45 auto needs new finish

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I need to have a new finish on my .45 AUTO. I put this gun together several years ago . It has a stainless slide but the frame is regular steel. I sanded and polished it to a fine luster but before I could get it coated with something, blue, hard nickle or whatever my son asked to borrow it. Of course I loaned him the pistol, full box of hardball and a nice spotting scope. Before he got to shoot it he was ordered to Iraq. My wife and I met his wife for lunch a few days after he shipped out. While we were eating she informed me that one of them had spilled a coke on the case the pistol was in. Now it being made of lamb skin , the coke soaked thru and since he had not washed and oiled the pistol,well you can imagine how the unprotected steel looked. I have attached a picture. You can see the some of the pitting behind the grips close to the hammer. I could take the grips off and start trying to stone the pits out but the Browing design doesn't have much meat on the bone to start with. I was wondering if the green parkerizing I see on new pistols would help cover up the pits. By the way I never saw the box of hardball or my scope again. And him a captain in the Marines Corps. I still love him anyway. Anyone know where they do such finishing for pistols? Thanks

[NWFLYJ]

I need to have a new finish on my .45 AUTO. .................................................. .................................................. .... Anyone know where they do such finishing for pistols? Thanks


I think any one of my three sons could "finish" my .45 the same way, and mine is stainless:bigsmyl2:

Sorry having three boys I could not pass up on that! What about Cerakote?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQx-Xl9hp5c

I have had a couple of things done by these guys,
http://gulfcoastshooting.com/gcs/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=73

"GCS, LLC will remove the rust from your firearm with aluminum oxide, taking the metal parts down to a clean fresh surface. Areas of pitting will then be filled by spraying multiple coats of Lauer's DuraFil product. The surface areas will be hand-sanded down to the metal, leaving the filled pitting with a smooth, finishable surface. This can be a time-consuming process as it may have to be repeated several times depending on the deepness of the pitting (only so much filler should be used at any given time to allow proper curing of the underlying layers). "




Mark

[82nd airborne]

Have it bead blasted, then coated in KG gun coat. Inexpensive and more durable than parkerizing. It can withstand over 500 hours of continuous pressurized salt water spray. Good stuff.

[captaint]

+1 what 82nd said. Glass bead that thang. Then some kind of matte finish. enjoy Mike

[sqlbullet]

I have done a fair bit of research into this in the last two months as I have a EAA Witness in need of a refinish. I landed on gun coat as well, but decided on a different surface prep route. Here is my current plan.

Strip the gun and degrease. Blast the frame/slide with AO (aluminum oxide) to strip the existing "wonder" finish and remove the slight surface pitting. Degrease again, and drop in a manganese park tank until it stops bubbling. Remove and rinse thoroughly to remove the park solution. DO NOT GREASE OR OIL.

Next, once dry, spray with GunKote. Use at lease 4 coats. Brownell's has a great video on this step. The parkerizing will provide a better base for GunKote adhesion.

I have not yet had time to implement this plan. Once I do, I will likely post some before and after shots.

--Edit

Bead blasting does look nice, but everything I have read indicates this will degrade the adhesion of the GunKote finish. You want a base finish that provides a rough finish for the GunKote to grab onto. Again, Brownell's (http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=11837/GunTechdetail/Brownells_Spray_On_Paint_Series) has some great instruction videos for refinishing.

[82nd airborne]

Rufracer does all of our finishing with a sprayer and a cnc painting machine thingy. He does a darn good job, if you decide to go with Gun Kote, contact him for pointers.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

You people never cease to amaze me . To think that I asked for a solution to my problem and got answers within minutes. I do really appreciate all the help available on this site. You will all be rewarded in paradise, hopefully a little before then . Thanks again .