jmjames
09-18-2012, 02:47 PM
Over the weekend I finally got to try out the DuraCoat "Shake 'n Spray" kit. Quick background: I've been a competent rattle can user since the age of 5 when my father introduced me to model rockets. I have also done some minimal airbrush work, thanks to a brief BattleTech phase as a teenager. I went with this kit because my Saiga 12 had been DuraCoated by a local pro, and I loved the results but I hated waiting for him to get around to small batch stuff when I had accessories to do. I also figured that with the small number of small items I had, the kit would go a long, long way. I ordered the kit directly from Lauer Weaponry (the folks who make it) and the cost was $35 before S/H (total was $50 even).
DuraCoat doesn't "dry", it hardens like an epoxy. To use the kit, you mix the color and a hardener in a 12:1 ratio. The kit comes with a compressed air can and a jar, and is designed to be used like a rattle can. The kit also comes with a degreaser and a scouring pad to rough up the surface.
The hardener and color come in the right ratio, but if you want to use less you'll need to meter it out yourself. I used the syringes that come with children's medications to measure.
PROS:
* I was able to do it at home
* "Dries" to the touch in 1 - 2 hours, depending on how many coats are put on
* Cures in 6 - 8 hours, can be used "lightly" after that
* Awesome color selection (I was using "H&K semi-gloss black")
* Additional coats can be applied as soon as 5 minutes since the previous coat
* DuraCoat is good stuff in general, and I'm pleased with it
* Despite my struggles, my results were as good as the local pro, other than where I applied it a bit too thick
* Even though I ended up wasting a lot of it, the cost was still much lower than my local pro, especially if I was doing a whole firearm
* The degreaser seems to have been VERY effective, no issues with it not sticking
* Works on a wife variety of materials; I sprayed plastic and metal (some Parkerized, some already painted, some bare metal) and it worked on all of them
CONS:
* Directions say to wait up to 4 weeks for heavy use
* Very inconsistent spray; getting the distance between "sloppy" and "speckles" was tough
* The hardener bottle's neck was so narrow, it was extremely difficult for me to get the medicine syringe in there
* The jar/tube combination required me to put a LOT of mixture in just to get it to spray; a lot was left over
* If you want to re-use the system, you are supposed to clean the kit with the "reducer" which is NOT included in the kit
* Very difficult to correct mistakes; it is thick and sticky
* The literature says I could do 2 guns with this kit; I probably could, but doing small parts has so much waste (overspray and such) that the kit doesn't go very far
CONCLUSION:
I am definitely willing to try my hand at home DuraCoat-ing again, but next time I will use the airbrush kit. I really did not like the aerosol system, it produced a lousy spray pattern, and I ended up wasting so much that the kit that I thought would have plenty in it was almost completely used up just doing a few small parts and a couple of big items. I was miffed that to re-use the kit, I needed "reducer" as well. I was very annoyed by the difficulty in measuring out the materials because the hardener bottle's neck was too small to easily work with. At the end of the day, if I would have just dumped the full bottle of each into the jar, the end result would have been the same and the frustration level would have been lower. If they offered the "Shake 'n Bake" kit (one that gets put in the oven at a low temperature and has much reduced curing times as a result) in the color I want in the future, I will definitely want to give that a try. Other than the places where I went a touch too heavy (which I think the airbrush kit would remedy), my work was about as good as my local pro.
Now... all of that said...
If my local pro had a reasonable, consistent wait time (I waited months for him to do a full gun, but only a week for him to do some small parts), I'd probably prefer to have him do it. Spending 2 - 3 hours of my day (admittedly, I enjoyed the company of the person I was spending the time with) on a painting project that came out to be only a touch cheaper than what he would have charged me doesn't make sense. If I were doing a full firearm, doing it myself would likely save me enough money to justify it. For a "showpiece" gun, I'd still consider my local pro, for a "working gun" that I just want to re-color and add some rust protection to, I'd do it myself.
J.Ja
DuraCoat doesn't "dry", it hardens like an epoxy. To use the kit, you mix the color and a hardener in a 12:1 ratio. The kit comes with a compressed air can and a jar, and is designed to be used like a rattle can. The kit also comes with a degreaser and a scouring pad to rough up the surface.
The hardener and color come in the right ratio, but if you want to use less you'll need to meter it out yourself. I used the syringes that come with children's medications to measure.
PROS:
* I was able to do it at home
* "Dries" to the touch in 1 - 2 hours, depending on how many coats are put on
* Cures in 6 - 8 hours, can be used "lightly" after that
* Awesome color selection (I was using "H&K semi-gloss black")
* Additional coats can be applied as soon as 5 minutes since the previous coat
* DuraCoat is good stuff in general, and I'm pleased with it
* Despite my struggles, my results were as good as the local pro, other than where I applied it a bit too thick
* Even though I ended up wasting a lot of it, the cost was still much lower than my local pro, especially if I was doing a whole firearm
* The degreaser seems to have been VERY effective, no issues with it not sticking
* Works on a wife variety of materials; I sprayed plastic and metal (some Parkerized, some already painted, some bare metal) and it worked on all of them
CONS:
* Directions say to wait up to 4 weeks for heavy use
* Very inconsistent spray; getting the distance between "sloppy" and "speckles" was tough
* The hardener bottle's neck was so narrow, it was extremely difficult for me to get the medicine syringe in there
* The jar/tube combination required me to put a LOT of mixture in just to get it to spray; a lot was left over
* If you want to re-use the system, you are supposed to clean the kit with the "reducer" which is NOT included in the kit
* Very difficult to correct mistakes; it is thick and sticky
* The literature says I could do 2 guns with this kit; I probably could, but doing small parts has so much waste (overspray and such) that the kit doesn't go very far
CONCLUSION:
I am definitely willing to try my hand at home DuraCoat-ing again, but next time I will use the airbrush kit. I really did not like the aerosol system, it produced a lousy spray pattern, and I ended up wasting so much that the kit that I thought would have plenty in it was almost completely used up just doing a few small parts and a couple of big items. I was miffed that to re-use the kit, I needed "reducer" as well. I was very annoyed by the difficulty in measuring out the materials because the hardener bottle's neck was too small to easily work with. At the end of the day, if I would have just dumped the full bottle of each into the jar, the end result would have been the same and the frustration level would have been lower. If they offered the "Shake 'n Bake" kit (one that gets put in the oven at a low temperature and has much reduced curing times as a result) in the color I want in the future, I will definitely want to give that a try. Other than the places where I went a touch too heavy (which I think the airbrush kit would remedy), my work was about as good as my local pro.
Now... all of that said...
If my local pro had a reasonable, consistent wait time (I waited months for him to do a full gun, but only a week for him to do some small parts), I'd probably prefer to have him do it. Spending 2 - 3 hours of my day (admittedly, I enjoyed the company of the person I was spending the time with) on a painting project that came out to be only a touch cheaper than what he would have charged me doesn't make sense. If I were doing a full firearm, doing it myself would likely save me enough money to justify it. For a "showpiece" gun, I'd still consider my local pro, for a "working gun" that I just want to re-color and add some rust protection to, I'd do it myself.
J.Ja