Metal prep tips for gun paint

[nekshot]

I am a dufus at painting guns. How do you do it? What solvent cleans best? How smooth do you make metal? Do you use a ecthing material? If pits or imperfections too deep to file out, What do you use as a filler and what do you apply to filler to keep it from causing a differance in the final coat? Does baking improve products that say air dry only? Any tips you could pass on would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

[mac60]

Nekshot, Ben has a recent thread about a really nice rifle he Built on a Mauser action. He did a great job on the stock and he painted the metal. You should have a look. As far as filler - duracoat makes a good one. If I had to fill any pits before I painted, I'd use bondo. It's available and easy to use. You don't have to make the metal perfectly smooth if you're gonna paint it. You need some tooth for the paint to stick well. Some paints that don't really call for baking respond well to it. Others it's not even needed. Duplicolor makes a paint I've had good luck with and VHT makes another. The duplicolor paint responds well to baking, with the VHT stuff it's not really even needed. Brownell's has some stuff they call aluma hyde, it's tuff stuff. But, like everything they sell it's pretty pricey. Whatever you use - LET IT CURE. Don't go handling it till it's fully cured. Almost forgot, for cleaning/degreasing I always use MEK. Theres so many other things you could use, but that's what I use.

[nekshot]

thanks mac, I read Bens article but I didn't want to make a thread drift. I do need bondo and I was concerned how to keep the filler from getting those dry spots on the finish coat. I also thought I read somewhere of a liquid that would etch the steel if your finish was too smooth but I can't find that article. Brownells recommend a light blast coat if I understand correctly.

[MMG13]

Have you looked at Duracoat ? I have thought about trying it on a recent build I did. Looks easy to apply and they sell a degreaser to,use before application. Just a thought Nate

[woodsxdragon]

I personally clean with acetone as long as stuff isnt metal and i've had good results. I've used duracoat, krylon (fusion), bbq paint and as long as i take my time and do multiple light coats they seem to hold up. I want to try that valspar stuff and see how it does some time.

[nekshot]

Ok, I have been messing around with the epoxy paint and bondo must be prepped better than preparation for car or dry spot will show. However I found if metal and bondo prepped area are warmed up with halogen shop lite (nice and warm to touch) and you spray bondo area with lite sprays it dries quickly then give it the heavy last coat the bondo does not show (so far- maybe in a week it will). I like the stuff, its kinda like the old imron we used to use on trucks and equipt. I still like rust blue finishes but this helps inferior metal surfaces look ok!

[mac60]

nekshot I've never used bondo, but figured since it's a metal filler it would work. I wonder how jb weld would do? Once that epoxy paint cures I guarantee it's tough stuff. Painting a gun was always looked at as amateurish and looked down on. We've got a lot of high tech. paints nowadays that provide such a good durable finish, I think if they were available in years past wouldn't have been looked down on so much.

[nicholst55]

Almost all of the spray finishes tell you to abrasive blast the metal first. If you're painting over parkerizing, you can eliminate that step, otherwise it's just about mandatory. Preheating the metal (and the paint) is called for by some. I've been using Brownells Gunkote on some bare aluminum AR-15 receivers, and it calls for both abrasive blasting and preheating. The prheat is a no-brainer here in AZ, I just set both the metal and paint out in the sun for a while!

In my limited experience, Duracoat sprays on too thick to be used for anything other than exterior applications on guns. I had one guy tell me that I wasn't thinning it enough, but I followed the manufacturer's directions to the letter. Gunkote sprays on much, much thinner, and can be used on internal applications. Norrell's Moly is supposed to be even more durable than Gunkote, so I'll probably drift in that direction eventually.

I believe that if I was going to be doing this professionally, I would look real hard at Cerakote; it has proven to be very, very durable. The important thing to remember with any of them, though, is that when all is said and done, it's still just paint.

A lot of guys were refurbing used FAL furniture over on the FAL Files at one time. They filled the scratches and dings on the plastic furniture with JB Weld, and then sanded everything smooth and painted over it. The pix that I saw looked quite presentable - especially for 50 year old milsurp battle rifle furniture.

[nekshot]

jb weld, why didn't I think of that! I have another pitted barrel to slobber stuff on this week and I am gonna use JB weld and I still will block it with scratch glaze and see how that works. The barrel that was warmed still is hiding the bondo!

[robroy]

Structural steel is most often phosphat coated and that is what Parkerizing is, a phosphate coating. It is porous enouth to hold the paint. I would guess it would hold fillers just as well.

[nekshot]

today I sprayed a 95 mauser with a pitted barrel filled with JB. Sanded barrel on lathe with 120 then 150, no scratch putty, simply warmed the metal to warm to touch and painted. Total coverage and you would never know the barrel was pitted. For the action I brushed on that pink rust remover(forget the name), washed with water, warmed the metal and cleaned with acetone and sprayed. This VHT is great stuff, make sure you get the satin for a nicer look and no primer needed.

[foesgth]

I don't know what kind of gun you are painting. I have had very good luck with a technique I learned over at Weapons Guild. I use Rustoleum BBQ paint. Thin and spray multiple coats. Then bake in a 350 degree oven. This gives a very good hard semi-gloss coating. I have used this on AR lowers and 10-22 receivers I've built. I think the 2 part coatings like Duracoat are harder but you can't paint a gun for $2.00.

[nekshot]

I don't know what kind of gun you are painting. I have had very good luck with a technique I learned over at Weapons Guild. I use Rustoleum BBQ paint. Thin and spray multiple coats. Then bake in a 350 degree oven. This gives a very good hard semi-gloss coating. I have used this on AR lowers and 10-22 receivers I've built. I think the 2 part coatings like Duracoat are harder but you can't paint a gun for $2.00.

I sprayed 2 guns last week with header paint from Oreillys and after 200 degree bake this stuff is almost like ceramic or powder baked paint. Really is tougher than rust blue and I used a midnite metalic black and it looks like dark gray stainless steel. This painting is getting addictive (no pun) because when it is done I don't worry about it rusting!