Shoot before coating?

[rangeball]

Building a 700ml with pacnor. All stainless, but I am contemplating going black with either cerakote or alumahyde. Before I do, is it recommended to assemble and shoot to make sure there are no issues with the barrel? It's been a long time, but there have been issues in the past with barrels that pacnor replaced.

[Deleted]

its not going to hurt to shoot it, the aluma hyde is simply an epoxy paint and all the metal will have to be cleaned and degreased with either process.. I would make sure the coating is done before bedding as the coating will add to the OD of the action, enough so that it wouldnt fit nearly as well.....

[rossman40]

I would test it first. From what I have seen preparation is the big thing, no oils (even fingerprints), and do not sneeze or cough on it. One area you have to watch is around the barrel nut. If you used neversieze on the barrel threads you could flush out some of it while preping. With all of the spray coatings you have to watch getting it too thick. Cerakote and Duracoat is usually applied with a airbrush while Aluma-Hyde comes in a spray can.

Cerakote I've only seen the bake on. Get it too thick and it can chip, specially on the corners and sharp edges .

Duracoat takes 30 days to fully harden and it will scuff/scratch before it gets fully hardened. It is best to apply where/when it is pretty warm (like above 80°). I've seen a AR done up in a pretty wild paint scheme but it was done in the early spring in a unheated shop and even at 30 days it seemed to scuff easy (it was also pretty thick in spots).

The Aluma-Hyde is kinda the easy way out and the Alumna-Hyde II seems to be a lot more resistant to cleaners then even the Duracoat (some of the el-cheapo save the polar bears brake cleaner would mess with the Duracoat). The best thing is it is easy to touch up with both the Duracoat or Alumna-Hyde. Just make sure you get extra spray nozzles.

[rangeball]

Thanks fellas

[Al]

you always test drive a new car before she gets a wax job!!!