New Surface finish idea... Gun Kote

After a failed attempt at anodizing, I tried out this Gun Kote stuff. You heat up the metal piece to 150F, spray it on, then bake it at 300F for an hour. It's incredibly strong, scratch resistant, and nice flat black for emissivity.

On the can it says it transfers heat well, and is an extremely thin layer so you don't have to worry about extra insulation of regular paint.

Check it out. I didn't prepare the surface well enough, and also sprayed it on too thick, so it didnt coat evenly. But here is my first try





http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1150

Was the other side the side you did first? It may have been too hot or not fully degreased. The stuff is kind of a ***** to apply.

You want to apply a thicker layer as KG suggests--with light, fogging passes from about a foot away. Too close and it will run and not form a film well. KG recommends 0.0004 in. thickness, which is a decent layer. It's about the thickness of regular aluminum foil. It takes a little while to build the layer from far away with those light passes.

They also say that the coating gets harder but may experience a shift in color to more greenish, but I haven't seen that with black. Perhaps it's more of an issue with lighter colors like yellow.

Also, degrease, degrease, degrease. Then degrease some more.

Yeah it was simply a matter of spraying it too close and too much. Next time around will be better.

If your looking for something that can be applied at room temp and gets harder with age, look for duracoat.

Here is a link: http://www.duracoat-firearm-finishes.com/

I have used it on a couple of flashlights. If you put multiple coats of clear gloss, you can get a very, very shiny coat.

Each flashlight came out better than last. If you can mix and match, you can make any color you want although I have stuck with the standard colors so far.

Bob E.

:thumbsup: An example of some nice Gun Kote work. I'm actually surprised we don't see more work like this. Look forward to seeing your later attempts with the benefit of experience.

baterija said:

:thumbsup: An example of some nice Gun Kote work. I'm actually surprised we don't see more work like this. Look forward to seeing your later attempts with the benefit of experience.

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He did a nice job. My next light will definitely be better. The stuff is great. Heck, I was modifying it a little today and slipped with the hack saw, it didn't even scratch the surface to the metal. It's TOUGH.


A word of caution though...it's terribly smelly and smokey when you bake it in the oven.

kuksul08 said:

He did a nice job. My next light will definitely be better. The stuff is great. Heck, I was modifying it a little today and slipped with the hack saw, it didn't even scratch the surface to the metal. It's TOUGH.


A word of caution though...it's terribly smelly and smokey when you bake it in the oven.

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I bake mine in a toaster oven in my garage with the garage door open. I've never seen smoke or smelled it though. Do you let yours air dry before baking?

If you turn my oven up to 300F for an hour it gets smelly and smokey with NO gunkote in it.

does this coating flex at all? Like say if you were to coat a hose clamp or something like that?

spc said:

does this coating flex at all? Like say if you were to coat a hose clamp or something like that?

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Being a polymer, it should flex somewhat, but being bonded to the part the way it is should prevent too much flexing. I wouldn't apply it to a hose clamp without testing first.

spc said:

does this coating flex at all? Like say if you were to coat a hose clamp or something like that?

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It says that it's flexible on the can. How much...well that's up to experimenting I guess

hmm, I think i'll try it

where can you find it? online only?

spc said:

hmm, I think i'll try it

where can you find it? online only?

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Maybe if you have locally a store that carries all sorts of stuff from Brownell's you could find the spray. The unpropelled liquid is available from kgcoatings.com.

Kal Gard sells it in a spray can I think you can get it at automotive stores.

The can I have is from many years ago...

ICUDoc said:

If you turn my oven up to 300F for an hour it gets smelly and smokey with NO gunkote in it.

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You should clean the exploded turkey/beef/wallaby bits out of it, then.

spc said:

does this coating flex at all? Like say if you were to coat a hose clamp or something like that?

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I know some guys who have used it on rubber surfaces and it holds up fairly well. For instance I have seen it applied to the handles of a fubar, which is some rubber/polymer surface and it seemed to cling to the surface very well. :thumbsup:

YMMV! I am planning on duracoating one of my 3D m*g's after i get her built in multicam.

This next attempt makes the first one look so weak!

Check it out. The trick is about 5-6 very thin coats, and keeping the surface absolutely dust free.








not bad for a hack saw and metal files eh? MC-E goes on one side, XR-E on the other, and four 5mm LEDs in the center.

Now that looks good, especially with such "crude" tools! :thumbsup:

Gotta ask, how did you keep things "dust free"?

I will say that looks very, very, VERY good. And you baked this one?

Bob E.

SafetyBob said:

Gotta ask, how did you keep things "dust free"?

I will say that looks very, very, VERY good. And you baked this one?

Bob E.

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Well it's not perfectly dust free as say, a body shop paint booth may be. I did my best by doing it inside the garage with the door shut, and nothing near me stirring up dust. Beforehand I used these lint free cloths and some contact cleaner to clean the surface really well. Yep, baked it at 300F for an hour

Thanks. I highly recommend this method, way easier/safer/cheaper than anodizing. It also takes quite a bit to scratch it.