plating

[churchjw]

http://charlotteplating.com/page2.html
Their tech support say that the plate will be around .002 to .005 thick. I have seen this plating used on high-speed air systems and it really worked well. This is being done for performance by reducing the internal friction not for looks. The plating will not be a bright finish like chrome. The two questions I have is, one has anyone done this kind of plating to their guns and if so what were the results, and two does anyone see possible problems with this or have suggestions.

[xen_100]

how hard is this plating? cause the constant rubbing that the sear experiences might just rub it off in less than a days use. same for the bolt. the spring rubbing on the bolt will likely rub the teflon off. have you ever seen a superbolt I? they nearly melt the delrin sleeve if you fire too fast for too long.

also, if you change the sear by .002-.005 inches. you will effectively lengthened the on/off pin. may not be a good thing.

[churchjw]

[automan39]

i've painted a couple mags and i really doesn't affect it to much but i try to keep the paint to a minnimum under the rail. I do polish it before so it isn't to much bigger but still. if it is a prob just sand it down.

[askman]

The springs are I believe nickel plated. and I believe it is not electroless, rather copper flashed. So it is bound to flake off.

[churchjw]

Thanks automan39 if the paint on the body doesn't cause problems then I would say the plating would not. Another question I have is how do you paint aluminum and get it to stick? I'm looking at options to anodizing. I did some minimal machining on my trigger frame and rail so they need to be re-colored.
Also thanks to askman. Do you know if AGD has the non-plated springs available? I an afraid the flakes will get into areas and cause problems.

[automan39]

the only alunimmum i've painted is my trig frame and its chipping massively. Is that norm for allumminum? One thinng u could do is paint it then get it clear powdercoated or powdercoat it in a color. Junky on this forum, i believe does powdercoating for decent prices. try doing a search 4 him. the ones i've seen of his r very durable

[askman]

the problem with spring is that it has to be made of steel, which means it will corrode. Stainless do not make good spring, so we are stuck with spring steel. So, if you get something without protection, it wil corrode. since we tend to get water on our markers, AGD went with plated spring. I guess you have two choice. get unplated spring and live with possible corrosion or live with fraking. I don't know if anybody has unplated spring....

[ChucktheMAGician]

This sounds like a waste of good resources. How much will your performance actually improve? Get a better nitro tank, barrel set, or even an x-mag, that way you know you're upgrading!

[Tunaman]

I believe the stock short spring has a Cadmium plate on it...hence the yellowish-gold color, just like the best bolts in the Japanese made autos..

[churchjw]

Yes, I think your right the stock spring is cadmium plated. Can you get the LvL10 springs in the cadmium plate?

[churchjw]

ChucktheMAGician you have a great point. I have an angle air and flatline tanks and about a dozen different barrels. Have played with an rt pro and emags both. Have not tried the xmag yet but would love to. But I still prefer my 68classic. So at this point I'm just a tech geek tweaking out the gun I love. Don't know if it will have any noticeable effect but its still fun.

[athomas]

To paint aluminum you need a good primer that is suited for aluminum. You can thoroughly clean the aluminum using acetone and then dip the aluminum part in zincate solution. This will plate the aluminum and keep it from oxidizing which is the main cause of paint not adhering to the aluminum.

[ChucktheMAGician]

Originally posted by churchjw
So at this point I'm just a tech geek tweaking out the gun I love. Don't know if it will have any noticeable effect but its still fun.

That's cool to, make sure you post your results after you're finished.