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i want my g36 slide refinished. anybody here an expert with duracoat? prefer od green or like an fde color.

It's a pretty easy DIY deal, with a $10 airbrush.

Not a fan of Duracoat if your going to holster the firearm

cajunautoxer wrote:Not a fan of Duracoat if your going to holster the firearm

I've been considering getting another G27 or G22 and having this done in a tan color. What have you noticed? From what I've read it seems like it should hold up just fine.

I have a buddy that does gunsmithing and you'll get holster wear pretty quickly. I've only Duracoat'd my AKs and S12s

Baking is optional on Durakote.
I wonder if baking it improves wear resistance.

Rex B wrote:Baking is optional on Durakote.
I wonder if baking it improves wear resistance.

I've read that baking causes it to lose it's "elasticity." This elasticity is what is supposed to make it better than other products.

I've always let my rifles cure for at least 30 days before I shoot them

Rex B wrote:Baking is optional on Durakote.
I wonder if baking it improves wear resistance.

Duracoat is a non bake finish they tell you not to bake it. If you want a baking finish you want something else. I've duracoated several guns with remarkable results.

I did a gun (1911) once with the baking stuff from Brownell's and was very unhappy with the result. The secret is to blast the surface and degrease everything before applying the Duracoat.

I have recently undertaken a DIY project with duracoat, which I botched something fierce.

The primary reason for me to duracoat was rust prevention. I have two "kick around" type of guns that come with me places where my cleaning supplies and proper storage do not follow. I carry a Taurus 1911 on a family friend's hunting lease, personal protection against smaller critters. The last time I went out there, I didn't have my cleaning supplies with me and the grip safety started rusting after a few days of sweat and humidity.

The other is my Kel-tec PF9, which I carry daily. The fit and finish on them things are ugly and prone to rust.

I bought two colors direct from Lauer Weaponry. "Tactical" matte black and "tactical" coyote brown. The tactical means it has a lower reflective value than their other color lines. Both were "self lubricating" (3 dollars more per bottle). I bought 2 Preval aerosol paint sprayers to do the airbrushing. Investing in a decent airbrush wouldn't be a bad idea. These preval sprayers go for 6-15 dollars a piece.



For the PF-9, I redid the slide in matte black. This came out really good other than the imperfections one would find on a DIY project by someone who isn't much of a DIY'er. The paint is flat as can be with little to no reflective value. The finish on the PF-9 slide was already kinda rough from the factory so I did not do much in terms of preparation other than degreasing it and wiping it down with acetone. I don't have pics of my PF-9. I can't speak much on holster wear, the Duracoat is not affected by my pocket holster (DeSantis Nemisis). I'd imagine it wouldn't agree with tough leather and kydex. Again, my primary reason for Duracoat is rust prevention, not looks.

On the 1911, I wanted the "Desert Warrior" color scheme but instead of OD or Desert Tan, I went with Coyote Brown...since it is personal protection weapon against smaller critters such as coyote :P

Right off the bat, I messed up the paint to hardener ratio, the paint was really runny, so I tried to compensate by adding more hardener and overdid it. Now the paint looks alot glossier. The finish of the PT-1911 was originally duo-tone and I did not do any sandblasting or sanding, so the paint job did not agree with the gun very much. I did the controls in matte black at the same time as my PF9 slide and those came out perfect. In the end, I love the color combination but I'm not happy with the imperfections on this job. There are small splotches where the paint did not want to stick to the slide. Lack of preparation and rushing got the better of this project. It was a good learning experience, because I had never detail stripped a 1911 before. I will likely sandblast the Duracoat off and try again. Leaving a little bit of abraded Duracoat will probably make for a better surface to paint on.

The imperfections aren't too noticeable with a cellphone camera picture.