Coating a bolt action receiver

[DonHowe]

I am considering spray-coating a bolt action barrel/receiver and am wondering just how the receiver is commonly done. Mask off interior surfaces or???

[Texas by God]

I use rolled up paper towels packed into the bolt raceway and masking tape as needed. If using a bake on paint remove it before baking of course.....

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[DonHowe]

I use rolled up paper towels packed into the bolt raceway and masking tape as needed. If using a bake on paint remove it before baking of course.....

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Thanks for your response.

[Buck Shot]

I forget what temperature bake-on finishes like Gun-Kote call for, but I would make sure it wouldn't do anything bad to any heat treatment that the receiver might have had first...you're probably OK, but personally I would ascertain this before firing up the oven and possibly normalizing something that should remain hardened...

[DonHowe]

What tempera u use is required to anneal steel? Will an oven get that hot?

[Buck Shot]

I don't think you need to anneal/normalize it (which usually requires you to go to "critical" / non-magnetic temperature...which is close to orange) to damage it...if the receiver was hardened through heat treating, to mess up the heat treating, all you need to do is exceed the "tempering" temperature, which is likely quite a bit lower and can go as low as 350°F (not necessarily for guns, but for some things).

Easiest thing probably would be to contact the mfgr of the coating and ask about the gun you're planning to coat and the temperature required. Or call Brownells.

[RoyEllis]

I don't think you need to anneal/normalize it (which usually requires you to go to "critical" / non-magnetic temperature...which is close to orange) to damage it...if the receiver was hardened through heat treating, to mess up the heat treating, all you need to do is exceed the "tempering" temperature, which is likely quite a bit lower and can go as low as 350°F (not necessarily for guns, but for some things).

Easiest thing probably would be to contact the mfgr of the coating and ask about the gun you're planning to coat and the temperature required. Or call Brownells.

Not an issue with coatings for firearms, KG Gun Kote bake cure 325 for 1 hr, Cerakote 250 for 2 hrs and I haven't used Duracoat for several years so don't recall cure (wasn't durable enough). Does anyone really suppose a coating mfg would ask for the liability issues of their product ruining the heat treatment of a gun? Can you say mega-trillion $$$ lawsuit? Gun Kote was developed and first marketed for Navy Seal equip to make theater specific camo patterns and exhibited quick application by armorers and featured very long abrasion and salt spray resistance.