protective coatings and painting

[Jackal]

My project has exposed several areas of raw steel, that have fortunately not gotten wet or moist enough yet to rust. Some of the parts are in friction zones, so paint would simply rub off almost immediately. Also some of the factory painted rivets are showing a bit of rust, so these areas would need to be addressed.

My question then, is what is the best way to seal the raw steel to protect it indefinitely?

Are there people who can sand blast for you; and what industry would they be in? How much are cheap sandblasters?

What is the deal with spray painting a gun with high-temp paint at room temperature and allowing it to dry vs. doing the same thing and putting it in an oven? That just sounds dangerous....dont those containers tell you not to put the contents near flame or heat?

[P89]

There really isn't a way to protect metal indefinetly, if care is not taken to prevent corosion it will eventually happen. Anyone in the automotive, machining, or metal fab industries should have a media blasting cabinet.
Which brings us to the media...stay away from the sand, glass or other really abrasive media. I would suggest baking soda.
Here's a link if you'd like to do it yourself.
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...RY&itemID=1310

I just used Dura-Coat finish on my buddies gun. It's a really nice durable finish. We didn't bake it or anything, just don't touch it for a week or so. The reason people use heat is just to speed up the "flash" process, some might argue it provides a harder surface. Nothing wrong with letting it dry at room temp., just make sure it 65 degrees or more...also watch the humidity, were looking for dry heat. I did it in a garage with a woodstove going using a airbrush for the toleranced areas & an HVLP gun for the rest. No we did not blow up. The only time this becomes a concern is when the overspray becomes saturated in the air...then you run the risk of a flash fire if near open flame. If that happens prepare to smell burnt hair, chances are you'll survive, you'll just be hairless.


I forgot to mention that they do have a product called Dura-Bake which you'll need the oven...it's like powder coating.

[Jackal]

Thanks for the info. How is regular old auto store high temp paint?

Also, what is parkerizing and bluing, would these things help to keep the raw steel protected from wear and rust in friction zones?

[P89]

I'd stay away from the rattle can. It will chip & flake off.

Because I don't posess NineseveN typing skills I'll give you this...

Parkerizing (also called phosphating and phosphatizing) is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of an electrochemical phosphate conversion coating. Parkerizing is usually considered to be an improved zinc or manganese phosphating process, and not to be an improved iron phosphating process, although some use the term parkerizing as a generic term for applying phosphating (or phosphatizing) coatings that does include the iron phosphating process. Parkerizing is commonly used on firearms as a more effective alternative to bluing, which is another electrochemical conversion coating that was developed earlier. The Parkerizing process cannot be used on non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, brass, or copper. It similarly cannot be applied to steels containing a large amount of nickel, or on stainless steel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkerizing

Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe3O4), the black oxide of iron, which occupies the same volume as normal iron. Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action.

In contrast, rust, the red oxide of iron (Fe2O3), does not occupy the same volume as iron, thereby causing the typical reddish rusting away of iron. Both "cold" and "hot" oxidizing processes are called bluing, but only the "hot" process provides any significant rust and corrosion resistance, and then only when also treated with an oiled coating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_%28steel%29

[Jackal]

Thanks bud, there are enough threads and info on parkerizing to get me started.

[DeltaII5]

I've always heard that Gunkote is supposed to be the best. Supposed it can be used on working surfaces and will not come off. It's partly ceramic I believe, which would be the reason for it's durability. It does require baking though.

I have Duracoated several guns. It's a good finish, but does wear. If I had ovens to hold big parts, I'd get something else.

[Jackal]

I think what I will do is parkerize the parts after I blast them with soda or something less abrasive than sand, then I will duracoat them if they are external or leave them parkerized if internal.

[SteveWag]

I have done a lot of rifles using baking lacquer. I use Black Beauty blasting media and a $100 Chinese blasting cabinet. The baked on paint is indestructible, even in wearing surfaces. Some of the stuff Brownells sells has Moly as part of the paint, very slippery. See this link:

http://www.gswagner.com/6.5matchrifl...tchrifle3.html

and

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/bob/bob8.html

and

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/bob/bob9.html

I bake long guns here:

http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/heater/heater1.html

You need not fear anything but your wife if you bake in the house. Smell is bad! BUT, you could do a handgun in a toaster oven outside. There is NO danger from explosion or fire. The paint absolutely stops the metal from rusting, the only other thing is chrome plating, Parkerizing and/or bluing will not keep rust away.
Steve

[aubie515]

I found a local company that does bedliner spraying and they normally blast my parts for me. Call around to some auto shops and they should be able to blast the parts for you.

As far as finishes are concerned...not all finishes are the same. The thermal cured finishes such as Norrell's Moly Resin and KG Gunkote will be much more durable compared to air cured products like Dura Coat.

The advantage of Duracoat is that you don't need to bake the parts and you can get a wide variety of colors and camo patterns.

A disadvantage of using Duracoat is because it is an air cured product and it takes a long time to cure. Most will say 3-4 weeks for it to fully air cure.

With thermal cure...you bake the parts at 300 degrees for an hour and it's ready for use once it cools down.

Disadvantage of thermal cured finishes is that it is not offered in as many color options.

I personally prefer thermal cured finishes and have used both Norrells and KG. I prefer KG over Norrell's because it seems to apply smoother and it doesn't have the strong odor as Norrell's.

I have seen some messed up Duracoat jobs and I will be sticking with KG and Norrells.

The key to any refinishing project is preparation. Make sure that there is no grease on the parts.