Painting a pistol

[Drcoffee]

Has any one tried painting a firearm with ceracote? I found a bread oven made by toastmaster and is 9"x 12" inside dimensions. Is that big enough to heat cure pistol parts? What experiences have you had?

Thanks

 

[mikebontoft]

how much are you talking about painting and what material or materials is it made of?

 

[Drcoffee]

I am going to start small so for now it would be a Walter p22 polymer grip. My daughter wants hers pink and it will look like this when I'm done (hopefully).

Then move on to my HK USP40 with patriot brown slide and Magpul OD Green frame. Then a I have a few bolt guns that will get done. Considering each gun is $150 each to farm out, I can afford to buy a blasting cabinet and paint gun/compressor etc for the cost of two paint jobs.

 

[reed1285]

I assume since your baking the finish your using cerakote or a similar product? Duracoat is not supposed to be baked, it just air dries. Cerakote is some tough stuff after its baked.

 

[Drcoffee]

So I watched as many videos on Cerakoting as I could find and took the plunge on a small scale. Sold off a table saw I never used and bought a Harbor frieght blasting cabinet and aluminum oxide and a cheapo air brush from a hardware store and gave it a try. I started with a few tools like impact sockets and worked my way up to a CRKT pocket knife. This is really very cool stuff. Cerakote has heat cure but also an air cure version. The air cure is what I used and its a single part paint. Just shake well and spray with an air brush. This stuff is stable above 1000*F.

Here is a picture of my knife partly done. The blade, spring, clip and screw heads are in Patriot Brown. The knife will be two-tone but I havent decided on the color for the grip yet. Either black or dark green, or another color I'd still have to buy.

Now both my daughters have a Walther P22 and I sent their grips out for a professional refinish and they came out great.

 

[Drcoffee]

my first paint job on a gun.

Patriot Brown Cerakote air dry.

Cerakote is so tough you can clean it with brake cleaner. So that means I can use krylon to camo the gun and when I'm done or bored with it I can hose it off with brake cleaner.

 

[theizzardking]

my first paint job on a gun.

Patriot Brown Cerakote air dry.

Cerakote is so tough you can clean it with brake cleaner. So that means I can use krylon to camo the gun and when I'm done or bored with it I can hose it off with brake cleaner.

nice! btw, that little 10/22 td is my most favorite gun i own, i like it way more than anything else when i go shooting, it's pretty darn accurate, fits nicely into my hiking backpack, ammo's cheap... i really can't say enough good things about that little ruger, i'm waiting for some more stocks to come out as i'm not really cool with going out buying a new stock and hacking it up, not that confident in my smiting skills quite yet. though i have done a few trigger and receiver upgrades to mine.



you got the write up you used with that one? i like the color choice as well, dark earth is too light for my uses, OD green, is well drab, and everyone has a black gun, i'm probably not going into combat anytime soon, so black guns aren't really my deal, i've been dying to get this Cerakote thing a try!! makes them look awesome!

i really like what you did with yours as well! i'd like your post a second time if i could!

 

[Drcoffee]

I painted the scope rail as well but I'm not really sure I want to scope it. Its more of a survivalist gun. As for colors, I'm not a fan of OD but love Combat Green. Cerakote does not have air dry in Combat green so I chose Magpul OD which is very close from what I can tell. Maybe a smidge darker.

Here's a few videos I followed.

Brownells instructional vids

CeraKote vids

 

[calikev]

WOW! I'm also impressed with this. What was the hardest part or what would you do differently to make it an easier process now that your 1st one has been done.

I may just do this to a few of mine too.

 

[Drcoffee]

Everytime I sprayed something, I learned what not to do. I suggest you start with some old rusty tools and then work your way up. One thing I plan to keep a closer eye on is sharp edges. File them down so the paint wont wear off so fast. Degrease before and after blasting. Use autobody masking tape. It resists solvents where 3M Blue tape melts into the paint. Its all about the small details.

 

[theizzardking]

Everytime I sprayed something, I learned what not to do. I suggest you start with some old rusty tools and then work your way up. One thing I plan to keep a closer eye on is sharp edges. File them down so the paint wont wear off so fast. Degrease before and after blasting. Use autobody masking tape. It resists solvents where 3M Blue tape melts into the paint. Its all about the small details.

yeah that's the sort of sage advice your not really going to get from a how to youtube video, i'm sorry but you got any other little tips like that? it's always the nuances that get ya.

 

[Drcoffee]

Have you tried shooting CCI CB ammo? I shoot that into a trap in my basement and its so quiet you don't need ear protection. It won't cycle the action obviously but great for vermin eradication. And you are correct, it is accurate. But when I use CCI CB in my CZ452 with the longer barrel it makes it quieter than my pellet gun.

On a side note, I masked off the barrel/receiver union so that it didnt affect the fitment.

If I can find a few hours today I am going to hit the bolt, firing pin, extractor and knife grip with graphite black.

I'm famous for doing projects 95% and never completing them. I need to finish this one before I get distracted. LOL

 

[Drcoffee]

So I had some free time last Sunday and decided to finish the Ruger. It needed the bolt and firing pin painting black and while I was at it, did the grip on the knife black as well. I was so focused on the Ruger's bolt I got sloppy handling the knife grip and ended up touching the grip. Argh! I hit it with a little extra paint to cover teh gaff but if it was a firearm I would have had to strip it down and start over. But its just a CKRT knife so who cares. It still looks nice IMO. *The grid pattern on the blade is from the light coming thru the screen door.

I accidentally bumped into a kitchen chair this morning with the knife clipped on my pocket. When I looked down the clip had shaved off some wood from the chair but the paint held up fine without even a mar.

 

[Drcoffee]

See post #5

 

[mikebontoft]

ah you got hit by spam... I dont understand that type. but hey at least you answered my question twice. Got a hipoint .380 Id like to try this on.

 

[exryan]

Upscale to stock rims?

What would be the feasibility of coating stock rims with cerakote? Just sandblast/degrease and spray? I like the stock wheels on the late models, but would be bad ass in bronze.

 

[Clrems77]

Nice cerakoting. I’ve done several of my rifle chassis. Definitely a learning process, but looks like you got it down!