anyone Duracoat a revolver?

[fgr39]

So my fiancee is finally getting into shooting and really likes revolvers. while looking I showed her the charter arms "lavender lady" and she liked it. Now, I don't think she will dig a .38 out of a 12oz gun and the.32 is not on the Maryland approved list. She likes my Taurus 327, shooting anything but .327 mag. I was thinking of getting her a two tone one and duracoating the frame lavender and leaving the cylinder stainless.

I havn't used duracoat before so I would like some feed back from folks who have. what kind of set up do I need? how do I make it look not look like it is plastic, etc. Thanks.

 

[19-3Ben]

I've thought of this as well. Interested to get some opinions on this. Bet you Duracoat flame cuts like crazy right over the B/C gap.

 

[camsdaddy]

I actually have a S&W 13-1that I'm in the process of redoing in durabake. So far I am pleased with the outcome. Once I'm done ill post before and after pics.

 

[Geezer Glide]

I have a Ruger Security Six that I had Cerecoated. It has held up real well.

 

[rule303]

I will be trying it on a Charter Arms undercover in the next few days, I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[Psa1m144]

I've seen some really successful projects with the Duracoat Shake n' Spray kits ($30), I'm planning on duracoating my Colt Agent in the near future. From what I've seen and heard, as long as you follow the instructions it will turn out great.

 

[roaddog28]

I have been looking at duracoat for my S&W model 36. I will probably go with the spray on kit. Its cheaper than cold blueing. This is a shooter that I carry.
Wish me luck,
Howard

 

[briansmithwins]

I don't have a revolver that's been duracoated but I did do a AK brake.

This is about 1 year worth of wear. It's chipped off the high points and the paint has eroded off where gas blasts it directly. The duracoat was applied over degreased parkerizing.

BSW

 

[Sam1911]

If you take the time to degrease very well and follow other metal prep instructions it will look good at first. Even if you do the best job ever, within a year of carry & use it's going to look just a little ratty. Where a bluing job or even a matte stainless finish picks up subtle bright edges and gentle worn spots (which seem to add to the 'character') the paint finishes show wear very starkly, and it really can't be touched up.

That might not matter much, though. By the time it looks a little rough, she might be totally in love with the gun and won't even notice the finish.

A few recommendations:
1) Get a cheap air-brush kit to spray with. Even those from the hobby shop that run on canned air work pretty well.

2) Pick up a cheap pair of pliers or hammer or something else to do as a test run before you do the gun, just to get used to the process and results before you're doing it for real.

3) Take the time to think very carefully about what you want finish on, and what you don't, and mask- or dam-off sensitive areas carefully! DuraCoat has a lot of "build" or finish thickness and will cause parts to not fit, cylinders to not turn, hammers to bind, and all kinds of trouble. Sanding it back out of the spots it shouldn't have gotten into is a LOT harder than keeping it out to begin with.

4) For a revolver, consider KG GunKote instead. It goes on MUCH thinner. (Like 0.004" optimal finish thickness.)

 

[Sam1911]

...the paint finishes show wear very starkly, and it really can't be touched up.

Like this:



The flats and smooth surfaces tend to stay pretty well coated, but paint on the edges gets knocked off pretty quickly and tends to chip a little, leaving a slightly ragged appearance.