First off I'd like to issue this warning: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THE "CHEAPER" DURACOAT IF YOU CANNOT FOLLOW SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. You'll need a large airspace, respirator, long sleeve shirt, pants, and eye protection. The chemicals in "Cheaper" Duracoat are no laughing matter. Saving money isn't worth the brain damage if you can't follow safety instructions.
That being said, I just spent $1.82 refinishing a 10 round magazine and had more than enough mixed coating to do a 40 round magazine. This was just a test run and how was I supposed to know 3 table spoons of paint would last that long?
What is "Cheaper" Duracoat? While sniffing chemicals and getting high, I was huffing duracoat and realized I had smelled it before. I went to the local high-on at the Sherwin-Williams dealer and he said "That's Polane S Plus Polyurethane Enamel". (I'm just kidding about the huffing part. I decided to spice up my post a little bit).
How is it "Cheaper" Duracoat? Polane S Plus Polyurethane Enamel is chemical resistant and the black color can resist temperatures up to 500 deg F (That's SW's stated value, obviously there's a factor of safety in there).
You still haven't mentioned the cheaper part!: Duracoat in its cheapest form is $320 for 128 fl-oz of Duracoat and hardener. 128 fl-oz of Polane S Plus Polyurethane + Catalyst + thinner + tax was $155. (NOTE: I mean cheapest "per unit of volume. You can buy duracoat in smaller containers)
Tip #1: Before you bother to start anything: get into your work clothes, get your respirator on and stir the Polane S Plus. You're going to be there for a while so make sure you're in a comfortable position. Scrape the bottom of the can with your paint stick to get all the dye into the mix.
If you don't stir is properly the Polane will come out clear(ish) and run like water.
They only sell it in one gallon unless you're "in" with the people working there. The guy said I could come back and get it in quart sizes in the future.
They have pre-mixed colors available immediately or can mix the colors for you. If they have a paint swatch for it (which they will) they can make that color. The place I went to had a week of backlog orders that they were working on.
Depending on the manager, they will split it up into 4 quarts for you and color each seperately.
I used, and highly suggest only using, an air brush. Because of the cost of the stuff and the chemicals involved you don't want any wasted on overspray.
I've called several SW dealers in the Atlanta area & keep getting the runaround on where to actually get it. The "industrial" store I kept getting refered to just didn't answer the phone.
I though it was Polane High Solids rather than S Plus. Does anyone know the difference?
Attached is the first test of the "Cheaper Duracoat"
All the imperfections you see are actually the zinc-phosphating used as a base to assist in bonding between the Polane and metal. My camera did quite a job on accentuating it.
The bottom dots are actually fudge-ups because I failed to stir the polane before mixing it with catalyst and the stuff came out clear and ran like water. I didn't do a good enough job of wiping it off before applying the good coat.
Damn good job Corpsie - I'm going to try this. DuraCoat was about 2X the price of GunKote or MolyResin.... your solution offers a viable low-temp alternative to all three.
Leadhaed showed us and interesting projest he did at the shoot.
He used Krylon flat black on an M11 and baked it after applying it. It holds oil now and looks like a park job. It is really a tough finish to that will not rub or scratch off.
How does it hold up to solvents though? When I used commerical paints they either failed from durability or solvent resistance. The only exception was Rustoleum Textured, which was the most durable (except I wouldn't hit it against a metal corner like I did with the Polane)
So this Polane S Plus stuff will stand up to bore cleaner solvents? Sounds like a winner.
How about the metal prep? Did you blast or park or sand it or what. I'm looking for the best finish that doesn't require sand blasting (due to my current living quarters)
Corpsie said:
How does it hold up to solvents though? When I used commerical paints they either failed from durability or solvent resistance. The only exception was Rustoleum Textured, which was the most durable (except I wouldn't hit it against a metal corner like I did with the Polane)
How does it hold up to solvents though? When I used commerical paints they either failed from durability or solvent resistance. The only exception was Rustoleum Textured, which was the most durable (except I wouldn't hit it against a metal corner like I did with the Polane)
So this Polane S Plus stuff will stand up to bore cleaner solvents? Sounds like a winner.
How about the metal prep? Did you blast or park or sand it or what. I'm looking for the best finish that doesn't require sand blasting (due to my current living quarters)
I either use a wire wheel to remove the bluing or I just use Oxisolv to remove the bluing. Either way I end up using the oxisolv to apply a layer of zinc phosphate on the metal as prep. That's it.
Polane is a good coating. I've painted hundreds of rifle stocks and 3 blazers and a CUCV with it. Its good for stuff that can't handle curing temperatures or won't fit in the oven for which GunKote type products are good. I also coated the gun tub on the Raptor Suburban/minigun project with it. It is a thicker coating, so mags would probably be ok, but I recommend against coating internals with it. SW has industrial stores for which a resale license is required and their home stores which usually only carry house paint.
With the UV catalyst (still fades in AZ sun), 2 gallons of #69 reducer and a gallon of paint, I can usually get it for just under $100. The sheen of black depends on the amount of reducer, as well as the amount of flattening agent. This green is the ARS "Messherschmit Me262 green/gray" that SW mixes for me. Completely disappears at night.
(well I guess this board isn't set up for editing link images after they have loaded)
Air dry. The initial hardening takes like 4 hours. I'm not exactly sure how long because I did it at night. The rest of the curing takes a week, but you are able to handle it within the initial 4 hours of drying. Since I let it sit overnight, I can tell you that after 10 hours it's extremely hard. I hit it against my bench vise and it didn't chip. Hitting it against a surface that dented the metal, however, did cause that single point of impact to chip, but the chip didn't spread.
With the UV catalyst (still fades in AZ sun), 2 gallons of #69 reducer and a gallon of paint, I can usually get it for just under $100. The sheen of black depends on the amount of reducer,
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