As hunters, we love to browse new gear via the web, catalogs and TV shows, but in today’s economy we can’t all afford to check the box on our wish-lists. I recently entertained the idea of getting a new rifle. It was just an idea that popped into my head one day, and after my inner-reason kicked in, I realized I did not need a new rifle. In fact, I love my rifle, but I could not stand looking at the stainless steel barrel any longer. Since I wanted it to be black, I looked into coating my barrel with a product called DuraCoat.
Just to get an idea of how much money I would save by doing it myself, I called around to local gunsmiths to get a price on coating my barrel. After a few calls, I learned that since my rifle was a light-weight mountain rifle (Browning A-bolt Ti), its titanium receiver would prevent me from having it professionally done at a reasonable price. The cheapest price quote I got was around $400.00. So, I ordered my DuraCoat kit for $29.00 and got it a week later.
As soon as I got the kit, I looked it over. It was in a small box, but it had a few jars and bottles and looked complicated. I thought that I might be in for a challenge. However after I read through the easy instructions, the self-doubt faded and I found the whole process to be simple.
The first requirement was to thoroughly clean all metal parts to get them free of dirt, grease or debris. Simple enough. The next step was to mask off areas to avoid. Since, I also decided to coat my external bolt assembly black as well, that made it even easier.
After masking the barrel, bolt, trigger guard and hinge plate, it was time to mix the two-part coating with a session of vigorous shaking. I used fishing line and a fishing hook to hang my barrel for painting. It was now time to start spraying, so I applied five separate coats on all parts and barrel, with only a five minute drying pause in between sprayings.
After 24 hours of cure time, the process was complete. I was really happy with the results and I felt a little pride in having done it myself. I also bought a new sling which really finished off the look I was hoping to achieve. If you would like to make your old rifle look new, you can’t go wrong with a DuraCoat kit.
