips, and the chips just keep getting worse. I want a finish that scratch proof, and they have sooooo many colors.

The downside to powdercoating is that it traps the heat, like on car parts its better to use high temp paint then powdercoating on certain motor parts that need to cool. BUUUUT, i dont fire my 10/22 at a rate that will ever get hot enough to matter....

[TenSeven]

The guy at the shop told me he had blasted several firearm parts in the past.

5 minutes and $20 later, clean as a whistle.

[MAD SVT]

whatcha going to do with it once its bare? keep it that way? polish it? paint? powder coat? COME ON MAN!!! WHATCHA GOING TO DO!!!

but really.... whatcha going to do? =)

[TenSeven]

Sorry, but nothing exciting at all.

It has already been painted semi-gloss black and is hanging in the garage as it dries.

[MAD SVT]

still coool. lets see some finished pics... did you tape off the inside?

[TenSeven]

Wow! So I have received a couple of "how-did-you-do-that" PM's.

I had no idea this would be so exciting!

Unfortunately I did not take any pre and post blasting pics, but I will post some post-blast and painted pics when I can handle the receiver. With the weather and the paint I used, it takes a looooooong time to fully dry.

[TenSeven]

Oh,and now I know WHY the "finish" Ruger uses is so thick.

It is to cover the awful machining marks.

[Ifticar]

At this point why not just buy a new, better reciever?

http://www.shootersdiscount.com/cart/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=186

[MAD SVT]

for that kind of money, id get a kid receiver for 25 more...

Novak sells some inexpensive replacements. real metal clear finish.

[TenSeven]

At this point why not just buy a new, better reciever?

http://www.shootersdiscount.com/cart...&productId=186

I do have an eye on the VQ receiver and bolt. With those two parts and some pins, I will have a complete non-Ruger 10/22.

Lots-o-bucks tho and on Friday I picked up my GSG-5, so 10/22 will have to wait a while.

[supersteve9219]

so where are the pictures?

[TenSeven]

It ended up being so un-exciting that I blew off posting pics. It looks nice, but nothing earth shattering at all.

After blasting I put on 2 coats of Krylon semi-gloss black, sanded those coats (it was still a little rough from the blast job), then laid on 2 more coats of spray paint.

Instead of that rough kinkly-coat that came from Ruger, my receiver is now a smooth semi-gloss black. I only did this because when cleaning the rifle I fumbled the receiver and scratched the snot out of it. Other that I would not have fooled with it.

I'll see what I can come up with for pics in the next couple of days. Lots of Christmas family stuff to do first .

[TenSeven]

Ok, here are a few shots. Sorry for my less than stellar photographic skills...









You can plainly see the difference from the now-painted receiver and the stock Ruger finish that is still on the rail.