Thoughts on Brownells GUN-KOTE?

[fyrestarter]

Anyone have any experience with GUN-KOTE Spray-On/Bake-On Finish from Brownells? Thought it might be a cheap and painless way to refinish some slides, but I'm kinda worried about the overall finished product. Does it look like someone spray-painted a gun? Is it as durable / attractive as hard-chroming? Or is this just a shortcut I shouldn't be taking?

 

[gundoc]

I have used Brownells spray can GunKote and was disatisfied....BUT I didn't blast it with 120 grit aluminum oxide like the instructions called for. I apply real GunKote or DuraCoat in my gunsmithing shop and th results are excellent. The finish looks very tactical and wears well. I have a mini and a G23 that I did for testing and I still have an excellent finish after handling and shooting.

Doc

 

[Sarge]

Don't waste your money...

I bought one can, and there won't be a second. Ditto everything GunDoc says in his first sentence.

 

[hdm25]

It can be pretty good. It all depends on your prep work. It is NOT and will NEVER be as good as a hard chrome finish, though.

Not even any need to blast the surface unless you really want to do so. Detail strip your gun, have it blasted to remove the old finish and degrease it (or just degrease it if you are going to be putting the GunKote on over the old finish...though I wouldn't recommend this) and then start "painting" the parts. You might have to hang them on some sort of wire frame that will fit in your oven. I'd heat the parts a little either with a hair dryer or by putting them in the oven briefly before doing it. If you want a good-looking finish, you either have to buy the GunKote in liquid (i.e. non-spray) and use a hobbyist's airbrush or you have to stand off quite a bit and make sure that you "mist" the parts with the spray can. Use of the spray can subjects you to more of a chance of overspray or globs and it is harder to re-use if you are coating another gun later.

Anyway, using an airbrush on warm parts gives the best results (BEST results are from hitting warm parts that are freshly parkerized, but that's another story). Bake it for the time shown on the can and you are done (except for the smell in the kitchen).

The GunKote from Brownells is the same thing that is used by almost all of the people doing spray-n-bake finishes...they just rename it. Your results are a matter of prep and application, not a problem with the GunKote.

 

[Wallew]

TRUST ME, if you use the SAME oven that you cook in to 'bake' your Gunkote in, YOUR WIFE WILL KILL YOU.

And I would be suspicious of ANYTHING cooked in that oven after that, as Gunkote DOES gas a little when heated. Hence the smell mentioned above.

 

[4 Eyed Six Shooter]

It holds up better if you do blast it with the 120 grit medium prior to spraying. From the can, it is hard to use. As was said, you have to mist it, otherwise you will get runs. The liquid sprayed from a air brush gun is the way to go. The smell of baking it does not bother me much, but the smell from the spray had me running from the shop the first time I used it. I could almost feel brain cells dying as I ran outside. I now do it in my large garage. A spray booth would be the way to go if you have one. I took a large box, punched holes in either side and put wood dowles in either end of a rifle barrel and spin the barrel as I spray. I put a small box on either end of the barrel on the dowel to help support the weight of the barrel. Otherwise, the weight of the barrel will tend to make the dowels sag and the barrel might fall of on one side or the other. The box contains the overspray. Actions and small parts I hang from a piece or wire and spray. Be sure to let it dry at least one hour between coats. Pre heat your oven before putting the part in. If you don't and have a gas oven, water beads will form on the part as the oven warms and will mark the finish. Letting the part dry for several hours in a warm place cuts down on the smell when baking the part.
Good shooting, John K