What I did last weekend.

[TrickyNicky]

I got kind of bored last weekend and happened to be at the hardware store, so I thought I'd go ahead and try painting the barrel on one of my ARs. Its a stainless barrel and while I'm not worried about a glare giving away my carefully chosen tactical position behind the firing line at the range, I just didn't end up liking it like that after all.

I had read Dolomite recommend chalkboard paint in a rattle can several different times and I figured its cheap enough to try so why not? I also grabbed a can of high temp paint to compare since I had read a lot of other people say it was great. I would have to say I am not a fan of the high temp stuff. It went on wetter and took longer to dry between coats. I got a nasty run, but that was my fault, still the chalkboard paint was easier to work with IMO. It goes on fairly dry, and even when I was spaying a bit heavier than I normally would to make sure the fluting was good and covered, it never ran. It also touches up incredibly well. I had two small scratches from getting it into the oven and more where it was too tall in places around the gas block that disappeared quick and easy without having to respray anything. I used an old margarine tub lid and sprayed some of the paint on it from 2-3" away until it pooled up a bit then used a small paint brush to apply it. Waited about a minute and used a clean dry brush to help blend it in, but based on what I'm seeing I may not even have needed to.

So far it seems like a durable finish that I can cheaply and easily touch up if needed, hard to beat that, plus it looks great, i guess I can use it as a small chalkboard too which is... Neat?


Thanks to Dolomite for putting the info out there, I never would have guessed chalkboard paint but it makes total sense.



Here's a before,



And after,





Sorry for the bad pics.

Edited April 11, 2014 by TrickyNicky

[peejman]

Chalkboard paint... interesting.  :up:

[hipower]

Your pics show an almost shiny, glossy finish. Is that the way it becomes from  the heating?

[TrickyNicky]

Your pics show an almost shiny, glossy finish. Is that the way it becomes from  the heating?

Naw, bad lighting + bad camera = bad pics.

The finish is matte. It almost looks like dark black parkerizing.

[JAB]

When dry, does the paint have a noticeable 'texture' to it?  Just wondering.  My imagination has been working on the seeds of what I think would be a fun project - a single shot shotgun modified to make a good truck/trunk gun.  I have been thinking I would want a durable, low gloss, low cost and easily touched up finish so that paint sounds like a possible option.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Chalkboard paint, once baked, is a very durable finish. I say baked because I do not like to wait. It would probably take a week or two to get a durable as a baked on finish.

I have used it on at least 10 guns now and they all turned out great. It is the only finish I always have around.

Until full cured it will have a little sheen to it but once baked it is dull.

I make sure to degrease the parts or media blast them. After that I apply a light first coat the a few more coats going progressively heavier until completely coated. Then I turn the oven on 300 degrees and let it heat completely up. Then I put the parts in the oven, close the door then turn the oven off. It takes a few hours for it to cool don ugh to handle and by that time it is completely cured.

Btw, regular Krylon or Rustoleum is almost as durable when baked. I have baked a few big parts that were painted with Krylon and they have held up well. I painted my wife's AR and it was almost impossible to remove the Krylon 5 years later. I had to soak it in bags filled with acetone for a few days in the hot summer sun.

[TrickyNicky]

When dry, does the paint have a noticeable 'texture' to it?  Just wondering.  My imagination has been working on the seeds of what I think would be a fun project - a single shot shotgun modified to make a good truck/trunk gun.  I have been thinking I would want a durable, low gloss, low cost and easily touched up finish so that paint sounds like a possible option.

The one I did last weekend came out pretty smooth, keep in mind that I started with smooth metal. I'm going to do another that has been parkerized already, I expect that one will have a bit of texture to it, but we'll see. I'll keep ya posted.