Duracoat question

General Disarray · December 30, 2009, 03:21 PM

Is it okay to Duracoat the outside of the barrel of a pistol (Sig P229)? I did the rest of the pistol but wasn't sure if there were any issues with going over the barrel. Will it ware funny?

jborushko · December 30, 2009, 03:58 PM

i would imagine it would wear right off. why would you want to coat your barrel anyway? it wont add to lubrication. if anything it could gum up the weapon during fire if it wore off wrong.

personally i dont see any reason to coat it.

General Disarray · December 30, 2009, 11:02 PM

It's mostly an aesthetics thing. There was a coating on it to begin with from the factory. Now it's about 60% worn off. After I put a coat on the slide and frame the worn off barrel is bringing down the character of the whole thing, you know?

Bigfatts · December 30, 2009, 11:38 PM

I've done a couple guns in Dura Coat and while it's generally a good finish it does tend to wear off in high friction areas like slide rails and bolt runways. I would recommend against doing the outside of the bbl.

General Disarray · December 31, 2009, 01:15 AM

That's probably true. I just figured it couldn't look worse than it does already. I wonder if I gave it a good 6-8 weeks of curing if it would make a difference and hold up?

Mac's! · December 31, 2009, 11:39 AM

Duracoat will not burnish with use and will wear badly on load bearing surfaces. By "wear badly", I mean that it will flake off. To make matters worse, the flakes are large enough to gum up the works. Duracoat aka Polane was never intended as a finish on wearing surfaces.

This photo shows the worn off flakes of duracoat aka Polane built up in internals areas of this SIG.

A "wear in" finish like Gunkote or Molly Resin will burnish to a matching fit. Burnishing means that it will wear without flaking or peeling. Gunkote or similar finishes can be applied to all of the internals, slide/frame rails, barrel exteriors, etc. with no problems since it will burnish to a perfect matching fit.

SIG's lock up pretty tight on the barrel near the muzzle and will show wear there pretty quickly. Unless your barrel is rusty, duracoat aka Polane can and will make it worse.

Duracoat aka Polane may be fine for some things (dump truck & garbage truck sides, traffic barricades, etc) but it was never designed as a finish for the close tolerance parts found in a firearm. Keep yer powder, Mac.
Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com

December 30, 2009, 03:21 PM	#1
General Disarray Member Join Date: September 1, 2009 Posts: 36	Duracoat question Is it okay to Duracoat the outside of the barrel of a pistol (Sig P229)? I did the rest of the pistol but wasn't sure if there were any issues with going over the barrel. Will it ware funny? __________________ “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin 1759

December 30, 2009, 03:58 PM	#2
jborushko Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2009 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 469	i would imagine it would wear right off. why would you want to coat your barrel anyway? it wont add to lubrication. if anything it could gum up the weapon during fire if it wore off wrong. personally i dont see any reason to coat it. __________________ EDIT: yeah i always "edit" my posts

December 30, 2009, 11:02 PM	#3
General Disarray Member Join Date: September 1, 2009 Posts: 36	It's mostly an aesthetics thing. There was a coating on it to begin with from the factory. Now it's about 60% worn off. After I put a coat on the slide and frame the worn off barrel is bringing down the character of the whole thing, you know? __________________ “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin 1759

December 31, 2009, 01:15 AM	#5
General Disarray Member Join Date: September 1, 2009 Posts: 36	That's probably true. I just figured it couldn't look worse than it does already. I wonder if I gave it a good 6-8 weeks of curing if it would make a difference and hold up? __________________ “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” Benjamin Franklin 1759

December 30, 2009, 11:38 PM	#4
Bigfatts Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 2005 Location: Lutz Posts: 1,528	I've done a couple guns in Dura Coat and while it's generally a good finish it does tend to wear off in high friction areas like slide rails and bolt runways. I would recommend against doing the outside of the bbl.

December 31, 2009, 11:39 AM	#6
Mac's! Senior Member Join Date: August 15, 2001 Posts: 129	Duracoat will not burnish with use and will wear badly on load bearing surfaces. By "wear badly", I mean that it will flake off. To make matters worse, the flakes are large enough to gum up the works. Duracoat aka Polane was never intended as a finish on wearing surfaces. This photo shows the worn off flakes of duracoat aka Polane built up in internals areas of this SIG. A "wear in" finish like Gunkote or Molly Resin will burnish to a matching fit. Burnishing means that it will wear without flaking or peeling. Gunkote or similar finishes can be applied to all of the internals, slide/frame rails, barrel exteriors, etc. with no problems since it will burnish to a perfect matching fit. SIG's lock up pretty tight on the barrel near the muzzle and will show wear there pretty quickly. Unless your barrel is rusty, duracoat aka Polane can and will make it worse. Duracoat aka Polane may be fine for some things (dump truck & garbage truck sides, traffic barricades, etc) but it was never designed as a finish for the close tolerance parts found in a firearm. Keep yer powder, Mac. Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All. Mac's Shootin' Irons http://www.shootiniron.com