Powder coating
- Thread starter scott1911
- Start date
In general powder coating is just to thick for use with firearms. You're better off using Arma/Cera/KG/Duracoat for gun projects. When properly applied they offer similar if not superior performance but without any of the drawbacks, in particular the high heat you need for most powder coatings.
The temperatures needed to give a good powder coat application are high enough to cause some issues with the barrel. No, it isn't high enough to cause temper loss or hardness but it can cause warping if the temperatures aren't applied evenly.
My brother in law and sister run a powder coating business and I had them do a couple of after market aluminum trigger guards for me that were in the cast finish.
I had them both painted black. They came out very well in a matte finish as that is what I requested. They were very careful to only coat the surfaces that weren't tolerance challenged. Great look and after extensive field use no indication of wear.
OK, the trigger guard/floorplate unit came out better than expected so lets see what a barreled receiver will do. His prep/painter again was very careful not to apply powder to parts that didn't require it and did a great job. The assembly came out looking great.
Here's what happened. The rifle was never a tack driver and was chambered in 243Win. After putting it all back together I took it to the range to sight in. I noticed the scope needed a lot of windage adjustment but didn't think much of it. It shot groups about the same as before at 100 yards.
Our range is only a hundred yard range so I took it to the field across the road from home, with the owner's permission of course, and set up a 300 yd target. Nice clear morning about 8am, no wind, perfect 65F I took the first shot and it wasn't even on the target. I moved up to 100yds and it shot very well again. Then set then moved back to 150yds and it shot about an inch to the left.
OK, set the rifle up on the rest and supported in position with sand bags. Adjust the cross hair from center to the entry hole. I'll bet you can guess what happened on the next shot. Yup, the bullet came back to poa. Went back to 300yds, confident that all was well and the bullet was just cutting the far left side of the target. By now I knew there was an issue. Went through the scope adjustment process again and went back to 100yds and it was shooting about 3 inches to the left with the 300yd setting.
It was pretty obvious what had happened. Very hard to see but if you stood back and looked at the barrel from straight on it was noticeably warped.
I talked to my brotherinlaw about it and he was adamant the barreled receiver had been hung in the oven with the muzzle up and a wire through the bore to make sure the heat was evenly distributed. He is very good at what he does and not prone to lying. The finish was great. I haven't tried to coat another so I can't say if it was just my luck or if the tension between the receiver ring and the shoulder on the tenon created some stress, long shot though. I put a different barrel on the receiver and it did well. I saved the coated barrel to try on a different receiver but I haven't done it and likely won't.
The next time I try, I will separate the barrel and receiver and see if that makes a difference.
My brother in law and sister run a powder coating business and I had them do a couple of after market aluminum trigger guards for me that were in the cast finish.
I had them both painted black. They came out very well in a matte finish as that is what I requested. They were very careful to only coat the surfaces that weren't tolerance challenged. Great look and after extensive field use no indication of wear.
OK, the trigger guard/floorplate unit came out better than expected so lets see what a barreled receiver will do. His prep/painter again was very careful not to apply powder to parts that didn't require it and did a great job. The assembly came out looking great.
Here's what happened. The rifle was never a tack driver and was chambered in 243Win. After putting it all back together I took it to the range to sight in. I noticed the scope needed a lot of windage adjustment but didn't think much of it. It shot groups about the same as before at 100 yards.
Our range is only a hundred yard range so I took it to the field across the road from home, with the owner's permission of course, and set up a 300 yd target. Nice clear morning about 8am, no wind, perfect 65F I took the first shot and it wasn't even on the target. I moved up to 100yds and it shot very well again. Then set then moved back to 150yds and it shot about an inch to the left.
OK, set the rifle up on the rest and supported in position with sand bags. Adjust the cross hair from center to the entry hole. I'll bet you can guess what happened on the next shot. Yup, the bullet came back to poa. Went back to 300yds, confident that all was well and the bullet was just cutting the far left side of the target. By now I knew there was an issue. Went through the scope adjustment process again and went back to 100yds and it was shooting about 3 inches to the left with the 300yd setting.
It was pretty obvious what had happened. Very hard to see but if you stood back and looked at the barrel from straight on it was noticeably warped.
I talked to my brotherinlaw about it and he was adamant the barreled receiver had been hung in the oven with the muzzle up and a wire through the bore to make sure the heat was evenly distributed. He is very good at what he does and not prone to lying. The finish was great. I haven't tried to coat another so I can't say if it was just my luck or if the tension between the receiver ring and the shoulder on the tenon created some stress, long shot though. I put a different barrel on the receiver and it did well. I saved the coated barrel to try on a different receiver but I haven't done it and likely won't.
The next time I try, I will separate the barrel and receiver and see if that makes a difference.
