Color Coat My 9x18 Makarov?
Just traded my 20 year old Davis Derringer .32 caliber for my buddy's used 9x18 Makarov. I kicked in one 50 round box of .32 auto ammo and he gave me 3 50 round boxes of 9x18 Makarov ammo. Back in 2004 he was looking to buy an inexpensive but respectable,rugged and dependable caliber handgun and I suggested the Makarov being sold through AIM Surplus for $149.00 in near new condition.. Problem became that once he got it, he field stripped it for cleaning and either couldn't get it back together or just lost interest. I would have gone over and reassembled it for him, but I had never even handled a Makarov so I figured if he couldn't get it back to together I sure as heck couldn't either what with him being a former Vietnam Nam combat Marine veteran and all. (Note: because of the advice from some here, this afternoon I discovered how easy it was to put back together). Anyway, I kept thinking about that Makarov of his just sitting around unused and my derringer doing the same. I suggested an even trade and he agreed. But when I actually looked at his Makarov, it looked like he must have stored in the bathroom or some other damp place. There was a lot of rust on the gun and the 4 magazines. But since I had suggested the trade, I went ahead with it.
Anyway, long story short, once I got it home I got to work on it with a toothbrush and a bottle of the acid sold at the grocery store called "Limeaway." I actually got all the rust off (some very minor pitting I think I can polish out) and the gun looks pretty good if you realize the on the areas where there is no finish, before it was all rust. I haven't fired it, but I hand cycled it and it seems to function fine.
So, at some point I want to remove ALL the finish and refinish with one of those new finishes I have read about here. I want to make it into a "girly gun" , since I will then give it to my daughter as a special birthday or Christmas present. A cool gift of, yes a cheap and common handgun, but one she could not buy anywhere else. I am willing to use fine grip emery cloth, wire wheel, more acid, etc. to get the rest of the finish off, smooth the metal, and prepare the gun for the new finish.
What kind of color finish (maybe a white frame and pink slide for a girly gun) should I put on it? I am willing to use the wife's oven and bake on the new finish or whatever it takes but I have not idea what brand or kind of finish to purchase. I want something that will last. Any suggestions will be appreciated and thanks for reading this long post. Sometimes it is just fun to share and hear about other gun owners personal experiences.
In red above to save people some reading time. Sorry, I just like to "talk" about guns.
Anyway, long story short, once I got it home I got to work on it with a toothbrush and a bottle of the acid sold at the grocery store called "Limeaway." I actually got all the rust off (some very minor pitting I think I can polish out) and the gun looks pretty good if you realize the on the areas where there is no finish, before it was all rust. I haven't fired it, but I hand cycled it and it seems to function fine.
So, at some point I want to remove ALL the finish and refinish with one of those new finishes I have read about here. I want to make it into a "girly gun" , since I will then give it to my daughter as a special birthday or Christmas present. A cool gift of, yes a cheap and common handgun, but one she could not buy anywhere else. I am willing to use fine grip emery cloth, wire wheel, more acid, etc. to get the rest of the finish off, smooth the metal, and prepare the gun for the new finish.
What kind of color finish (maybe a white frame and pink slide for a girly gun) should I put on it? I am willing to use the wife's oven and bake on the new finish or whatever it takes but I have not idea what brand or kind of finish to purchase. I want something that will last. Any suggestions will be appreciated and thanks for reading this long post. Sometimes it is just fun to share and hear about other gun owners personal experiences.
In red above to save people some reading time. Sorry, I just like to "talk" about guns.
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Go to www.brownells.com and look up Dura-Coat. I think you can get it in about all the colors you want.
They have bake and no bake finishes.
Look at Aluma-Hyde, it's a lot less. Might not have the colors you want though.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcs shooters
Go to www.brownells.com and look up Dura-Coat. I think you can get it in about all the colors you want.
They have bake and no bake finishes.
Went to the link you kindly provided. Basic kit is almost $100.00. That is about half what I would have to pay to buy a Makarov that was in good enough condition that it didn't need any refinish. It also appears that more equipment and various colors are needed and cost even more. Only two reviews and one reviewer said he would not recommend this Dura-Coat to a friend. Mostly because of the cheap quality of the air brush.
Maybe I should just learn to like the ugly finish/bare metal on my Makarov. Although I really wanted to turn it into a colorful girly gun as I know it would please my 28 year old gun loving, gun carrying daughter.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcs shooters
Go to www.brownells.com and look up Dura-Coat. I think you can get it in about all the colors you want.
They have bake and no bake finishes.
Look at Aluma-Hyde, it's a lot less. Might not have the colors you want though.
Good advice on the "Aluma-Hyde" but sadly very few colors. No bright colors (white, blue, etc) at all. All darker colors. Normally that would still be a great solution, but for some reason I am eccentric enough to be determined to make and give my daughter a colorful girly gun. Looks like I either need to just pay a big price for the colors or forget the whole project.0 -
I *DO* like the concept of a custom finish for your daughter, but I'd suggest NOT painting the slide/frame of the gun pink.
Yes, people do this sort of thing, but in my opinion making a real gun look like a toy gun is a bad mistake.
If you want to make it "girly" how about stenciling on some flower pattern (or other femme-appropriate insignia) onto the slide. (You do this AFTER you do a good base finish).
Alternatively, how about some nice custom grips instead? You have the grips finished, or custom inlays put in (I'd suggest roses!). I think THIS company can put out some pink Makarov grips for you:
http://www.vintagegungrips.net/vintage-color-examples.html
Edit: Here's another options for creating custom color grips. Krylon paint is actually pretty durable:
http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/
In terms of finish, there are a bunch of them you could use.
Dura-Cote is a good finish, but as you've noted, its fairly expensive and labor intensive to put it on. If you want to cheap out a little bit, supposedly Sherwin-Williams "Polane" paint is a substantially similar epoxy-based paint product that should work well as a gun coating but at less cost.
Brownell's has a number of good durable finishes that go on from a spray-on can, and cost only about $30 or so (plus your prep work and time). As mentioned, most of these are in conventional colors, but coyote-tan might be a reasonable options if you don't like black, OD, etc.0 -
You might want to test fire it before going whole hog on the pink gun. Don't know about the Mak but my PA-63 9x18 has somewhat of a kick to it and is not something I would think of giving to a woman.
It's just not enjoyable to shoot.0 -
quote:Originally posted by drobs
You might want to test fire it before going whole hog on the pink gun. Don't know about the Mak but my PA-63 9x18 has somewhat of a kick to it and is not something I would think of giving to a woman.
It's just not enjoyable to shoot.
I appreciate the advice from you and bean town. But I just really want a pastel slide and frame on the Makorav to give to my daughter. I don't see any harm in making a real gun look like a toy gun. I do see harm in making a toy gun look like a real gun. In regards to the heavy recoil with the Makarov, I believe my daughter can easily handle it. She first started handgun shooting about about age 6. Or, I might even decide to do this project with an old Milsurp Star 9mm semiauto built on the Colt model 1911 frame.
I found a website that sells Dura-coat for about $13.00 and will finish one to two guns. The website offers about any color you can imagine but there is no clear mention or answer to whether or not I would still need to buy the expensive ($95.00?) general application kit. Anybody know?0 -
Beantown's advice is pretty good, but DuraCoat has been around for a while and is widely used outside the commercial market by agencies and industrial users.
One thing you never want to forget is that with ANY coating ("paint"), the most important factor to remember is that proper surface preparation is 95%+ of the effort, whether you are coating your house, your car, your gun or your little red wagon. Bad surface prep will, in short order, sabatoge ANY coating job. Therefore, perhaps you should consider WHY there is so much effort associated with the DuraCoat finish as related to others. Give it some thought.
Check out the website of Lauer Custom Weaponry (LCW),
[url] http://www.lauerweaponry.com/[/url]
who are the makers of the DuraCoat Firearms Finishes, which includes a number of durable, unusual-colored protective gun coatings..
Also look at this Daily News web page,
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/03/21/2008-03-21_gun_paint_company_taunts_mayor_bloomberg.html[/url
for a news article, "Gun paint company taunts Mayor Bloomberg with paints named after him" ]BY Kirsten Danis, DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
It is probably a smart idea for you to follow the advice of the others here NOT to use a light, bright-colored paint, not only because it could cause some people (who may not be very intelligent to begin with) to think the gun is a toy, which I believe is a marginal worry if YOU are smart enough to follow good gun handling and storage practices. But, what the hell, let Darwinism rule, I say. My thumbs down against a light or bright color is that I believe that ANY bright or light colored coating would, in short order, become discolored or stained by gun cleaning products and lubricants. I could be wrong, though.
You could minimize the impact of staining by choosing an unusual, darker color for your gun (not black).
Also, as far as the cost goes, spending a little more for something you are really intrigued with and want to have fun with is not such an extravagance, in my opinion.
Oh, by the way, I was intrigued with your comment, quote:I am willing to use the wife's oven and bake on the new finish or whatever it takes but I have not idea what brand or kind of finish to purchase. Yuk, yuk. [}:)] I'll just bet you are willing to use her oven for this endeavor. Let us know how that worked out. [B)]0 -
You might want to also consider getting ahold of GB member oldemagics. He makes beautiful custom grips and can do just about anything with inlays, patterns etc. He also does the old time nitre blueing and did a Makarov. www.oldemagics.com and you can see the pics of it. 0
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