Poll: firearm refinishing poll

[Shooter98]

I have a a long range rifle that I painted in desert camo just because I think it looks cool, and no other reason. In all honesty, I hate having a blued rifle that looks like every other Savage at the range. Now, with the camo paint it stands out and gets a ton of attention. Now, on my pistols I prefer durability to cosmetics. All my carry pistols end up fairly worn.

 

[speelyei]

personally, I hate pink guns, especially pink ARs.

 

[Bunny]

personally, I hate pink guns, especially pink ARs.

Some women would disagree with you.

 

[titsonritz]

personally, I hate pink guns, especially pink ARs.

Some women would disagree with you.

I've known gals that weren't interested in shooting at all, but warmed up to the idea when they saw a pink gun. Whatever works and gets ‘em shooting I say. IMO coating a weapon should serve a purpose, whether it is for protection of the hardware, camouflage or just peeks someones interest, it's all good.

 

[asiparks]

man.. i understand some of you guys come from some weird generation and/or corner of the world where you can somehow use a gun and still have it stay in pristine, unscratched condition... but where i come from, a pretty gun is a FAGGY gun. a used gun has wear- not just "minor holster wear," but SCRAPES and GOUGES and RUST STAINS and shiny metal showing through whatever finish you have on it, from melonite to krylon to OEM blue. because it gets shot- and not just slow-fired on sunny days on a pad at the range, but drug through the mud and blood and dropped and run into bubblegum and used for things other than shooting and so forth. and if your gun does not show signs of these activities, i'm gonna find it pretty difficult to believe you know how to use it.

[/rant]

My melonited DW CBOB has 3 years of daily carry and 17K rounds through it. Looks almost new. If that makes it "faggy", I can't say that I'm going to lose much sleep over it....

Spend a few moments looking into the different treatments such as melonite/Atranite/isonite and coatings such as NP3 and you might find that some of them do offer real functional benefits other than looks.

 

[Bunny]

I've known gals that weren't interested in shooting at all, but warmed up to the idea when they saw a pink gun. Whatever works and gets ‘em shooting I say. IMO coating a weapon should serve a purpose, whether it is for protection of the hardware, camouflage or just peeks someones interest, it's all good.

 

[Swedish K]

for AKs, FALs, etc I prefer to park em first and if the park coating doesn't come out even I may follow up with a molly resin finish of some type.

 

[speelyei]

if your interest in firearms is so flimsy it takes a pink gun to get you onboard, I'd just as soon you stay unarmed.

 

[moose]

I might do it on some ugly guns I have, an AR-7 I have comes to mind but it certainly wouldnt be a priorty to get it done.

If one really wants camoflague, some kind of burlap wrap is much more effective.

 

[The B]

if your interest in firearms is so flimsy it takes a pink gun to get you onboard, I'd just as soon you stay unarmed.

this is gonna sound contrary to my earlier rant, but the fact of the matter is that women are NOT men, and cannot be expected to think, reason, or behave like us. my wife is a perfect example of this and how it relates to guns- while she was never "anti gun," her feelings about them were mostly negative, she didn't think i should carry one every waking hour of every day, didn't want any loaded guns out of the safe, and didn't understand why i would spend thousands on them and then thousands more to feed them, etc, etc. in summary, she had a typical American women's view of guns.

i built her a rifle.. i used "burgundy" anodized receivers and painted the furniture a perfect matching red, and gave it to her for an anniversary gift. very high quality, custom, and attractive.. she loved it. lo and behold, that little change in perspective- "i didn't know guns could be pretty..."- was all it took to open the door. fast forward a few years... nowdays she carries a glock, approves of me keeping a number of guns loaded and out of the safe, encourages me to take the kids up to the range, and is as pro-gun as any woman you're going to find.

if a pretty gun can plant a seed, i'm all for it. MY point is that a serious shooter shouldnt fuss over wear in a serious gun. if it's not beat up, it's not being properly used.

 

[MarkAd]

a serious shooter shouldnt fuss over wear in a serious gun. if it's not beat up, it's not being properly used.

Your really think a beat up gun is OK? Wear is normal. beat up means you aint caring proper for the gun.

 

[The B]

Your really think a beat up gun is OK? Wear is normal. beat up means you aint caring proper for the gun.

if it isn't pitted and it functions, it's properly cared for. anything beyond that is a reflection of how it's used.

 

[Bunny]

this is gonna sound contrary to my earlier rant, but the fact of the matter is that women are NOT men, and cannot be expected to think, reason, or behave like us. my wife is a perfect example of this and how it relates to guns- while she was never "anti gun," her feelings about them were mostly negative, she didn't think i should carry one every waking hour of every day, didn't want any loaded guns out of the safe, and didn't understand why i would spend thousands on them and then thousands more to feed them, etc, etc. in summary, she had a typical American women's view of guns.

i built her a rifle.. i used "burgundy" anodized receivers and painted the furniture a perfect matching red, and gave it to her for an anniversary gift. very high quality, custom, and attractive.. she loved it. lo and behold, that little change in perspective- "i didn't know guns could be pretty..."- was all it took to open the door. fast forward a few years... nowdays she carries a glock, approves of me keeping a number of guns loaded and out of the safe, encourages me to take the kids up to the range, and is as pro-gun as any woman you're going to find.

if a pretty gun can plant a seed, i'm all for it. MY point is that a serious shooter shouldnt fuss over wear in a serious gun. if it's not beat up, it's not being properly used.

I agree with you. It didn't take a pink gun to spark my interest, but I think people sometimes forget that guns are intimidating, no matter who you are. And even more so when you aren't accustomed to being around them, had a bad experience, or don't have any experience with them at all.... Which is the case for many women. We usually aren't raised with the opportunities to shoot and generally aren't encouraged to have anything to do with guns. I think a pink gun is sometimes a good way to lessen the intimidation factor for women. Kind of the way most people here would suggest you start a girl out with a .22 or revolver. It's the same concept. Yeah, it seems kinda silly and unnecessary to some, but whatever makes people feel comfortable. And like I've said to a few other men, some of us just like pink (myself included). I don't think it's any different from camo patterns, inlays, carvings, engravings, gold, or any other cosmetic novelties that are available. If it functions well and the person likes it, who cares if it's pink..... or if it's ugly and has some cosmetic wear.

 

[speelyei]

Well, you certainly don't need my approval. If a pink gun floats your boat, go for it, you aren't alone. Pink certainly isn't as garish a color scheme as some of the benchrest rifles I've seen. I prefer beat-up looking guns, military firearms, and drab earth tone colors. My Dad likes fine woods polished to a high sheen and immaculate blueing. To each their own.

 

[TEricksen]

I've been running Moly-Kote Inc. since 1997, and I've refinished thousands of firearms with matte thermoset resin coatings. The finished product looks excellent, the firearms will not rust, the coatings are impervious to any chemicals I've found, wears much better than bluing, can be touched up after years of service to look as good as new, the teflon makes actions work smoother, and unlike Duracoat finishes the thermosets are thin enough to coat all of the internals. I typically do 100 matte black guns for every OD green or gray. Here are a few I've done:

View attachment 189264

View attachment 189265

View attachment 189266

 

[phishisgroovin]

I like using VHT header paint on mine, its easier to remove once it needs refinishing.
I bake the parts at 350 for 3 hours or a little less, it usually needs to be baked at 600 degrees, but i bake at lower temps for longer periods.

one hour @ 350, let cool.
again, one hour 350 let cool
repeat steps one and two & let cool completely between each bake cycle.

The stuff holds well to chemicals too with the ceramics in it.
Just doesnt hold up as well when scraped on rocks crawling through brush while stalking a Deer or elk lol! Nothing holds up to that lol!

PS: but only on project beater rifles that are being ressurected to fire again after years of neglect.

 

[rusobr2]

stocks --of course i can see refinishing them , but i'v been painting metal items for 45 yrs. if you paint it.."IT"S GOING TO CHIP"!! in & out of gun racks in trks.,lean it on tree, set it on rock,or just drop it !! in my book a chip looks like crap - my metal items i go over w/ wd 40 and "OO" then second time i use "OOO" and wd 40 --read the label on the can-----it's about 75% silicones--that will hold up in any weather conditions ! right now i'm looking into "BLACK CHROME" supposed to be a place just so. of redding ca. i'll keep ya posted .

my thoughts only.........steven

 

[asiparks]

When melonite can be done for $150 per gun, why settle for anything less ? It can't peel, chip, rust*, flake or anything else. It has been dropped, it has rattled in an old ammo can with a stack of mags.....

I need to go take a pic of what it looks like today after the 3 years EDC/18,000 rounds...

* it will rust but you're talking days of complete salt water immersion, in which case your problems might be bigger than your guns finish.....

 

[Swedish K]

If I recall correctly "black chrome" is actually a nickel coating that is less hard / durable than normal chrome finish. Also be sure that you are getting a true chroming process as I have seen "black chrome" powder coating which holds up fairly well but may not hold up to the heat of a gun that is being fired rapidly or for an extended period of time.

 

[asiparks]

back in the days when cameras used "film" Black chrome was a popular finish, but it would wear through at the high points to the brass (yeah, old days) on the top and bottom plates.......