Gunkote'd my 870

[Voo]

The last time I took out my 870 was about ~2-3 months ago. After that, I simply threw it back in the case and forgot about it. I went to use it at Burro over this weekend and when I opened the case, surprise, surprise.. rust spots. There's not much that's going to stop an 870 from working, but at the same time, I certainly don't want it turning reddish brown on me. So with that, Project Gunkote was born.

I started gathering up my stuff. Here's what I used:

Iwata Airbrush
Compressor + Regulator
KG Gunkote (OD Green)

Acetone (or you can use MEK)
Vapor Mask (w/ organic filter) - NOTE: Please use the correct filter. The cheap dust/paper ones you see in the store offer NO PROTECTION against acetone and paint thinner. Please do everyone a favor- stay smart, stay healthy by using the right mask.

Painters tape
Q-tips
Simple Green
Basic tools (screw driver, wrench, hammer. ok im kidding about the hammer)
Shop rags
Safety wire (for hanging)
Disposable gloves

An oven (I used my brothers - shhhhh :x. Use your gf's/wife's/mom's oven at your own peril!!)

Once I had everything, I started the laborious task of getting it ready for paint. I ended up spending 1 good afternoon disassembling, cleaning and then degreasing the rifle. The actual act of spraying it took about 35 minutes spraying it vs the 2-3 hours of breaking it down, cleaning and getting it ready. I didnt beadblast or hit it with anything other than simple green and acetone to remove the grease. But if I had the time and access to a blasting cabinet and a parkerizing tank, I might have gone that route. YMMV.

Once it was all ready, I took my safety wire and attached it to the various spots as to avoid any exterior surface contact. Setting it up ahead of time allowed me to quickly spray light coats by moving from part to part. I simply sprayed it with several light layers switching between the barrel, tube extension, and receiver (plus small parts). Once I sprayed everything with several light coats, I let it air dry overnight.

Next morning I simply hung the items in the oven and cranked the heat up to 325 degrees F. OPEN all your windows, turn on all your fans and go have a beer outside for a few hours. KG Gunkote recommends heating the parts at 325 degrees for 1 hour. I left the items in there for more than 2 hours at the recommended temp.

Since I didnt document any of the cleaning, prep or spraying portions, I'll fast forward to the final phases. There wasn't much involved in getting this ready other than elbow grease and degreaser. Disassembly/Assembly is pretty straightforward with special care taken not to torque the action arms when removing the nut that holds the forearm in place. Other than this, the whole project was very very simple to do. I've sprayed/baked a few rifles and a couple of pistols, this by far was the easiest project to complete.

Here are the parts- sprayed, baked and laid out.


Here's it completed


Here's the left


Here's the right


Here's a closer view of the side


You'll see some lint on the receiver, this isn't part of the finish. I ended up wiping it down with a t-shirt after assembly and it got lint everywhere. While there ARE some tiny flaws here and there, for me, the looks come in a distance second to the anti-corrosion protection Gunkote provides.

IMHO, it looks pretty damn good and in all likelihood, I'll probably never have to clean it again

[Gio]

Looks really nice, I like it

-Gio

[CmpsdNoMore]

That's an awesome job!

[Black Majik]

That looks awesome!!

Why couldn't you have done this before Burro. It would have saved us a lot of time figuring out who's shotgun was whos.

[SCMA-1]

Looks excellent! GunKote is great stuff!

[shoupdawg]

Did you use charcoal, propane, or hickory when you baked it in the Weber? j/k...looks nice my man.

[Voo]

Did you use charcoal, propane, or hickory when you baked it in the Weber? j/k...looks nice my man.

hahah .. i was wondering if anyone was gonna say anything about the grill It's propane and, YES, I did think about using it.. for a split second anyways.

Anyways, thanks for the feedback guys.. It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time but after a long and 'illustruous' history of "DIY" moments, I've refrained from mucking with stuff that works..

This, however, turned out better than most of my other escapades.

[West coast]

Looks good, nice job....

[DVLDOC]

Tacticool!

[jeffyboy]

Very nicely done

[BamBam-31]

Looks good! Why OD, tho'? Been checking out the Wilson Combat site again?

(Btw, is that a pink towel in the first pic? )

[Beetle Bailey]

Very nice job! And OD is a great choice.

[xxdabroxx]

looks good, but your Iwata must have a larger cup than mine. I GK'd a frame for a paintball marker and i was running out constantly. So before my dad and i refinished a savage we had laying around we picked up a mediocre trim gun from a local paint shop. Worked much better.

Be sure and let us know how it holds up with out blasting. They say to blast it, and are even specific about not using glass beads. So i wonder how much of a difference it will really make.

Did you heat the parts prior to spraying like they want you?

[Turbinator]

Very nice job, I like it. I may be inspired to do something like that on my own as well.

Turby

[Voo]

looks good, but your Iwata must have a larger cup than mine. I GK'd a frame for a paintball marker and i was running out constantly. So before my dad and i refinished a savage we had laying around we picked up a mediocre trim gun from a local paint shop. Worked much better.

Be sure and let us know how it holds up with out blasting. They say to blast it, and are even specific about not using glass beads. So i wonder how much of a difference it will really make.

Did you heat the parts prior to spraying like they want you?

Yea, my Iwata is a bit small and I had to refill constantly. It's not bad once you get it down to a routine. It helps if you jury rig a holder of some sort for the airbrush as you pour the GK. I would very much like a new sprayer, but I rarely ever do this sort of thing.

In regards to everything else, you dont need to bead blast, parkerize, and then heat it. I've done everything as they recommend but it's not absolutely critical before as I've also done items without following their recommendation. It's like anything else that gets sprayed or coated. Do you need to resurface it? It totally depends. If the finish were completely smooth, like a high gloss, then yes, you would want to give the surface a bit more 'tooth' so that the GK has something to bite into. The finish on my 870 did not have that high gloss piano finish. It was very rough and very textured- perfectly ready to accept paint (after a degreasing of course). The heating of parts is tricky as it tends to instantly dry the paint, causing a grittier finish. In my experience, heating the part causes the paint to immediately dry upon contact, and not allow it to 'smooth' out. With the heat, it tends to leave you with a surface that has noticeable 'grit' to it. I personally do not like this so I opted not to heat it.

In all honesty, Gunkote has never held up well for me. I've used it, Brownells moly resin, Duracoat, and I find all these spray/bake to cure type finishes very limited. They do look good when fresly sprayed, but they do chip and wear, and when they do, the gun often looks really bad. The corrosion resistance against rust, however, is SUPERB. This is the main reason for doing this. I rarely shoot my 870 and most of the time, it sits in a closet or in a case. Now with the gunkote on there, I wont need to worry about it rusting anymore