Cerakote, Duracoat, Aluma Hyde, Krylon...

**Sgt.K** · August 16th, 2016, 05:23 PM

This is not specific to any type of firearm, so I'm asking here:

I am building an AR from a raw forged lower, raw forged upper, and stainless barrel. As much as possible I'd like all parts to stay in the silver/palegrey/white color family, but I'm not gonna spend 3-4 times as much for a part (e.g. titanium gas block) just to do it, because I'm a cheap bast... frugal guy. I could probably get away with Krylon on things like the buffer tube or the pins from the lower parts kit, but the trigger, bolt catch and mag release might need something more durable, and the gas block is likely to get a bit hotter than anything else I may want to refinish. I want to do the work myself (see "frugal", above), but don't want to do it over and over again. So...

1. Anyone have any experience with this sort of work, especially bad experiences?

2. What color(s) do you find would come closest to stainless/alloy?

**aubie515** · August 16th, 2016, 08:23 PM

If you want to do it right the first time...hard to beat parkerizing than a thermal cured such as Cerakote or KG Gunkote/Norrells Moly Resin. You must bake on the finish, but it's very durable. They do offer air cured items as well for say the plastic/rubber items that cannot take the temperature.

If you want to use a can...take a look at Aervoe products as they are much more durable compared to Krylon.

Prepping your items to paint is the most important step. You want to make sure that there is no oil on the metal surfaces.

**dkf** · August 16th, 2016, 08:55 PM

Send the upper and lower off to be hardcoat anodized. The hardcoat anodize adds surface hardness which helps prevent wear and galling. I only have experience applying KG gunkote. I airbrushed it on and baked it in the oven. KG gunkote has a lot of colors and several different products. You can see what colors they have on their website.

**Xringshooter** · August 17th, 2016, 04:38 PM

Cerakote makes a color called "Stainless" which mimics stainless very well. Cerakote is extremely durable but you need to prep the parts to be coated correctly which includes blasting the parts to rough up the surface so the Cerakote adheres correctly. Once cured it is very nice. If you want the aluminum color Cerakote makes a clear coat also that is a durable as it's colors.