Refinish Preparations - Whats your secret?

H

HellBillySuperstar

New member
I have a few old rifles that I intend to Duracoat. I have two town down at the moment and I have one sanded, prepped, and ready to spray on, as far as I know.

The second one is more of an issue. I have an AK that years ago I sprayed with self etching primer and then BBQ paint. And of course when it was dry i threw about 100 rounds down the pipe to bake it on. Now that I want it off I am having a hell of a time trying to get it to go quietly into the night. I let some parts sit overnight in paint thinner. No luck. Then I tried gasoline. Didn't touch it. I am considering muriatic acid for the next step. As opposed to hours upon hours of sanding.

Another option that I haven't tried that as I am writing this all of the sudden seems like a good idea is acetone.

My question here is, what have YOU used to successfully remove/prepare the finish on your toys? What is your secret to getting a smooth sanded finish? What do you use as a final cleaner before putting on your finish? This will be my first go round and I want to do everything I can to make it go well.

Thanks in advance!
 
Don't use acid. There are some good paint strippers or removers out, especially the gel, that will make it peel off. I buy it from Ace Hardware, but can't think of the brand right off. It is a pink-orange looking gel. Lowe's should have it too.
 
Methylene chloride (in a lot of solvent-based paint strippers) will also removed it. Just look on the ingredients list on the can. Use it outdoors. For indoors, the Citrustrip is slower, but doesn't have bad fumes and vapors.

But if you are going to Duracoat anyway, you will likely want a bead blasted or fine abrasive blasted surface to improve its adhesion, and that blasting will take the primer off. So save a step and go straight to someone with a bead blast cabinet or, if you have a good compressor with decent pressure and volume (CFM) get your own. Harbor Freight has adequate quality stuff to do this in small volumes without spending an arm and a leg.
 
^^
This (bead blast) would be the best way to prep, take it down to bare metal.
That said, Duracoat doesn't require blasting for surface adhesion IIR the application specs correctly- been a while since I used it.

If the self-etching primer is epoxy-based and solvent-resistant, and won't lift if overcoated with the Duracoat, you might be in business. But you'd need to confirm the compatibility with them. Also comes down to the condition of the primer after you've removed the topcoat- I doubt it's not been scratched/gouged or otherwise damaged when you stripped it.

I would strip it (bead blast with aluminum oxide to remove the topcoat, then finish with glass beads) and start from bare metal.
 
BBQ paint is for Al. Doesn't bake anywhere, but especially from the inside. Acetone removes nail polish. Most of which is acrylic.
As I recall, Duracoat doesn't need to be applied to bare metal. Suspect if you blast the BBQ paint off, you could just repaint.
 
NO ACID!

Meth chloride is what to use. StripEZ, Zip Strip, and those commercial strippers will take it off. Check the lable to be sure what you are getting has MC in it.

Paint thinner will do ABSOLUTELY nothing. Nor will gasoline! Acetone or lqu thinner may soften it.

The only paint I have found the MC strippers will not remove is old fashioned milk paint from 150 years ago!
 
I've not used DuraCoat, specifically, so I don't know its exact adhesion limitations. But if you read about Gunkoat and the Brownell epoxy/moly finishes and similar products, they get their best adhesion and durability and salt water spray test ratings when the steel beneath the coating has been abrasive blasted and received a zinc phosphate conversion coated (e.g., Parkerizing) to serve as the finish substrate. DuraCoat's web site sells "Parkerizing" kits, and I suspect it's because it does the same thing for DuraCoat that it does for the other finishes. So if you want the very most effective protection and durability, blasting and phosphating are in your future.
 
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