best protective finish for firearms

[Thebear_78]

I am looking to find what the best protective finish for rifle barrels.  I have a encore rifle barrel that I would like to get finished.  WIth some of the salt spray and constant wet conditions that we have here in alaska I would like something that holds up better than blue.  There is a place that does a moly coat finish up here for around $85.  Anyone have any experience with that finish?   Thanks

[7magWoodsman]

At the bottom of this post Greybeard leaves a recommendation that will fix you problem I think....I have never tried it myself but I have heard of others doing it. http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=42280

Good Luck. Stay Safe. Happy Hunting/Shooting.  

[Thebear_78]

I have camo painted a lot of guns over the years, usually only my predator rifles and waterfowl shotguns.  If I haven't come up with any other finish by the time I head out for blacktails I will probably end up doing that just to keep it from rusting due to the salt spray.  I was hoping to find something that held up a little better than spray paint and that would have a nice look to it.  I also thought that a dipped finish would probably cover a lot better than spray paint.  Thanks for the tip though.

[bgjohn]

Cos-mo-line. Cosmoline. But it's kinda sticky.
JM :lol:

[PeterF.]

See what the Special Ops guys use.  Also, do a web search (like Google) for "durable gun finish" and you'll see things about hard chrome (www.apwcogan.com), teflon, and Black-T.  This might give you some ideas about options and pros & cons.

[gunnut69]

The best non-blued and not plated finish I've found is powder coating.  The material is a thermal setting powder that is applied electrosdtatically and baked on.  It will cover nearly anything and comes is a wild variety of colors and types.  There are even powders that when baked create a 'hammered' look to the material, much like hammered copper covered with verdigreess.  Multiple layers can be added to create a camo look.  It cannot be used on interior surfaces or anywhere tolerances are critical as there is a measureable surface buildup.  It is extremely tough and durable but you will still need matenance on the un-coated parts of the weapon..

[Prince of Wales]

Gunnut how much disassembly would be required to have a Savage 99 powdercoated? Seems like it would be good to do both rifle and scope at the same time if not a lot of disassembly is required. Both my receiver and scope are almost totally without blue. POW

[smoky]

Check out the following link.

www.kgcoatings.com

This is a very durable finish that is stated to have been developed for military use.

A local smith/friend of mine has done several for myself and family members using this product.  It is far and away the best I have ever come across.  It can be done in a few different colors/shades as well (Most of mine are granite grey instead of matte black).

I have a custom bolt gun that was teflon coated when built that already shows some wear.  I have another bolt gun that was finished with the KG product and it is several years old and still like new.

Also, it must not be to expensive because my smith only charges $75-$100 to do the job, versus $200 plus for teflon.


Hope this helps.

Smoky

[gunnut69]

I usually detail strip the weapons before coating.  the material is applied electrostatically and it will find any unprotected surface..  I glass bead the exteriors and use masking tape to protect surfaces that should not be coated.  The gun is heated to 400 degrees but not allowed to heat soak,.,  I don't know about the scope as we've not done one..  Wood and masking tape are NOT charred by the heating process..  This is really tough stuff and once applied is very difficult to remove.  It's much tougher than paints including epoxies and baking lacquers.  There are literally thousands of colors available and even lower temp powders for special application, although we've not experiemented with them.