Another DURACOAT question

B

briang2ad

New member
Anyone who has used this:

I am ready to apply, but I have used non-chlorinated brake cleaner and a final cleaning with ACETONE to prep the metal. I notice that DURACOAT 'recommends' using their proprietary preps to degrease.

Is my final use of Acetone good enough, or do I have to order their stuff?

(I called them and they said that I 'should' be OK - but has enyone out their used "other than" their stuff?)

I am painting a Century M70.
 
Hey you know what would be a sticky thread? If you took your time to write down a step by step process of DuraCoating your M70, it would help a lotta fellas out like me :D
 
The limitation with the acetone will be that it doesn't dissovle absolutely everything. You need to be sure it removes the brake cleaner residue. It is good at removing water, but dries so fast it chills the surface and can cause new condensation, so a hair dryer may be needed. Were I you, I would instead have bought a spray can of the zero residue electronic cleaner CRC or other companies make.

Nick
 
Hard

Man... this is getting harder than woodpecker lips. It was much easier to prep the metal for Gun Kote. The reason I wanted to use Duracoat was because I cannot bake the AK in my oven. I did a CZ and Mak in Gun Coat and baked them in a toaster oven. Duracoat needs so many different proprietary chemicals.
 
Any process you did that worked for Gun Kote is likely to work for Duracoat. My cautions are from my own past experience with degreasing failures. If you got a good job from that brake cleaner/acetone for Gun Kote, then you've already proven acetone works with whatever residue that particular brake cleaner leaves. The condensation issue can be handled by warming the metal a little (tepid, not hot) with the hair dryer just before using the acetone. That is very likely to handle it.

Nick
 
Gun Kote

Yea- and with Gun Kote, I had a fresh park job. But, I think I just used brake cleaner or carb cleaner for the final degreasing, then I painted.

I have sprayed the M70 several times after heating with Brake cleaner to degrease, and it seems to be BONE dry. (The M70 had had oil, etc. on it). I have gone over it with a tooth brush and acteone on the rivets, etc. for a final cleaning. I think it is OK - I thought the acetone was a pretty "pure" cleaner, not leaving a residue.

Can you buy this CRC stuff at Home Depot or something?
 
Yes. Either they or Lowe's had it. Maybe in the electrical section. I've seen it in automotive part stores, too. CRC is a brand name (Chemical Rubber Company, originally). Green spray can, I believe. There are others. The local Microcenter computer store has another brand.

Acetone is usually pretty pure. It will have a touch of water in it. Like alcohol, it is difficult to make anhydrous. If you are uncertain, clean a piece of glass with it and look for residue. MEK works well.

Nick
 
Thanks

Maybe you will save me shipping chargesd for the Duracoat prop. stuff. I guess this is the same CRC that made the famous handbook at math/science guys own!!! (I am a physics guy by training).
 
Lacquer thinner is better

I usually will wipe the parts down with lacquer thinner myself. I bathe the parts if I can in it in a decent size plastic bowl, but for the longer parts, i simply wipe them with a clean rag,

Duracoat is very easy to use and prepare for it. I also will at times use a product called Pre to remove any kind of wax or oil from the parts and really like it, but it is a tad more expensive to use for a one time use.

Acetone is good for removing oil, but it can leave other things on the steel which can cause problems for you. I would suggest getting the small can of lacquer thinner and wipe down all of the parts and then spray it once it is dry and blown off with a filtered air hose to remove any dust or lint that may be on the parts before you spray. Make sure to use a filtered air hose or you can spray oil and dirt from the compressor itself or oil from an inline oiler if you have those.

If you don't have these, use the hairdryer like Nick suggested as it will not only help blow off the parts but warm them as well for you. I use my heat gun at times to heat the parts.

Best of luck with it and don't make it harder on yourself than it should be. Simply clean the parts and spray them and allow the first coat to dry completely before you add another coat or the clear coat if you are using it as well. An hour in a oven at 120 degrees will cure the part so you can add additional coats or put it back together and use them.
 
Thanks

Country boy: Thanks. I would really like to make the gun black - much cooler than the middle gray park that Century applies. If I cannot get the CRC, I'll try the laquer thinner.
 
Matte Black or Tatical Black

If you use a matte black or Tatical black, I think you will be happy with it. You can leave off the clear coat if you want to, or you can back it off about 10" and spray it and it will just add a protective coat over the black. Best of luck with it and ask anything you need to. There are no stupid questions, just folks that think they know more than others that give stupid answers.
 
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