Thinking about duracoating some guns... and a stock or two.
I live in Hawaii, so sending them out to gundoc would be kind of a problem.
and a 6-8 week wait time just isn't going to work for me.

(plus, I would trust gundoc with my gun... but the clowns shipping them for me, ehhhhh. not so much! the idea of my guns floating around in transit scares the crap out of me stuff gets "lost" going to/from Hawaii pretty often)

So I'll have to do it myself.

My question is...
on a ruger Mini - what parts can you paint? and what needs to be masked and absolutely kept paint free?

my other question is: auto pistols (specifically a stainless ruger P89) - what can get painted and what needs to be masked? slide rails? trigger pack? extractor?
how do you deal with things like the decocker lever which will mask the frame under it depending on where it is positioned? (I don't know how to take it out)

I'm familiar with both guns so far that I can field strip clean and assemble the guns in my sleep. but both guns have allot of parts that under normal servicing don't get removed - and I'm not sure if I've got the chops to take them out if a full disassemble is required for duracoating.

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Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Hi Snuff -

If you change your mind I've done lots of work for the big and small islands and things have always arrived fine.

That said the Mini needs complete disassembly and degreasing. Check out the videos on my site for detailed stripping of the bolt and trigger group.

To degrease use something that leaves no residue. Brake cleaner works, but I use Krud Kutter, a liquid based cleaner found on the paint aisle. Spray it on, scrub with a toothbrush, spray it on again and rinse in hot water. then I use a heat gun to dry the parts and evaporate any water on the surface and down in holes.

I mask the sears, and wrap masking tape around wood dowels to plug the chamber and muzzle. I run the parts through a blast cabinet with aluminum oxide, the small parts and screws in a special blasting can so I don't lose them. Roughing up the surface this way creates a surface the coating can grab onto and adhere better.

Don't coat any springs, don't coat the gas pipe, and leave the trigger group pins alone. All of those rarely rust with a little care and need to keep the tolerance.

I use wire to hang parts in a ventilated, lighted booth I built. I then use air pressure to blow out/off all the parts to make sure no oxide dust is hanging around. I'll use an airbrush or detail gun depending on the work load and apply the first coat. After the finish flashes for about 10 minutes I apply a second coat and inspect for any light or missed areas. Then clean the equipment and allow the parts to dry overnight. Let them hang a few days and reassemble. If you decide to heat the parts in the oven you can assemble faster, but either way it will take a few weeks to reach full cure with DuraCoat. GunKote or CeraKote thermoset in about 20 minutes.

This is a really basic explanation, but I hope it helps.

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Great West Gunsmithing.com
theGunDoc.com
gundoc@greatwestgunsmithing.com

Thanks doc!

due to the care and attention to detail (and the facilities) you describe, and your reputation as a straight shooter, and excellent craftsman - it sounds like maybe doing all the metal parts on my 3 guns would be better left to you. The stocks and what not (if I decide to coat them) I'll handle myself.

I think do to budget I'll have to send them out one at a time - I'll be emailing you to discuss details and pricing in the not too distant future.

__________________
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I appreciate that. Home coating is satisfying, and results can be pro quality with attention to detail and proper environment. For instance, humidity will effect colors and curing and at levels too high can blush and ruin a perfect job on the last coat.

When doing a home job I always recommend buying twice what you need and doing lots of practice first. Even guys like who do it for a living had to learn the ins and out in the beginning.

__________________
Great West Gunsmithing.com
theGunDoc.com
gundoc@greatwestgunsmithing.com