Thread: Refinishing receiver question

About a year ago I picked up a badly abused Henry 22 lever on the cheap.

The word "cats" had been cut into one side of the stock along with marks nearby. I assume that the previous owner was using his rifle to keep track of how many pet kitties he had. The other side of the stock looked like it had taken a couple glancing blows from a hatchet.

The receiver cover, which is cast zinc alloy painted black, had some pretty good scratches and gouges in it too.

But the action was smooth and other than the cosmetic issues it was a fine little rifle. So I made it mine and brought it home.

Last weekend I finally got around to fixing it up. This is how it turned out.





I sanded down and refinished the stock and I'm pretty happy with the results there.

I also took the paint off the receiver cover and grained it with some 0000 wool. But it turns out that the zinc alloy is so soft that normal handling scratches it up.

So I figured I would clear coat the cover. I used some Testors Dullcote thinking that since it supposed to hold up to RC car fuel a little cleaning solvent wouldn't bother it. And the guy at the hobby store where I picked it up said it cured to a pretty tough finish.


At first I thought everything was good. But then I pulled the gun out of the safe last night and noticed a couple chips in the lacquer. I dragged my finger nail over one of the chips and did this.


It turns out that the Testors lacquer didn't stick, it flakes off easily.

So, now I will finally get to my question. Does anyone know of a product I could use to clear coat this receiver cover? Something that will hold up to a few safe bumps and not care if I drip some solvent on it.

Thanks.

Duracoat clear! Available in matte, satin and gloss!

Nothing I've tried works as good or is as tough as aluma-hyde from brownells.

You did a nice job, I use brownells bakeing laquer clear, works good and it pretty tough.

Sometimes - if you're lucky enough to get hold of a knowledgeable person at Brownell's - you can tell them the material or gun and they'll tell you which product has the best track record over the years.

Thanks for the input, guys. I am a little concerned about warping the cover if I bake it so I think I will give the duracoat a try.

Has anyone tried using duracoat clear over a polished surface?

Aluma Hyde II is spray on... No bake, and dry's to a very nice finish, resembling factory finish.