KG Gun Kote finishing

[lanceriley]

I just did a KG gun kote refinish in black. I did follow the instructions to the last dot. and as advertised. the finish was strong and doesn't scratch easily.

finish is matt but a little shiny??? where did I go wrong? or does it work that way?

[Hill]

Don't they have several blacks? As in matte, satin, gloss?

[John]

Yeap, they have several. And the outcome depends on the preparation of the pistol too, me thinks.

[Hawkmoon]

The gloss also varies depending on the temperature of the metal when you spray it, and the temperature at which you bake it.

[lanceriley]

preparation of the pistol? you mean how I sand blasted the parts? well in this case I have to admit I just used 240 grit sand paper on the controls. the frame is still being sand blasted. had to send it away since I don't have a sandblasting box.

temperature of the metal? if it's glossy does it mean that metal was already cold? I heated the metal in 150F oven for 10 mins. shoudn't cool that fast. I baked it at around 310-325F .

[southridge]

I just did a KG gun kote refinish in black. I did follow the instructions to the last dot. and as advertised. the finish was strong and do finish is matte but a little shiny??? where did I go wrong? or does it work that way?
You will also get a shiny look if the coating is applied to wet, if you let it flash then lightly fog another light coat further away from your piece it should dull it up.

[lanceriley]

I did my ar15 reciever first. I think I messed up bad.

heated the reciever for 15mins in the oven. that should make it hot. started spraying. but it seems that I took sometime to do it. some surface would have cooled.

baked it in the oven but somehow... i overcooked it! instead of 60mins, it got up to 90mins.

the result was a very shiny paintjob. to make things worst, overcooking the part must have affected the paint. some areas appear greenish and greyish. the whole thing looked like a polished case hardened reciever. tonight I tried using nylon scourge pads. scotch brite? it dulled it a little. Im going to try lightly sanding it tom. what grit should I use ? 400? 600? i just wana kill the shiny reciever. other than that the case harden looks could be mistaken for a camo job =)

[southridge]

I did my ar15 reciever first. I think I messed up bad.

heated the reciever for 15mins in the oven. that should make it hot. started spraying. but it seems that I took sometime to do it. some surface would have cooled.

baked it in the oven but somehow... i overcooked it! instead of 60mins, it got up to 90mins.

the result was a very shiny paintjob. to make things worst, overcooking the part must have affected the paint. some areas appear greenish and greyish. the whole thing looked like a polished case hardened reciever. tonight I tried using nylon scourge pads. scotch brite? it dulled it a little. Im going to try lightly sanding it tom. what grit should I use ? 400? 600? i just wana kill the shiny reciever. other than that the case harden looks could be mistaken for a camo job =)
If at all possible you will want to sandblast the part it's what gives the finish
uniformity, cook time doesn't matter I cook all my parts for at least 1 1/2 hr.
but you will need to lower your temp to about 300 deg. This will cure the finish so you don't get color fade and will make it harder. but media blasting is
and metal prep are the key to having your finishes turn out.
good luck on your AR.

[lanceriley]

ovens with automatic time don't usually stay 300F they'll drop sometimes to 275F then the automatic heater kicks in and brings it back to 315F. or something like that.

Yes I did media blast it.

[southridge]

thats true I have two ovens in my shop that I lined the inside with ceramic
insulation and it makes it very stable, gun gunKote will cure out at 275, at any thing under 300 you just bake it longer . I frequently will have guns in for 2-3
hr. the slower longer cure seems to make it harder as well . Take it easy and
happy cooking..

[Old Navy Chief]

I know more about abrasive blasting than I ever really wanted to know, On the Mcmaster-Carr web site, page 2664 gives a good table for the different abrasives.
Aluminum oxide, gives a good surface profile into the metal for the paint to mechanically attach itself to the gun. I hate to say this, but sanding is a poor subtitute, as it does not create the etching into the metal as sand blasting does.

I experimented with a couple of old mags that showed rust, and wear before I attempted my pistol. I figured it the mags were damaged, no great loss. They came out great.

[lanceriley]

thanks for the reply guys... my problem is still more on the glossy side. I use a badget 150 airbrush. It's hard to say move 12" away from the target. the nozzle needle of my airbrush is adjustible. It means that at the present setting, 12" dusting and you wont' cover anything even with 5 coats. anybody tried this kind of airbrush?

[Hill]

What's the paint can say it is? KG DOES have glossy finishes and if that's what you got there won't be much you can do that'll make it spray out matte without messing the whole job up except buy a different paint.

[southridge]

thanks for the reply guys... my problem is still more on the glossy side. I use a badget 150 airbrush. It's hard to say move 12" away from the target. the nozzle needle of my airbrush is adjustible. It means that at the present setting, 12" dusting and you wont' cover anything even with 5 coats. anybody tried this kind of airbrush?


I don't think the brand of air brush matters I because I use a HVLP finish gun
when I have a lot of parts to do fast . If you call KG and tell them it's to shiny
and ask them if they can send you some flatener to mix in with your can that for
sure will fix the problem, I have had to do it in the past with a couple of cans.
Good luck.

[lanceriley]

the gunstore that I bought it from did say that it was flat black.

I wish I could get some flattener.... but... im right just half way around the world. noway is KG going to send me some

[Old Navy Chief]

Try sand blasting with arm and hammer baking powder, it should take any shine off.

[Colt45guy]

Try sand blasting with arm and hammer baking powder, it should take any shine off.



talcum powder works too

[lanceriley]

blasting with baking powder??? how do you dothat?
blasting with talkcum powder???

[gb6491]

I used the matte black Gun Kote and it does (IMO) come out more satin than flat. That is not such a bad thing as flat paint usually starts to show wear where it is handled by polishing to a satin sheen.

If you want flatten out your finish (or even it out; yeah, overheating the Gun Kote will turn it different colors) you might try giving it a coat of flat black Dupli-color 1200 degree ceramic paint (if it's available where you are). Auto parts stores in the US carry it for about $6. I haven't tried it over Gun Kote, but don't see why it wouldn't work (I did try Wheeler Cerama-coat over GK with excellent results). There is some discussion about the Dupli-color here. (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=324116&highlight=duplicolor)
I did a beat up rifle with the Dupli-color; there are some photos of it before and after it went in the oven on this page. (http://gbrannon.bizhat.com/marlin.htm)
Regards,
Greg

[kcshooter]

What about trying to buff it lightly with 000 or 0000 steel wool? That doesn't usually polish an area like higher grip sandpaper, it usually dulls paint, as when used between coats. Maybe a test area under a grip panel would be a safe place to try it out?

[Old Navy Chief]

blasting with baking powder??? how do you dothat?
blasting with talkcum powder???

same way you would with any abrasive sand blasting gun. the real nice thing is talcum, baking powder, are not aggressive, it will remove paint, but will not change tolerances, by removing metal. one caveat, its hi dust.