air dry finishes..

[cst]

I am too lazy to send my barrel off to get coated so Im looking into the air dry Duracoat and cerakote kits out there....Being air dried...I assume the the finishes are not as tough as the even cured finishes right?

[mongoosesnipe]

No it won't be as tough, that being said if you thuroghly degrease you can get a pretty good finish with spray paint

I have more than a few firearms which have received the krylon touch, though I prefer rustolium..... Wait for a hot low humidity day and give it a few light coats let it hang and do not touch it for 24 hours min and you will have a decent finish and when it starts to chip which will take between 5 min and 5years depending on how rough you are just give it another coat...

[montana]

Cerakote air dry is a very high heat resistant coating, better than the heat cure for resisting heat. You have to prep your barrel and make sure it is clean but it is a decent coating and the preferred coating if your barrel get's hot.

http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/

[Sputnik]

I used the air dry Cerakote on my 16 inch Liberty barrel. It is easy and looks great. It may not be as tough as oven baked, but it is tough enough.

[stanprophet]

So far I am happy with the Alumahyde II, very easy to spray and dried very hard. I did cheat cheat a bit and baked the parts in the oven for 3 hours at 170 degrees. Dollar for dollar I think it is the best durability for the value.



Tan rifle was done in Coyote, was previously rattle canned camo and that was stripped off. Runs around 10 bucks a can, and it goes a long ways. If you do go this route, spend a couple of bucks and get the extra tips.

[montana]

So far I am happy with the Alumahyde II, very easy to spray and dried very hard. I did cheat cheat a bit and baked the parts in the oven for 3 hours at 170 degrees. Dollar for dollar I think it is the best durability for the value.



Tan rifle was done in Coyote, was previously rattle canned camo and that was stripped off. Runs around 10 bucks a can, and it goes a long ways. If you do go this route, spend a couple of bucks and get the extra tips.

Those came out looking great, nice job!

[Whelenon]

I did a Rust-Oleum rattle can on this Ithica 37. I'm very happy with the results but this was a project gun that a buddy was going to scrap so I had nothing to lose. For my Grendel I'd go with the cerakote.

Before:



After:

[montana]

Nice camouflage job, night and day difference.

[stanprophet]

Here are a couple more photo's after they were sprayed









These pictures are not as good. Really I think any of the options of Duracoat, Ceracoat, Alumahyde will work fine. As with anything paint related it is all in the prep work. There is also some good video's online that help, Brownells has a nice video on the Alumahyde and it really helped nail it pretty good.

Like any surface they can scratch, and the longer it cures before rough handling the better it will be.

[Drifter]

I've successfully used Alumahyde II and Duracoat Shake N Spray. But I still prefer to bake the parts after coating for a better cure.

Of those two, Duracoat is a better finish and easier to get good results with. The flattening agent is recommended with Duracoat to cut shine and glare.

No experience applying Cerakote.

[stanprophet]

Here is the rattle can before.



The rail was refinished and so was the stock, stock is now on the grendel, and the rail is being saved for a 50 wulf build in the future, being replaced by a rifle length Midwest Keymod rail.

[stanprophet]

I did a Rust-Oleum rattle can on this Ithica 37. I'm very happy with the results but this was a project gun that a buddy was going to scrap so I had nothing to lose. For my Grendel I'd go with the cerakote.

Before:



After:

Very nice job!