Coating a pistol

I bought a Foster frame for the Nelson upper. Looking at the different coatings, I have no idea what to use. DuraCoad, Gun-Kote, Ceramacoat, etc, ect. There are tons of choices.

I'm not looking for pretty, just something easy to do, to protect it. 

BTW, put the frame together, and it functions just fine. 

Ken

there are a lot of coatings out there..

almost all of them require the item being coated to be blasted( roughened ) prior to application.. either sand or other stronger abrasives such as AO.

A polished surface is a recipe for runs when you spray it one.

if you can't blast the frame then I'd suggest Aluma-Hyde II from Brownells.. It's an epoxy based paint that I've used over the years for beat up Remington trigger guards that holds up very well.  It is a fairly thick coating so I'd suggest taping up your frame rails and putting all the pins into the frame when you spray it..you don't want it in any hole. back away from the part at least 12" and try to get a light even coating.. heating the frame a bit prior to coating with a hair dryer will help.

 the next trick is after you spray it leave it hanging for at least a week( I like two) to let it cure. It comes in several colors including gloss and dull black.. 

I have used rough scotch brite on parts to rough them a bit prior to application.

no heat needed to cure

it's not going to last like Cerakote or some of the heat cured products, but you asked for easy..  it can be sanded a bit and re-coated after it's fully cured.

if you have the ability to blast the frame with sand I'd suggest Parkerizing. it's fairly easy to do but does require minimum equipment such as a fish cooker propane heat base, a ceramic pot, a thermometer and the solution..... it is available in black..

Of all the "paint on" finishes, I think that Cerakote has the best reputation. I have, just the main spring housing done with Cerakote and it looks decent (satin finish) and holds up. If you want something permanent, you'll have to go with hard chrome or other platings.

I've had the ones I've built Cerakoted. Mostly because it's convenient as there's a guy who's doing it locally. Cost me $100 for a disassembled lower and a couple small parts. I'm thinking of trying Parkerizing in the future.

I built one for a friend in Virginia who sent it out for something called Ion Bond. Never heard of it before. I haven't seen it except for pictures he sent. Really looks nice and he's very happy with it.

Jim

I've cerakoted several of my wad  guns and conversion lowers. It is the best home method but.....it does take some equipment.  You need to blast with AO and you need a heat box capable of maintaining 200-250 degrees for several hours.. you also will need a good air gun or a quality air brush which I prefer. Done right it is pretty tough and you don't have to worry about guns rusting. Seems in my old age my sweat turns blued guns into rust buckets...

Cerakote Midnight Blue
Accuracy X 10mm 1911 Longslide
Ironwood Grips by SGM

Greetings,

What is the thickness of a Cerakote application?

0.001" or more? Perhaps less?

Cheers,

Dave

Ken,
You have to be a very good painter to fully coat a 1911 frame (inside and out). I prefer Parkerizing, then spraying with Kroil on a bullseye pistol that gets used a lot.

Like JGlenn21 says; "if you have the ability to blast the frame with sand I'd suggest Parkerizing. it's fairly easy to do but does require minimum equipment such as a fish cooker propane heat base, a ceramic pot, a thermometer and the solution..... it is available in black.."

Cerakote is very thin.. right around .001 but even at that you want to keep it out of your pin holes.. My family has used it since they first started for all kinds of firearms. Very helpful bunch of folks too.

 The midnight blue is about as close as you can get to normal gun bluing with it.. I have mixed Socom blue and midnight black and come fairly close.

Thanks for all the replys. I don't have a blasting setup here. I could roughen with emery paper.

The Foster looks like it has a grey Park on it, I'll call and ask. When fileing and buffing, it looks different underneath. If so, it would suck anything up.

Anyone done a Foster?

use quite a few of them.. just plain steel underneath their coating.

I'd have it professionally Parkerized, but then again, I am a Garand guy just getting started in bullseye.
Mike B