Duracoat Firearms Finish.

gunhappy_ie

Hey everyone.

To start, thanks for looking and showing interest. I am looking for feedback as to what ye all think about Duracoat from Laurer Custom Weaponry (http://www.lauerweaponry.com/). The reason is that I am heading over to the U.S in March to do there refinishing course and as mentioned im gauging interest with the idea of setting up here in Ireland.

Abit about me and why I am doing this... Im a Qualified Armourer and shoot myself. I had a semi auto .308 that from new the standard finish on the barrel blistered after firing 10 rounds and eventually melted off with light use. This wasnt good enough for me so I began to search for a better alternative. This led me to L.C.W's door. I refinished my rifle in Duracoats H&K black and the new finish can withstand shooting 300-400 rounds without showing any signs of deteoration. I have since found myself refinishing the odd stock or part for friends (after they damaged pistol slides installing sights, fixing a botched job from spray cans !!!) or dealers (cant sell a rifle in a particular colour). I have now decided to intergrate my annual holiday with this course as I love doing this sort of thing anyway. I have now coated a few pieces with different camo patterns and will in the next week or so post pictures for everyone to see. I also have an Airsoft M16 replica that I have done in a digital pattern, that will be broken up into parts and left with several dealers around the counrty if you want to see first hand what the finish is like. I know with this recession that it possibly isnt the best time to be thinking about this kinda stuff but firearms is a passion of mine, Im doing the course anyway and am curious as to what interest it would attract.

Anyway.. its a big nutshell, but there you have it.

Thenk you for your time.

Gunhappy

Vegeta

A person can run a business and post on boards.
There is however, a general policy of no advertising/marketing on boards.
Therefore we have removed the marketing spiel from the post.
We have left the remainder of the post as we think discussion on this topic is of benefit to the shooting community

gunhappy has been told not to try and pimp his business on the forum as it wouldn't be tolerated from him or others.
What people do via PM is their own business.

So this post remains open as a vehicle to discuss firearms finishes. Likes, dislikes, have you ever considered getting it done, other work you have seen and liked etc etc.

So again, no pimping and no questions leading to pimping.

Jonty

Is it possible to see a before and after picture. These don't have to be your own work. I know of a battered krico that could do with a good finish.....

gunhappy_ie

Jonty, i will have pics up in the next week or alternativly you can pm me your email addy and I will forward you on the pictures that I have saved in my outbox.

jwshooter

i have dura coat on one of my stalking rifles as i dont like stainless .it was done in england and a nice job ,rocks ,wire or hard use will strip the dura coat away .regardless of what they say but its better than a shine rifle .for the normal guy that will not dog a rifle its fine and looks well ,

gunhappy_ie

lwshooter. There is only 1 qualified applicator in the UK and hes only set up in the last year. How long ago did you get it done ? Of course use will wear down any finish, if it didnt then why not make the complete firearm out of the stuff and they would never wear ! All finishes are subject to there applicator competence, prep work and how it is applied, if that isnt done correct then it will directly affect the durabitity of the finish. This is why LCW and other companies run there courses, obviously so that there product is applied properly and that the full potential of the finish is achieved.

jwshooter

gunhappy_ie wrote: »

lwshooter. There is only 1 qualified applicator in the UK and hes only set up in the last year. How long ago did you get it done ? Of course use will wear down any finish, if it didnt then why not make the complete firearm out of the stuff and they would never wear ! All finishes are subject to there applicator competence, prep work and how it is applied, if that isnt done correct then it will directly affect the durabitity of the finish. This is why LCW and other companies run there courses, obviously so that there product is applied properly and that the full potential of the finish is achieved.

i got it done with in the last year with the 1 qualified applicator,its not rocket science lad ..BnQ sell dura coat dont try to make a muppet out of me for your own purpose .

Jonty

jwshooter wrote: »

BnQ sell dura coat .

I heard that too. Whats the craic with it

ejg

Duracoat is actually very nice to apply, much easier than most car paints.
I've done several stocks now. Especially the tactical paint range is very nice. One problem for the private person are the high transport costs from usa for a shipment of paint.
I think there might be a need for high quality duracoating in this country, if the price is not over the top. A stock to UK and back is only 40 Euro postage and there are a few now learning to cammo paint duracoat so prices are dropping. The high quality of duracoat might also be of interest to some engineering applications so that one might not need to rely only on rifles or guns.
edi

ejg

jwshooter wrote: »

i got it done with in the last year with the 1 qualified applicator,its not rocket science lad ..BnQ sell dura coat dont try to make a muppet out of me for your own purpose .

Jw,
the BnQ duracoat is something different. Only thing common is the name.
The Lauer duracoat is a military spec paint system. The BnQ is just another rattle can.
But You are right, applying either is not rocket sience. I'd even say the lauer system is easier to apply once mixing ratios and thinners are sorted.

edi

gunhappy_ie

jw, thats not my intention to make am fool out of you, the thread is to talk about firearms finishes and this is just my opinion, as said the duracoat bnq sell is not the same stuff and any finish is harder to get the same result if it comes from a spray can than if from a proper spray gun. Then theres the degreasing, bead blasting etc. The average guy buying paint from bnq doesnt have access to this stuff. The application is actually one of the easier parts of the process !

gunhappy_ie

ejg wrote: »

Duracoat is actually very nice to apply, much easier than most car paints.
I've done several stocks now. Especially the tactical paint range is very nice. One problem for the private person are the high transport costs from usa for a shipment of paint.
I think there might be a need for high quality duracoating in this country, if the price is not over the top. A stock to UK and back is only 40 Euro postage and there are a few now learning to cammo paint duracoat so prices are dropping. The high quality of duracoat might also be of interest to some engineering applications so that one might not need to rely only on rifles or guns.
edi

The cost of getting any paint in from the us is VERY high. The minimum payment for shipping is $150 as its a hazardous material. This cost goes up by weight. Then theses VAT and duty to pay on top of ur order. The VAT and duty is calculated on the total cost including shipping so if you order $50 of paint you are paying VAT @21.5% +duty on $200. The engineering market is an area that Im looking into as well.

jwshooter

the guy i got done with will sell me or any one a kit to do two guns for 120 pounds

gunhappy_ie

who did it for you if you dont mind me askin ?

gunhappy_ie

ejg... Do you have any pics to post up ? Id love so see your work

ejg

Up to now I've only done single colour, cammo and especially the fleck tarn range would be interesting, but at the moment I don't really have the time to start learning the cammo spraying.

Tactical green and tactical flat black. Although duracoat calls it flat it will smoothen out with wear and eventually start shining but will still look good.
edi

gunhappy_ie

ejg wrote: »

Up to now I've only done single colour, cammo and especially the fleck tarn range would be interesting, but at the moment I don't really have the time to start learning the cammo spraying.

Tactical green and tactical flat black. Although duracoat calls it flat it will smoothen out with wear and eventually start shining but will still look good.
edi

Very nice, if ya dont mind me askin are you using the duraclear on top of your colour ? Itll take me a few days but ill post samples too.

harly1516

I think Its the other way round its duty then vat means you pay more

gunhappy_ie

harly1516 wrote: »

I think Its the other way round its duty then vat means you pay more

Either way, still screwed !

gunhappy_ie

info to follow !!!! ......

ok every1.... heres the deal wit the pictures. I have thrown in there a assortment of things that ive dont as example and shows what practice does ( expensive practice might i add)

there are parts of the airsoft AR in there, done in Tactical black, OD green, Dark earth ( if i remember correct ). the handguard is in the same colours just a different pattern. I have the handguard placed alongside an origional but used handguard. This is the state that the 2 coated pieces were in before I painted them and i wanted to show a before and after. The last piece was another test piece that I did. Thinking anout international shooters i picked the green white and orange ( yes its mint green but i called the US at 2am so i was a bit sleepy ) you get the idea on that 1. hope ye like the pics, if ya have any ideas, questions problems or thougts on any finish then please post

slan

gunhappy

triskell

It has a lot of potential here in ireland. i know of another dealer thats doing somthing similiar, various colours with a baked on finish. You dont mention if you are a RFD but if you are not,when the word gets out I'm sure you'll get a visit from boys in blue, they get a bit twitchy over non licenced holder working on a firearms

gunhappy_ie

i am working with a firearms dealer on this 1 to of course keep everything above board.