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Old August 31, 2012, 08:02 AM   #1
ammorelds
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Powder Coating hand gun

I run a side business of powder coating and I have had a couple request from people if i could powder coat there guns (handguns and some rifles) .... just wondering if what to watch out for or if it is worth doing
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Old August 31, 2012, 09:51 AM   #2
Edward429451
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I doubt that powdercoating would be a good option for revolvers. It has thickness and between the powdercoating on the cylinder and topstrap it might not cycle.

I had my shotgun powdercoated. They didn't tape it off very well and got some overspray inside the receiver, and too far down the barrel so that it would not go into the receiver until after painstakingly sanding it off of there.

That's it. Other than that PC'ing a gun makes it weatherproof. It almost made the serial number go away also. Careful with that.
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Old August 31, 2012, 10:01 AM   #3
Coach Z
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I'd be worried about the heat affecting the metal of the gun in addition to all the concerns posted above.

Also if it's more then a one off I believe you have to get an FFL because you are doing business working on guns.
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Old August 31, 2012, 12:45 PM   #4
hulley
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If you already powder coat, why dont you learn to apply cerakote? I wouldnt think the process is too far removed from each other, prep and bake right? BTW I know theres more too it than that. If you already have an oven and blasters I wouldnt think you would have to add much by way of equipment.
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Old August 31, 2012, 03:49 PM   #5
drail
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Although I have never tried it I think powder coat could be applied and look very good but it's not going to hold up in the real world. It's still just basically "paint".
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Old August 31, 2012, 07:32 PM   #6
Edward429451
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I disagree with that. Powder coating is a very tough finish.
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Old August 31, 2012, 08:04 PM   #7
Creeper
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ammorelds
just wondering if what to watch out for or if it is worth doing
I've used the services of American Powder Coating here in WA. for a number of years with tools... motorcycle, automobile and gun parts.
When I provide parts, I've already disassembled everything, marked it and ID'd or masked surfaces that I did not want coated. In those several years, I've never had a problem.

If you want to powder coat firearms, you need to either have a very good understanding of firearms... how to disassemble and assemble them, what the wear and contact points are etc etc, or you need to do individual parts only... and still need to be well aware of component parts contact points.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coach Z
I'd be worried about the heat affecting the metal of the gun in addition to all the concerns posted above.
Also if it's more then a one off I believe you have to get an FFL because you are doing business working on guns.
There are some very high temperature powder coatings. On the second item, I do believe you are correct.

Cheers,
C
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Old September 1, 2012, 09:33 AM   #8
drail
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"Powder coating is a very tough finish". That must be why all of the powder coated parts on my Jeep are turning into something that looks just like rusted steel. OK, maybe it "CAN" be very tough but I haven't seen any that I would put in that category. It doesn't seem to be able to deal with salt really well.
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Old September 1, 2012, 11:43 AM   #9
johnbt
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The powder coat finish on my 1996 so-called Military Model CZ-75B has held up very well.

www.cz-usa.com/faq

Q: "What is the finish called "Black polycoat?"

A: Black polycoat is an electrostaticly-applied powder coating that is then oven cured to a hard shell. The coating is applied over a Parkerized or Phosphate finish which is very corrosion resistant in itself, the parts are then racked, given a negative charge and sprayed. This charged attraction literally draws the coating to the parts, giving the parts a uniform finish and reducing overspray. The parts are cured in an oven, producing a tough finish that meets Mil. Spec.
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Old September 1, 2012, 05:53 PM   #10
Mac's!
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We regularly powder coat firearms parts. Yes, it's a great finish as long as certain limitations are understood and precautions taken. It will not work for close tolerance moving parts. It is a stone cold b*t*c to remove after it's cured if it gets messed up. It does not do well on parts that get really hot. The color changes. It will blur serial numbers or other engraving. Handling it after the powder is applied but before it's cured is stressful. A fly going by to close will mess it up. Moving parts are a no-no!

On the plus side, it's a very durable finish. It's not as chemically resistant as our regular Tuff-Gun 1 finish but we fix that by applying our TG-1 finish over the powder coated finish. That combination makes it 100% non reactive to chlorine, salt, boiling salt water, sweat, tears, blood, battery acid, etc.

It's not easy to apply but is very durable once it's finished. We use it for slow firing long gun barrels (no high heat build up), bipods, bolt handles, etc. Parts that don;t move a lot or get really hot.

Yes, I tried it on a hand gun one time. ONE TIME but never again! It's a very tiny grain powder that comes out of the nozzle like smoke and then "wraps" around the part that's charged. It goes into all of the holes, cut outs, etc. It's impossible to mask off all of the small openings in a handgun frame to keep it out of the insides. It will make internals bind, stick, etc. Keep yer powder dry, Mac. (No pun inteneded. That's my signature!)
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Old September 1, 2012, 06:18 PM   #11
Dfariswheel
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One last thing to be very aware of:

The ATF requires a firearms re-finisher to have a Federal Firearms License (FFL).
Doing gun refinishing is considered to be gunsmithing and you MUST have a license to do it or you'd be committing a Federal crime.

What you need to do is figure out if the amount of work you'd be doing and the profits would be worth the cost of the license, the Federal investigation and mass of paperwork to get a license.
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