Refinishing a Beretta

[dralarms]

I have 2 96FS police trade ins that I would like to refinish. disassembly, and bead blasting are no problem. what I am looking for is something to refinish them with. Any suggestions?

[Guest jackdm3]

1. I'd like to hear more about this.

2. I'd like to hear more about what happened to the winner of the free refinishing contest.

[Guest GunTroll]

You thinking "spray can" finish or something else?

Jack, Photoguy76 the winner is getting his pistol back Saturday.

[DMark]

... Jack, Photoguy76 the winner is getting his pistol back Saturday.

Yea..., I'm with Cooper - - - Show us the Pics!

[Guest GunTroll]

I'd like the owner see it first.

[dralarms]

You thinking "spray can" finish or something else?

Spray can is all I could hope to do.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Have read that nickel plate is a tough gun finish, dunno. Maybe nickel would be considered too gaudy, though I like stainless 92 looks. A taste thing.

Am ignorant of it. Was just wondering because long long ago worked at a factory and one of my jobs was toting big palettes of hardware to a local plater for nickel plating. It was a nasty smelly place with big vats of noxious chemicals. Dunno if an industrial place like that would be appropriate for a fine finish on a fine firearm, but I can't see how it would cost very much, since the factory could afford to pay em to nickel-plate tens of thousands of homely old hinges and brackets to go on stoves.

[Guest GunTroll]

Spray can is all I could hope to do.

Brownell's has some products that would fit that bill.

[dralarms]

Brownell's has some products that would fit that bill.

Thanks.

Which would be better?

Edited September 24, 2010 by dralarms

[BeMan]

I have used Brownell's Alumahide II with good results. It comes in a variety of colors and is perfect for alloy frame guns, such as the Beretta. Follow the directions carefully. It takes anywhere from 7-10 days to fully cure. I have an AK that I refinished with the dark parkerizing gray and it still looks as good as the day I painted it. The finish is soft for the first few days, but is extremely durable after it cures. Hope this helps.

[TGO David]

Air-dry finishes just don't do it for me and I've yet to find one that will hold up to daily abuse. I still believe that the best results come from something heat cured. Norrell's moly resin, Cerakote, etc. I'd love to be proven wrong about this because I've got a ton of other uses for a good air-cure product if one exists.

[dralarms]

Air-dry finishes just don't do it for me and I've yet to find one that will hold up to daily abuse. I still believe that the best results come from something heat cured. Norrell's moly resin, Cerakote, etc. I'd love to be proven wrong about this because I've got a ton of other uses for a good air-cure product if one exists.

I agree. And I'm rough on a gun.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I agree. And I'm rough on a gun.

That is why I usually go for stainless if possible.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I would use Gunkote in an aerosol can. Prep is everything with Gunkote. I have used it dozens of times and has turned out great. The wear is good as well as one gun I did was carried everyday for about 6 months without any signs of problems.

Use gloves for everything. To keep your skin oils off the parts and to keep potentially harmfull stuff off of you.

Here is what I do:

Disassemble the parts to be coated as completely as you can

Clean and degrease all the parts to be coated the best you can

Media blast all the parts to be coated (I used medium aluminum oxide from Northern Tool)

Bring a pot of 1/2 gallon water and 1/2 gallon Simple Green to near boil

As the bubbles start to form remove from heat and let it sit for a minute or two to allow the temp to equalize

Place the parts to be coated in the Simple Green solution and let it sit for about 15 minutes

***Do not breath the steam***

Stir the parts occasionally to help break any oils loose

At the same time start boiling some distilled water and turn you oven on its lowest setting

When it starts to boil remove from heat and let it sit for a minute or two to allow the temp to equalize

Remove the parts from the Simple Green solution and place in the distilled water for another 15 minutes

***Do not breath the steam***

Remove the parts from the water and place them in the oven long enough for all the water to evaporate

Remove the parts one at a time, not all at the same time, and coat them according to the instructions

**If you remove them all at the same time and the first ones will be warmer than the last ones causing them to look different**

Make sure you spray outside though because it is some pretty nast stuff, both smelling and bad for you.

After all parts are coated with Gunkote place them back in the oven at the recommended temp for the recommended time. I normally put the parts in then set the temp to the 300 degree temp it requires. Once it gets to temp I time off and hour then turn off the oven and let the parts cool slowly in the oven over the course of a few hours.

Because the finish is already dry when you begin the baking process it doesn't emit any nasty smells in the oven.

This is the down and dirty way I have done it for the last few years and works great. I have only done handguns and small parts but I have went thru at least 4 cans of Gunkote so far. If you have any quesitons feel free to ask.

Dolomite

[TGO David]

Bar none the absolute best finish I've ever had on a gun was Robar's NP3. That stuff was freaking AMAZING. Next up would be Ionbond. Also amazing.

[Dolomite_supafly]

For the DIY'er any two part bake on finish, like Cerakote, is going to be better than either a single part bake on, like aerosol Gunkote, or a two part air dry, like Duracoat. Prep is going to be the same regardless of the coating.

Cerakote is a very, very durable finish compared to most other "DIY" finishes. But even then the prep must be good or it is no better than any other coating. Professional coatings are a different ball game altogther and are going to be better than most DIY coatings. I have never tried Robar's NP3 but I have heard the same as TGO David is saying and that it is amazing.

I use Gunkote because it is easy for me to apply, I can use the firearm that day and it has held up very well for me provided the prep is good. Is Gunkote the best out there, far from it, but it does provide the best attributes for me. I like the ease of use. I also don't mine using Krylon on certain guns because it is eay to apply, touch up and remove.

I think a lot of the problems home users are seeing are from improper prep. My wife's 9mm AR was prepped very well before we applied a series of flat Krylon colors. It has held up to over 5000 rounds being fired by numerous people in numerous settings. It has been used, abused and for the most part is has held up fine. The barrel has even been too hot to touch dozens of times yet the paint is still holding up on there. The rubber grip of course has some wear as does the area around the takedown pins but other than that there is no discernable wear, even on the flash hider. I tried to remove the Krylon from the rear sight of that gun and it took a 24 soak in solvent to break its grasp after it had been curing for a few years. Conversely I have known people who used Duracoat and report it was flaking amost instantly. I attibure this to the prep more so than the coating itself. As long as you do a thurough prep you will have decent results provid3ed you use a quality coating.

Whatever coating you use make sure the prep is done correctly to ensure the removal of all oils. If you don't then you are going to have miserable results. If you can't do a proper prep then have a professional shop do it. It will save you both time and money in the long run.

Dolomite

[dralarms]

Thanks for all the help fellas, but I've had to putthis project on the back burner for a while. I'd love to learn how to do it properly but with my schedule that ain't happening right now. So for now I'll have 2 very ugly Beretta 96FS's in the safe waiting a new coat.