Author Topic: is there a demand? (Read 1090 times)

scgunsmith · « **on:** May 14, 2006, 09:27:50 AM »

how much demand for powder coatings on guns?
yes or no?

Nobade · « **Reply #1 on:** May 14, 2006, 09:50:28 AM »

Wouldn't that be really hard to do and not mess up the fit of close tolerance parts?

gunnut69 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 14, 2006, 11:53:24 AM »

There is a dimentional change but it can be applied to the exterior surfaces and protects them admireably. I've done several and it is amazing stuff.

Flint · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:13:40 AM »

Seems most European gunmakers use it. I have a Browning HP in 9mm blued and a HP in 40 S&W painted. The blued gun is prettier, but the painted one may have a more durable finish, time will tell.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:39:06 AM »

I voted yes...but it really depends on the price.....all things equal I'd probably pick a nice deep rich blueing........

qajaq59 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:00:10 AM »

Our motor home is parked with in a 100 yards of the sea for half the year, and while I've had little trouble with the painted surfaces, the areas that are covered with powder coat are failing miserably. It comes off like a sheet of plastic with severe rust underneath. I don't think I'd want it on my rifles. How it would do out of the salt air environment, I'm not sure.

Keith L · « **Reply #6 on:** May 18, 2006, 10:09:37 AM »

Quote

the areas that are covered with powder coat are failing miserably. It comes off like a sheet of plastic with severe rust underneath.

It was improperly applied. If done correctly you can't cut it off with a knife. It bonds like crazy to the substrate and is the toughest coating I have ever dealt with. Salt and therefore rust can't get under it. I would bring this to the manufacturer's attention. They owe you some new parts.

gunnut69 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 18, 2006, 07:35:53 PM »

Amen on the tough.. A very close friend on mine owns a powder coat company and if properly applied it's very difficult to remove.. He powder coats spring car frames for all the local and some of the national drivers. It won't pop off like paint is want to do when the frames torque.. He has special rinses for most metal but always sandblasts steel. It gives the material something to hang onto. I'm a very good friend who is a nutcase bird hunter.. he hunts as many days as he can sneak away from work and has nearly worn out a Remington 1100 special field. I tried rebluing and it only went one season. I powder coated the shotgun and while it's got a few light spots it's still fine and after about 4 years.. It's not as pretty as a clasic blue job, IMHO, but it is assuredly tougher and more protective. They have a powder that goes 2 toned when baked..I'm thinking about a hammered copper or gold/black mix.. sort of a camo job that lasts better than the film applied stuff the factories put on.

scgunsmith · « **Reply #8 on:** May 22, 2006, 12:15:14 PM »

well for what it will cost me, I may just have to jump in the pan and go for it. I do bluing and parkerizing now , so what the heck....

Heavyhaul · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2006, 10:11:18 PM »

I know some racers that use it on suspension parts on their dirt late-models. They used to repaint every weekend. Now they say they have trouble getting the powder coating off at the end of the season. I don't know what this has to do with guns, but if yours ever gets drug under your thruck, at least the metal should hold-up pretty well. It would have been nice for some of the thickets I used to hunt. :grin:

Nobade · « **Reply #10 on:** May 24, 2006, 03:19:59 AM »

I'm still unclear on how you would apply it to just the areas you want it. Is there something that is put on first to act as a masking agent? If that's not done it seems that since it is electrostatically applied it would end up all over the part. But as one poster said, CZ and Browning use it on handguns so it must be possible.

gunnut69 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 24, 2006, 05:45:25 AM »

I've helped with the process and it's actually fairly simple. They use masking tape! The adhesive is vaporized by the heat and the temps don't get high enough to ignite the tape itself. I like to allow a little edge at openings such as the ejection port and magazine wells to allow a flash to form. This is easy to remove with a sharp knife. Screw holes and access to interior spaces must be protected and you are most correct the powder is quite invasive. Almost any metal can be done and if properly prepared it stays put very well.

Keith L · « **Reply #12 on:** May 24, 2006, 07:24:42 AM »

In production applications there are all kinds of masks commercially available to fill holes, cover surfaces etc. I imagine some of these would work for custom applications as well. And as Gunnut said masking tape works as well. With proper surface prep the stuff works well.

Plink · « **Reply #13 on:** June 01, 2006, 12:12:37 AM »

I've been seriously looking into powder coating for the last few months. I'd like to get into it also. My problem is the oven. I'd like to coat more than just firearms. I haven't had much luck finding ovens large enough to do, say, a motorcycle frame. I doubt I'd get any work larger than that. I'm not familiar enough with the infrared curing lamps to know if they're a valid option. The only large ovens I've seen so far are ultra high end units with a lot of features I doubt I'll need. Any sources guys?

gunnut69 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 01, 2006, 08:16:10 AM »

Doug uses 2 ovens, one is a large commercial gas fired oven that he made. The burner is so large they had trouble getting enough propane to the thing to make it run. The other is electric and just bairly large enough for a barreled action. It a whale of a lot cheaper to run.. The big oven's large enough to fit in an entire car or 2 sprint car frames.. and still have room for the blast from the gun burner.. It takes other things also. Surface prep is the key(as usual) and they use a commercial sandblast operation for that. They also use a high pressure steam cleaner with a chemical additive for some kinds of metal.. There IS a learning curve..

Keith L · « **Reply #15 on:** June 01, 2006, 10:35:15 AM »

We had a multi stage power washer and three spray booths as well as a cure oven designed for powder coat and an E-coat primer system and even with the contractors that designed the system and the providers of the product it took us a while to get acceptable quality. After all the engineers were dispatched and we worked with the system for a while we got quite good with it. This was years ago at good old Uncle John Deere's factory. So do expect a learning curve.

P.S. one of the rudest surprises was when we found out that anti-persperant deodorant made fish eyes in the paint, so we had to ban its use in the paint shop. That stunk.

gunnut69 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 03, 2006, 07:42:58 AM »

There is certainly a learning curve but it's less than is normal for a rust bluing shop.. Still when properly applied it's cheap and easy to do and wonderfully durable. Not the prettiest but durable. The guys here usually sandbleast first and then powerwash with a chemically enhanced steam cleaner... Never heard of the anti persperant but they had problems with some constructs like railing and car chasis loosing powder or having bare spots!! Found out that pinholes and vents in the tubular forms contained preservative compounds(??oils) that would bleed out when heated in the oven!. The cure was fairly simple,, The cook the parts twice. The first time to get rid of volatiles!! They even figured a way to recoat old clawfoot bathtubs.. Cast iron is porous and when coated and cooked the powder pinholes as the castiron cools. They recoat the thing while still hot with color and than recook.. No pinholes.. Then a coat of clear and its as shiny as you could want...they can even put grit in the bottom to aid in avoiding spills when it's wet! Figure on a learning curve though, for certain..