metal finish????

[ebb]

I have an old gun or 2 that need the metal redone with something and I am trying to decide what to use. I am in the process of building a rust remover, that Mark Novak and the guy from the Cinnabar call a conservation pot I guess. But when the rust is gone, what? the projects do not warrant the time and energy to rust blue, gun-coat or Cera-coat are expensive just for materials. Don't get me wrong both of these methods have a place. Is there such a thing as a decent metal finish that is relatively quick and durable. The cold blues I have tried have left me wanting something better. What has been your experience????

 

[Fast14riot]

I have a couple AR15 receivers done in Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II rattle can. Holds up pretty decent.

 

[three percent]

Oxpho blue matches something that might work well and be cheap from your description

 

[Walt Krafft]

You want cheap Krylon in a can. Better Cerakote.

 

[ebb]

Thanks guys. Ive done several with KG Guncoat but they recommend blasting with aluminum oxide and it leaves the metal rough. Have any of you Parkerized? I was also wondering about the finish that most gun rags call black oxide, can it be done at home? Ive used Aluma hide on aluminum but not steel, will heat make it cure harder? I tried Gun coat without the blasting and it is not as durable even if heated as instructions.

 

[CCM]

Thanks guys. Ive done several with KG Guncoat but they recommend blasting with aluminum oxide and it leaves the metal rough. Have any of you Parkerized? I was also wondering about the finish that most gun rags call black oxide, can it be done at home? Ive used Aluma hide on aluminum but not steel, will heat make it cure harder? I tried Gun coat without the blasting and it is not as durable even if heated as instructions.

If you're getting a rough finish with Gunkote you're either getting dry spray or your media is too aggressive. 120grit at around 40psi.
You should be blasting before parkerizing also.

 

[Ggmac]

Semi gloss engine paint . Bake in your grill or under the hood of your truck . Motor running of course . Keep at 250-300 for 1 hour . Looks great and very durable , chemical resistant.

 

[shortgrass]

Thanks guys. Ive done several with KG Guncoat but they recommend blasting with aluminum oxide and it leaves the metal rough. Have any of you Parkerized? I was also wondering about the finish that most gun rags call black oxide, can it be done at home? Ive used Aluma hide on aluminum but not steel, will heat make it cure harder? I tried Gun coat without the blasting and it is not as durable even if heated as instructions.

"black oxide" is nothing more than your standard 'hot bluing'.

 

[jdh47]

You can do the prep for the finish you want and have it hot blued pretty reasonable. It really depends on the quality gun it is and what you are trying to achieve. on fine guns I like rust blue but that's expensive because it requires a lot of work and time. The finish isn't as shiny as a hot salt blue but that depends on the level of polish you do on the metal.

 

[Walt Krafft]

I don't know of anything that can be done at home other than paint. Even paint can be a problem with blasting and baking required. Lots of people are setup to do it. It will be cheaper to pay one of them to get it done than set yourself up.

 

[CharlieNC]

I've done several cold bluing projects with decent results. Polish with fine grit emery cloth and thoroughly degrease. Heat the metal with hot water, apply the bluing, hot rinse while wiping with extra fine steel wool, and repeat the process until the depth of color is achieved.

 

[drover]

You want cheap Krylon in a can. Better Cerakote.

I am in the Krylon camp. There are various shades of black, personally I prefer the Matte or Satin, they also have a barbeque and engine paint if you are concerned about heat, but I have never found that to be a problem.
They all hold up good and if it should start to show a bit of wear or gets a chip it is a 5 minute touch up job. Total cost $7.99

drover

 

[ebb]

I built a plywood box and lined it with sheet metal to bake in. It has a hole drilled for the snout of my heat gun, and a BBQ thermometer. I was a little too ambitious though and is a little big and one heat gun struggles to keep 300 degrees but it does 275 285 with 300 coming on at the end of the hour. Country custom you read me like a book. I have no idea where to get 120 aluminum oxide so I have been using play sand from the depot. Just recently I blasted a trailer and bought bags of sand from Florida sand and silica, maybe a good place to start. Thanks guys learning is like farting the more you do it the betteryou feel but in this case understand. What a thunderstorm we are having right now, and i was burning pine needles it looks like apocalypse now in my back yard.

 

[DirtySteve]

Cerakote.. and you just need a good sprayer and way to heat the painted parts to bake them. You can make a soaking tank out of PVC pipe for barreled actions. Just don't leave it soaking too long or the acetone with weaken it. You should sand blast it but I have used rough sand paper with good results before I bought a cheap sand blaster. A little of the product goes a long way.

 

[JTEX]

Rust bluing is not hard! I do it all the time, using this product and the steam method it is a piece of cake and not expensive.

I can do a barreled action in about three days depending on the humidity....

Bob is A great guy and will answer your questions.

Blog | Rust Blue

www.rustblue.com

 

[ebb]

Thanks for the link JTex. I was hoping for something that I could wipe on and it would be as tough as hard chrome. You know some a dummy could do in a few minutes with superior results. Looks like work is involved. Rust blue may be for me in the end.

 

[shortgrass]

With an "Express Blue", like Mark Lee, it can be done in a day. Not the same as 'slow rust', but close, and durable too. As with any 'bluing', metal prep and cleanliness are of utmost importance. The very best 'rust remover' I have found is draw filing with a mill bastard file.