80% AR15 coating options

[WDE91]

I was wondering what most of you guys are using for the coating on your 80% AR15 builds

Ive heard that type 3 anodizing is very expensive when you have a single piece done

I want quality but yet at the same time I dont want something that is outrageously expensive

Ive heard that some guys do Ceracoat and Duracoat on their lowers
How well does that hold up as it ages?

Thank you for your help and suggestions

[verapakill]

I powder coated my last build and it hasnt caused any problems. Ive seen Duracoats that have lasted many years with out a problem so thats always a good option.

[Akers]

Call an anodizer and see if they can slip you in on another order. You will pay maybe 20-25 bucks. Or you can pm Roccobro on here, he has a connection (look at his signature) and he is a great guy to boot.

[WDE91]

Call an anodizer and see if they can slip you in on another order. You will pay maybe 20-25 bucks. Or you can pm Roccobro on here, he has a connection (look at his signature) and he is a great guy to boot.

Thank you for that lead
people that know people that know people FTW

I will shoot him a message

[xoutxkastx]

+1 on Justin. I believe he has a batch he is sending to the annodizer end of this month.

[WDE91]

+1 on Justin. I believe he has a batch he is sending to the annodizer end of this month.

Thank you sir
I just sent him a message

Though my 80% lower is currently in 100% form
I dont know if thats going to make things more challening
hopefully not

[jbl_1967]

I tried home anodizing one of my ARs and it turned out ok. It was pretty expensive to setup and a pain to monitor. I might try it again, because I have the setup, but wouldn't advise you to jump in for a single AR.

On a second AR, I tried cerakote. This worked extremely well. You will need an air compressor, sand blaster, airbrush, and access to an oven.

Sand blasters are pretty cheap ($25 or so) and I used a $7 Harbor Freight air brush. Having a blasting cabinet makes life a lot easier. I made one from a 32 gallon storage bin at OSH and found I use it a lot more than I thought I would.

The first AR I did was a learning experience. Its pretty easy to get a nice thin coat, but you need to make sure you have them attached to something you can use to hang and move the parts without the parts shifting on the hangar. I smudged an upper before baking and had to use carb cleaner to blow off the wet finish, dried it, and re-coated.

You should be able to coat an upper and a lower with a single airbrush bottle and have some left over for good measure.

As for wear, so far so good. I have about 1000 rounds through the first weapon I coated and haven't had any major issues.

One of the ARs I coated is currently for sale, and pictured, here:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=551854

[Seesm]

No need for Type 3 on a AR lower... Type 2 is fine... Most of the ano shops will charge you a "lot fee" 1-5 qty costs the same... If its machined already you have to stay at the anodizer while they do it.