Duracoat

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I am having an issue with my 1911, whenever humidity changes or I handle it while sweating....I get a fine sprinkle of surface rust on my weapon, because the finish is so worn down from every day carry.

It is getting worse and worse each day, I have even noticed the frame has turned a different shade of color than the slide.

Ioil it and clean it bi-weekly, and it still comes back!



My question is, Have you ever used Duracoat?

What do you think of it?

Is it worth it?

How durable is it?

(By the way, the original finish was parkerized)

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sorry, double post

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It's good stuff. I have Duracoated a number of weapons with excellent results. They key to a good Duracoat job is 1) get the metal clean before spraying and 2) let it fully cure before use.

My 1911 carry gun is Duracoated, Combat Black on the slide and controls and Desert Tan on the frame.

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That is sweet Hef, I get my glock back this week and am going to durocoat it 2 tone . Did you do your own work? How long have you carried it ? And what holster if you dont mind. Thanks Mtn Jack

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Mtn Jack wrote:

That is sweet Hef, I get my glock back this week and am going to durocoat it 2 tone . Did you do your own work? How long have you carried it ? And what holster if you dont mind. Thanks Mtn Jack

Click to expand...

Yes, I did. I do all my own work. I've carried it for 2 years now. I switched from a thumbbreak fabric holster to a Blackhawk Serpa holster a few months ago.

I prepped my gun by totally disassembling it and stripping it in an acid bath, followed by immersion in water to stop the acid, then immersion in mineral spirits to displace the water for rust prevention. I sprayed everything with an airbrush at 40PSI, mixing hardener at 1:12 and reducer at 20% for spraying, per Lauer's directions.

Most parts got 3 coats. I let my parts cure for 3 weeks in the garage, because my wife would have gone nuts if I used the oven in our kitchen to cure them. The oven is definitely preferable. I finished the sights with Testor's white paint, then took my gun to the range and ran a few hundred rounds through it.

The paint thickness on the slide rails seems to have tightened up the frame-slide fit a little bit. It's got just a teeny bit of play, less than before I Duracoated it. I guess that was just an unexpected benefit.

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That is actually very helpful, I carry mine every minute of every day.

I use the blackhawk serpa holster and have some wear on the slide from it. Another reason I want to duracoat it.

I do not trust myself to do it haha, I wish I could find someone I know that I trust to do as good of a job with mine as you have done with yours.

Another question.... How easily does it scratch?

Sorry for all of the questions... I'm going to school to be a certified gunsmith, but I don't trust myself to duracoat my own gun just yet.. Need some encouragment, but it has to be done.