Filed under: Home Works by VGadmin [2 Comments »]

There are a few really good options for the do-it-yourself gun guys, when it comes to refinishing firearms at home. I’ve done a lot in the comfort of my kitchen or garage, with very little effort and not much in the way of cost – when compared to having someone do it for me. Therein, of course, lies the heart of it for me – if I can do it myself, I’d rather.

The bake on coatings are awesome. Personally, I use the Teflon/Moly from Brownell’s (083-048-801). I get it in the aerosol can because it’s low-volume and I don’t have the need for much more. However, if you do – then you can get the larger product, but you’ll just have to get an airbrush; an inexpensive Badger will do the trick, provided you own a compressor of some type. Many of the coatings sold by Brownell’s, in this category, can be used “over” existing finishes like Parkerizing or bluing, so the need to strip an old finish is not always necessary. If removing the old finish becomes necessary, often you can get by with a bit of Naval Jelly – an 8 oz. can is around ten dollars. Apart from that is good old steel wool and a bit of effort. If you have access to a sand or bead blaster, you can blast the parts also.

Part of the prep, which is absolutely necessary, is cleaning the part. You can buy official “degreaser” if you want, but I’ve had outstanding results with Acetone or Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) – both of which can be had at Lowe’s or Home Depot (and you’ll need either for clean up anyway). Just remember, when they say “clean” they mean clean – after cleaning it off, don’t go rubbing your dirty paws all over it – get some rubber or latex gloves to handle the part.

Pre-warming the parts is necessary for some (not all) of these type of products. If it is for what you’ve chosen, a simple hair dryer will do the trick. While it may not be ‘required’ warming the parts is a good idea for one simple reason – a warmed part will, most times, catch any ‘runs’ in the coating while you’re applying it. Meaning: the warm metal will ‘flash dry’ the applied product and prevent virtually any running. The flip side to that, of course, is not to blast it all in one place from the get go.

So, what about the kitchen oven? What about it? The kitchen oven works great! I’ve used it numerous times. The downside is the smell, while baking the parts, but it’s really not that bad. You won’t mess anything up in the oven and the smell doesn’t linger too long after you’ve done your business. But definitely expect an odor while the process is being done – in that wise, it’s a good idea to let the Mrs. know what you’re up to so she doesn’t have a fit. Anyway, after I’ve applied the coating and let it air dry, I put them in the oven by hanging them from a rack by a piece of wire or metal coat hanger – that is to say, I move the rack to the top of the oven before pre-heating it, and suspend the parts from it.

A quick run-down of the whole operation:

Equipment
- An oven
- The oven bake product (aerosol or air brush)
- The part/parts you’re coating
- Old Finish Remover (i.e. Naval Jelly, Steel Wool, Bead Blaster etc.)
- Latex/Rubber Gloves (even leather will work in a pinch)
- Metal Wire or Metal Coat Hanger

1. Disassemble your firearm and clean it. You’ll have to break it down completely, or at least to the part you’re refinishing. For example, if all you want to refinish is the slide of your 1911, you needn’t disassemble the receiver. You just have to remove the guts in the slide and possibly the sights, depending on what you’ve got. Pre-heat your oven.

2. Remove the old finish, by some method. When I can, I blast – when I can’t I use steel wool. If the old finish is too tough, I go with the Naval Jelly (which SOMETIMES works on parkerizing). If you have a parkerized firearm, leave it on – it WILL take the bake on coating, just ‘rough it’ a bit with some steel wool.

3. Clean the part(s) thoroughly, wearing gloves, of course. I love Acetone, it does the trick more times than not. MEK is great too but a little strong in the odor department for my taste. If you really want to get high tech, you an buy some DicroClean from Brownell’s and boil the parts clean – but that’s going way out there. Nonetheless, make sure the part is dry when you’re done and don’t handle it with ‘bare’ hands.

4. Pre-warm the part, if you desire or if the product you’ve chosen calls for it. I just use a hair dryer most times, but I have stuck the parts in the oven and even in the sun on my driveway (that’s the only good thing about Texas, LOL). All those methods work well, and while they’re not always necessary, warming the parts is a good idea – no matter what the directions say.

5. If you can, affix a piece of wire to the part, then apply the finish (this will save you trying to feed wire through after you’ve painted it). The directions on all of the products say to use a side to side motion and to over spray the part. Over spray doesn’t mean to ‘puddle’ the finish in one place; instead, it means to go past it in your side to side motion. For instance, of you’re spraying on cardboard (presumably in your well ventilated area ), start your pass on the cardboard and not the part – finish your pass on the other end of the cardboard, not the part. This is the make or break right here, and not the place you want to get into a hurry – so take your time. A few thin coats is far better than a heavy one.

6. Let the part(s) air dry for whatever time is dictated by the product’s directions. This could be anywhere from 15-30 minutes.

7. If you didn’t get a chance to do it before, affix some wire or a piece of metal hanger to the part. Use a pin hole, or some place that will be unseen later, in case you get a bit jittery – you don’t want to scratch the newly applied finish. For example, take a 1911 bushing. Passing the wire or hanger through the obvious opening for the barrel MAY get you a little ‘nick’ on the face of it. Instead, I wrap the wire just behind the flange, because later – I won’t see it.

8. Bake! Pay attention to the directions and heat the part for the required time at the required temperature. It’s best not to have the parts dangling in such a way that they bump into each other. No matter how tempting, while your parts are baking, this isn’t the time to warm up that pizza from last night either.

9. When the parts have baked, take them out and let them cool. Once they are cool to the touch, it’s a good idea to give them a wipe down. Using the Acetone or MEK will remove any un-cured finish, followed by a good helping of oil – then just let them hang out for a bit before you reassemble.

NOTES/TIPS: Before baking, the finish can be removed with Acetone or MEK. So, you can clean off any spots, or re-spray any places that might not look the way you want them to. If you’re spraying a barrel, no need to plug it – the first shot you take after refinishing will get rid of any overages. Painting any three-dimensional object is a challenge to do well, so rig yourself some way to hold the part before you start painting. 1911 frames, for instance, can be held with a piece of 1×2 shoved into the magazine well – from either end. If you can’t hang the part by wire, you can lay them on a cookie sheet – but know this; finished areas in contact with the sheet may see the finish ‘peeled off’ when you’re done – so be careful.

Pretty Easy, huh? There are some Pro’s and Con’s to oven baked coatings…

One obvious pro is how easy it is, anyone can do it. Also, the finishes look great – especially if you’re a fan of matte finishes; REALLY matte finishes. The cured coating is also extremely resilient to even the harshest solvents. I have yet to have any finish I’ve applied ‘wear’ or ‘worry’ off because of cleaning the firearm. In the case of the Teflon/Moly specifically; even when the finish ‘color’ wears off on moving parts – the metal is still impregnated with Teflon. In fact, for my 1911′s, I purposely work the slide and frame when they’re done. The slightly gritty feeling from the finish goes away and the surface feels amazingly smooth, even more so than prior to finishing. Oven bake coatings can be used on any metal which can withstand the heat. You can’t parkerize or blue things like aluminum (and at-home anodizing is a big process), but you can oven bake them all the time and they look and wear great. Finally, the oven baked coatings come in a lot of colors – so if you’re looking for something ‘different’, you can usually get it; sand colors, greys, blacks, reds, blues, two-tones…almost anything you want.

The downsides to oven bake coatings aren’t many, but they are worth mentioning. While the cured coatings are resilient to solvents, they aren’t that spectacular when it comes to scratching or chipping. The coatings can and will scratch if you’re not careful. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to baby the firearm, but it also doesn’t mean you can toss it, unprotected, into the toolbox of your pickup and have it emerge unscathed. By far, the most resilient for that type of thing is parkerizing – but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Apart from scratching is the ‘buffing’. Not all of the finish you’ve applied will actually fully cure – at the molecular level, only that which is on the metal will cure. That being said, over time, an oven baked finish will show signs of buffing in places where it is handled most frequently (i.e. a bolt handle, grip safety, trigger guard etc.). This will come with a slight ‘sheen’ in that particular area – not ‘glossy’, mind you, but a fairly clear sign of use when under scrutiny – this is the overage of finish coming off. Rest assured, you won’t wear it away completely from regular use, but you’ll know the spot is there – even if no one else can see it. Finally – STAY AWAY from any product of this nature when attempting to get a ‘gloss’ finish. The gloss versions of this type of product look like garbage, at least in my opinion. If I need a gloss – I blue, cold blue or just straight polish, as in the case of stainless finishes, over the properly prepared surface. This spray on stuff doesn’t even appear in the rear-view when a presentation finish is needed.

Now go and try it!