Duracoat Help

Smokin250

Smokin250

New member
Ive been painting guns, and random other things for a few years now with the trusty ole krylon, but as you all know it really doesn't quite do the trick for the long haul. I have recently been thinking about trying to get into duracoat. Ive read a little about it and seems like something you don't want to just order and start spraying. My understanding is that there are several steps involved in preping the product before painting. I have also heard that there are two types you can use, one being a type that you need to use an oven to cure. Basically i am trying to just get a feel from some of you guys that already use this product...

What kind of steps are involved..

Is duracoat the best product to use? Or should i take a look at ceracoat?

Also, what kind of equipment will i need to be able to start out?

Any info you guys have for me will be greatly appreciated. I am sure i will think of more questions, but for now this is it...

Thanks
Brian.
 
Smokin- I was also going to do the paint thing but ended up backing off for a while. I wanted to do it for myself and for a side job income. You will probably want an air compressor, a good air brush. Depending on how hard you want to get into this, a sand blaster to clean and prep parts and an oven. Then, a place to do it as your family probably wont like it if you paint in the garage. Smell is pretty strong. The main reason I backed off is I HEARD ( not for sure) you needed an FFL to dis-assemble and re-assemble firearms. I have also heard an FFL is not needed if I wasnt modifing the firearms. I dont know for sure one way or the other.
I am sure there are others on here that can help you more than I can.
 
You shouldn't need ffl to take them apart. But i plan on really just doing it for myseld and friends. I have compressor, I just need air brush, and was curious what all products I needed to start up.
 
I have not used KG Gun-Kote, but I despise DuraCoat. It takes roughly 3-4 times as long to fully cure compared to Cerakote, it's a 2 part product that needs to be mixed thoroughly and in the correct ratio or it won't adhere or protect properly.
DuraCoat DOES have more color options though. I'll give them that.
Something, anything that doesn't need to be mixed is just easier to work with.

Competitor 1 is KG Gun-Kote
Competitor 2 is DuraCoat

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I bought their starter kit and have done 2 camo rifles, my 17HMR in all black, my AR barrel black, my shooting sticks, and I'm gettting ready to do my brothers Marlin 60 in the next week or so. I called Lauer several times before ordering to make sure I was doing everything right and once or twice while doing my first. It really isn't hard to do. The main thing to be careful with is prepping the surfaces. Make sure everything is scuffed and degreased completely. The finish will only be as strong as your prep work. I sand everything with 600grit sandpaper and clean with carb and choke cleaner or their Tru-Strip. I wear surgical gloves and a paper mask rated for paint fumes and particles and I run a box fan in the basement window when I work. I bought their starter kit and did my T/C Omega muzzleloader with the peel and spray templates in French Army camo. The Knight Wolverine I did with painters tape and a razor knife. Make sure you protect tight tolerance areas from the paint like triggers and take down pins, scope dial and optics need protecting too. Rig up some wire hangers from tie wire or coat hangers and have at it. Make sure you let your previous coat dry 24hrs before appling stencils. The paint dries in about 30 minutes or less, but the stencil adhesive could leave marks if not cured a day first. It is much easier to spray than Krylon, much harder to get runs and can be applied with a closer spray pattern. Clean up and fumes are a bit rough. Make sure to clean your airbrush as soon as you finish spraying and it will last. I keep lots of paper towels and paint thinner handy as well as a good box of surgical gloves. It sticks to the hands pretty bad. Here's a few of mine so far. I hunted with my Omega hard this year and beat it around pretty good. With the exception of my buddies treestand teeth sawing on the barrel of my muzzleloader in the back of the Jeep, it held up great. Not sure too much is going to tolerate that kind of abuse,
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I just want to add the Knight muzzleloader wasn't mine. A buddy left it set for 5 years without cleaning it. He was going to trash it and I asked to play with it and practice, I would never let my rifle end up like that
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T/C Omega before:
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After:
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Knight Wolverine before:
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After:
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Wow that's sweet. Like you mentioned acorey, I am just nervous im going to mess it up...I wanted to know what all I needed. Do you sand even if its a matt. (Parkerized) finish. I read on website you didn't need to.

As far as cerakoat goes...is it the same process as duracoat?
 
I'd say as long as the surface is degreased, rust free, has some tooth to adhere to, and not flaking, then spray on. The kit I bought has done both camo rifles and still have plenty left for atleast one more. I did buy more black and hardener, but I put three base coats of black on mine before the other coats. Mixing isn't that bad, pour it in the beaker in a 1-12 ratio and dump in the spray gun. I'm sure you could nit pick the ratios and play with the reducer and the effects, but I just do the above and use the Duracoat SL and have not needed reducer yet. I'm not charging for my work, but I think what I've done so far rivals some that I have seen that others have been charged for. I don't have the ability to oven cure large pieces like barrels and some stocks shouldn't be baked, so I went with Duracoat. I am having a barreled action Cerakoted this Winter with a single color base coat and my stock Duracoated to match. I'll likely camo over the Cetakote with either Krylon or Duracoat to get the pattern I want. duracoat something inexpensive if you're nervous. I have a piece of plywood in my spray area that I test my spray pattern adjustment on before I hit my parts. Try it on a cheap pellet gun, shooting sticks, metal broom or mop handle and get a feel for how it works. I duracoated my thermos to get rid of the shine and to use up the extra paint in the sprayer. Another thing I do to ensure absolute hardness is put the finished gun in the closet and forget about it for a month. Duracoat hardens as it ages, like concrete. Even though it is hard enough to use in a week or so, I like to let mine sit a full 30 days. I have enough guns that one out of the herd for 30 days doesn't mean much. I usually coordinate the work around hunting seasons.
 
Yes cerakote has basically the same process as DuraCoat, and like DuraCoat...it also has 2 different kinds. Air Dry or Bake on. Simply degrease everything, sand or sandblast the stuff you need/want to and spray away.
The thing I like about it is that if you have extra in your air brush, you don't need to waste it on something or just pour it out. You can put it right back in with the rest of the container.
The sand blasting gun I got on Ebay for about $12 and 50 pounds of blasting media costs roughly $8 at Runnings.
Air brush cost me $35 at Runnings but its AWESOME. I've worked with 3 different ones, and this one is my favorite, its chrome, gravity fed and has a 7cc cup. My air compressor has a moisture trap so I didn't opt for the brush that had one installed.
 
HVLP guns are said to work better than airbrushes from what I am told. I have never done it myself. Would like to give it a go.

I only use cerakote on my guns. It is better than Duracoat or KG IMO....
 
cbass16, are the figures above all based on air cure for each product line? I've seen that Duracoat has a durabake and I knew Cerakote did, but didn't know about their air cure. I haven't done anything with KG. I do like the variety of colors in the Duracoat line, but would switch for base coating. I won a certificate for a complete Cerakote job and the guy didn't mention the air cure being available. He said he'd have to durcaoat my stock since it couldn't be baked.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOREYcbass16, are the figures above all based on air cure for each product line? I've seen that Duracoat has a durabake and I knew Cerakote did, but didn't know about their air cure. I haven't done anything with KG. I do like the variety of colors in the Duracoat line, but would switch for base coating. I won a certificate for a complete Cerakote job and the guy didn't mention the air cure being available. He said he'd have to durcaoat my stock since it couldn't be baked.

I just sent NICs an email asking directly what kind of KG Gun-Kote they used, and if they used the DuraBake for the test.

I know the bake on kind of Cerakote was used in the test, but had to send an email to find out about the others.
 
Originally Posted By: 2muchgunHVLP guns are said to work better than airbrushes from what I am told. I have never done it myself. Would like to give it a go.

I only use cerakote on my guns. It is better than Duracoat or KG IMO....
I have a HVLP gun with .8mm tip that came with my 6 color kit directly from Cerakote. I can say this. It will fog your cerakote on FAST if you're not careful. I used it with 30 psi on the lowest setting possible (volume turned as low as it goes) and used almost an entire container before I even realized it.

For a base coat or if you're doing 2 or 3 guns, I think it is the way to go because it only takes 2-3 minutes, but you need to know that when it says High Volume, Low Pressure. It means HIGH VOLUME!

I'm also a dedicated cerakote user now. I gave duracoat a fighting chance last summer, but won't ever try it again. Not nearly as easy to work with.
 


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