Gunsmithing 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

[phillik747]

I'm looking to fix up a buddies 1911 and give it a good finish. I have been reading a lot about Cerakote and duracoat and my main question is to those who have used both.

I'm looking to find a close match from Cerakote's "sniper grey" and "Graphite Black" in duracoat's colors. This will be my first time painting a firearm, other than rattle cans, and want to use something that is less expensive and somewhat removable compared to Cerakote, ie: duracoat. I don't believe the colors at Duracoat's website give an accurate look to the actual color.

I'm looking for a finish like the 1911 in this post:
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1868164

Also does anyone know of a place that does firearm painting/sand blasting in the Birmingham area that they have experience with?

Thanks in advance.

Kyle

 

[Mgordon]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Kyle,

Are you sure you want to go away from Cerakote and use Duracoat? Cerakote is a superior product and can be fully cured in less than 2 hours, not the case with Duracoat. Also, Cerakote does not charge you hazmat shipping while Duracoat does.


You may have made up your mind, but I would reconsider and spend a little more and get the Cerakote. I believe I'm paying $35 for a 4 oz bottle.

Mark

 

[cmh2007]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

do the cerakote you will be very impressed

 

[snipedogg]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Hmmm, I have been using Duracoat and I've never had a hazmat fee for shipping.
Kyle, I think your fine using either one. I just recently painted the slide on my Kimber 1911 with Duracoat matte black and it came out great.
If you do Duracoat, the colors would be matte black and the other looks like it's just a Dark gray maybe their snow gray. google image the colors that look close to what you think you want and you will get actual images of it on a gun. I agree the lauer website has shitty pics

 

[eddief]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Duracoat doesn't even come close to being as good as cerakote.

Color choices, yes it has more, but cerakote actually has a good selection of colors too.

 

[Shooter04]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

I painted my 1911 dark brown with duracoat and was pleased with the results, but I've heard that cerakote is a better finish. If your going with cost affective and easy duracoat is nice. I plan on trying out cerakote soon.

 

[Shooter04]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Do you guys get your cerakote strait through the factory or are there distributers?

 

[phillik747]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Thank you all for the tips. I'm on the fence for both of them, but two reasons I'm leaning towards duracoat:
1) Less expensive
2) I may be wrong here but if I mess up, duracoat will be easier to start over.

I would use cerakote in a heartbeat if I knew I could do it right the first time.

Aw what the hell, as I write this I'm thinking to myself that I have a new Paasche coming my way why not go all out.

FYI...I emailed Duracoat and they said that Matte Black and Parker will be close to Graphite Black and Sniper Grey.

I'll get some photos up when I'm done.

Kyle

Kyle

 

[ceross1975]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Don't spray cerakote with an airbrush. You will not get the desired finish. You need a HVLP spray gun. If you order direct from NIC industries (cerakote) and buy six colors they will give you a free spray gun. It's not the best quality but it works.

Not to push my services but for a small fee you can pay someone who does this for a living and pay close to the same amount it would cost to do it yourself. To do it right you will spend nearly 100.00 dollars. Spend a few more bucks and it can be professionally refinished in graphite black and sniper grey. Here is one I just finished for a customer last week

The last thing you want is a finish you are not happy with.

 

[phillik747]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

10-4 Chuck,I have been thinking of the same thing about a pro taking care of it. I guess this is also something I would like to learn to do plus I'm wanting to paint up my rifle and a few other things.

I was thinking an airbrush would be ok for smaller jobs like the 1911 vs. a 30"+ rifle. I'll look into the Harbor Freight HVLP guns then. I don't think I'll be getting 6 colors at once anytime soon.

Thanks for all the info guys, I really do appreciate your experience.

Kyle

 

[gamma]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Will cerakote work well sprayed with a small compressor or do you need a big powerful compressor.

 

[eddief]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

small compressor should be fine, but what is important is the air is dry.

Test on a scrap piece first.

 

[Saito]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Commit to cerakote and make it happen. You won't ever regret it. It's an outstanding finish/coating and wears well if applied correctly. If you do it yourself it will be very rewarding, if someone else does it for you, you'll be pleased with the results. After you complete the job you'll want to apply cerakote to everything. I've got all of the parts for my big "hillbilly" gun oven, I just need more time away from work to make it happen. I hope to do a barreled action for ewoaf, myself and another friend here on the hide before years end. When I do, I'll probably document it all and post it here. Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[zack-s]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

So is the air dry or oven dry better? Any advantages to the bake on cerakote, or are they the same?

 

[eddief]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

bake it

 

[x ring accuracy]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

Cerakote can be sprayed with an airbrush FWIW.

 

[phillik747]

Re: 1911 restore cerakote/duracoat

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SGT ROSS</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

</div></div>

That looks really nice!