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I just assembled my AK that I painted with Duracoat 3 weeks ago. Results were nice. For a bulgie AK kit the matte black almost is a perfect match. Make sure you clean the item that is going to get painted completely and do it several times. I used carb cleaner then washed in acetone. I think it helps to heat the item being painted in an oven because the paint dries almost on contact (less than 200 F, use clean oven mitts). I also had a hairdryer on the part when I was inspecting/drying. I used a airbrush at around 35 psi. Have a test area before you paint your item. Go over lightly and repeat. Never try to get it done in one pass. If you are painting an item "in the white" it will take a while for it to look painted. PATIENCE is key. Hard part is putting it to cure for several weeks. DO NOT ASSEMBLE until it's cured. Check out the site below. Refinishing an AR w/ Molyresin. Different paint but similar method coloradoshooting.org/ar_refinishing.htm |
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Duracoat is very easy to use. Cleaning is the most important part. You can use a number of things to clean, as the main thing you are trying to accomplish is ridding parts of oils. I will typically use carb cleaner to clean and then thoroughly rinse the parts in water to remove all the carb cleaner residue. Following this blow dry the parts(use a compressor if you have one) to ensure all water is off. Next mix the DC use 12 to 1 ratio for standard finish. More hardener for glossier finish. Then spray, for best results warm the DC by soking it in hot water for a few minutes and if possible use an air compressor if you have access to one. This will work much better than using compressed air cans. You can use reducer to help with flow of spray, but if you use an air compressor you should'nt need it, just increase the psi. Take your time while spraying. Use vertical and horizontal strokes. And although reducer is helpful for cleaing airbrush parts afterwards, it is not required. I have used acetone to clean and it works everytime. Just run some acetone through the brush after your done then soak all the brush parts in acetone for a few hours. You will then be able to rinse them right off. Good as new! Give it a day before you reassemble parts, small parts such as lower parts you may want to wait longer to reassemble. It will fully cure in a couple of weeks. I have fired rifles about a week after after applying duracoat to them with no problems. |
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