Duracoat Question

Is there a difference in the spray coating concerning durability, protection or appearance if you spray on white steel vs blue or parkerized steel?

It shouldn't make a difference, but the metal should actually be sand blasted before spraying, rendering the question moot.

Probably the best approach would be Duracoat over parkerizing...

I did everything they asked to do for Cerama - Coat (which I know isn't the kind you're asking about) and it turned out great.
Rougher finished Mauser, cleaned well with acetone, and baked afterwards the way they instructed to do.
Looked great until I needed to use the rifle, and it scratches easy.
So the rifle I wanted for a beat around type rifle is taken care of just as well as any other nice rifle I own.
Considering cleaning it up and rebluing it.

I have stopped using gun coat and dura coat, in my shop, went strictly to Cerakote. I get a much better outcome and better durability. I use a gravity fed touch up gun for application on a broken sand blasted surface after a triple degreasing with acetone. Hanging the metal to be coated, then turning it 1/4 turn at a time, allows for two coats, evenly, while wet. Cerakote will not stick to itself when dry.
You can not pour the unused material back into the bottle, it will lump or turn solid. Thins with acetone, but is like spraying water, spray in very thin coats so as not to cause any runs. Mostly do Granite Black on rifles and shotguns used for foul weather hunting.

Thanks for the responses. I wasn't really thinking about blasting it but I should have. It makes sense that the paint needs an anchor profile of some sort to hold on to. The triple acetone treatment will be a key point to remember. I knew to use acetone but for the effort it seems like degreasing two more times is worth it.

Most of those finishes will stick better to a parkerized finish than bare blasted steel prepared with the correct media to tooth up the surface. Parkerizing is chemically bonded to the surface of the gun part and is porous allowing the finish to soak in.

I’m getting a barrel Duracoated locally. This shop parkerize first then Duracoat or Cerakotes.